Review: Gyrdleah – Spellbinder

Review by Rick Eaglestone

Gyrdleah – Spellbinder

Record Label: Black Lion Records

Year: 2023

Rating: 8/10

Consisting of solitary member ‘Flagrum’ Birmingham’s Gyrdleah have been festering away in the darkness and are now ready to release a celebration to the dark arts with debut album Spellbinder.

Gyrdleah

A slow, brooding start to the album begins with “Stab the Lamb” and lingers briefly before the track takes a maniacal turn which weaves into the pace-changing “Gyfu” I particularly enjoyed the more atmospheric elements and consistent tempo of the track as I feel this fits the aesthetic better.

As the album moves into “Gathered for the Murder” the soundscapes from the previous track engulf this one, there is a brief moment of blistering speed and the guitar tones on this are particularly great.

There is a short ominous interlude with “Approaching Gyrdlea” which serves as a wonderful offering for “Speak of the Devil” which once again ebbs and flows with great precision into the unholy duo of largely instrumental title track “Spellbinder” and my personal highlight track of the album “VVitch”.

The album starts to wind down with “Six Hundred Threescore and Six” which for me is the real heartbeat of the album, the gothic style vocals are a nice addition to the frenzy which filters off the albums “Outro”.

This is certainly an album that the more you listen to, the more you seem to get out of with repeat listens.