GAAHLS WYRD anounces new album with title track “Braiding the Stories”

GAAHLS WYRD anounces new album with title track "Braiding The Stories"

14-03-2025

GAAHLS WYRD announces their new, second album “Braiding The Stories” out on Season Of Mist, on June 6th, 2025. In celebration of the announcement the abnd now releases the title track, alongside an accompanying lyric video. The band is featuring vocalist Gaahl (aka Kristian Espedal), guitarist Lust Kilman (aka Ole Walaunet), drummer Spektre (aka Kevin Kvåle), and bassist Nekroman (aka Andreas Salbu),

Watch “Braiding The Stories” below.

“I call it the White Lodge,” Gaahl says, referring to Braiding the Stories’ differentia. “Maybe I’ll call it the Bright Lodge. I wanted to put focus on where I think Ole is most comfortable music-wise. There’s more things he’s connected to on this album than before. So, I jumped over the more black metal tracks, as I felt they didn’t belong to this process. For example, when we sat down in the studio, we wanted a specific energy. That energy is a ‘80s and ‘90s thing. Almost gothic rock, but it’s more about the sound than the style. It’s an aesthetic for sure. If I may, everyone should pay close attention to Ole’s fantastic solos. They’re pieces of music inside the songs.”

“Musically, it’s unique,” says Gaahl. “It’s not necessarily connected to GastiR and The Humming Mountain. Those albums are connected to very earthly elements, the natural flow of things. This album is another dimension—behind the veil, if you will. I remember I wanted to release ‘And the Now’ as the first single, but there’s probably too much information to be the first track out. Throughout this album, I use a lot of different voices, and I’ve thought a lot about how all these different characters fit into the music. So, I wanted the listener to fall into the album, not be distracted, and I think I’ve accomplished that. It’s cinematic.”

“I always work with the subconscious,” Gaahl says. “And dreams are where we are at the most aware of our subconsciousness, I think. In a way, Braiding the Stories is a continuation [of ‘The Sleep’] but told from a different perspective. So, to simplify, Braiding the Stories deals with dreams. Not specific dreams, though. The transitions of dreams, emotions flowing from one to another without pause. Everything I do tends to end up with a melancholic flow and feel without it necessarily being an idea–it just happens, really–but I avoided that this time around. It’s less physical. I referred to the White Lodge before. This time around, I feel I visited the White Lodge not the Black Lodge.”

“Me and Iver have been working together on several albums,” says Gaahl. “He’s an important part of Gaahls WYRD. He’s used to my way of working. Sometimes, I can be quite frustrating to work with. If my mind isn’t feeding me inspiration, I won’t get anything done. In that way, I’m very comfortable working with Iver. I need to spar conceptual ideas with someone, and Iver’s very good at that. I don’t annoy the rest of the band with these things. Iver and I have a lot of discussions, and the ideas naturally grow from there. This time around, it was very easy.”

Tracklist:
1. The Dream (2:11)
2. Braiding the Stories (8:37) [WATCH]
3. Voices in My Head (2:00)
4. Time and Timeless Timeline (3:03)
5. And the Now (5:49)
6. Through the Veil (1:57)
7. Visions and Time (6:00)
8. Root the Will (5:25)
9. Flowing Starlight (7:11)
Full runtime: 42:15

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear & Black Marbled
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Silver & Dark Green Marbled
12″ Special “Hair-Filled” Vinyl
Cassette
Various Merch

Line-up:
Kristian Espedal «Gaahl» – All Voices
Ole Walaunet «Lust Kilman» – All Guitars
Andreas Salbu «Nekroman» – Bass
Kevin Kvåle «Spektre» – Drums

Production Credits:
Recorded at Solslottet Studio, Bergen, Norway.
Produced by Iver Sandøy & Gaahls WYRD.
Mixed & mastered by Iver Sandøy at Solslottet Studio, Bergen, Norway.

Cover Art:
Øivind Myksvoll

Social media