Title track Gatherer of Souls starts with a low and mysterious tone. Followed by a smooth cello that soothes the soul. Later, the electric guitars join in, building up the tension. Then we get to two guitars and even more instruments join to build it all up to a maximum. Slowly, it ends again. A mysterious start.
Next song, No Breath Left, starts with the low note of a cello, played by Polina Faustova. The smooth cello comes on top and plays the melody. The electric guitar soon follows low, calm and slow. The pitch shifts up a bit. The guitar goes a bit higher, it builds up, and then again, it slowly fades away. The vocals on this song are done by Mezzo-soprano Estelia.

On the Brink of Death, the first single of this album, starts with a higher sounding piano. It takes its solo time and then plays a duet with the electric guitar. Low and sharper notes meet clean and high notes. There’s a break in the duet where the piano starts to play low notes. A cello plays on top of it. When the electric guitar joins in, the mood changes. It doesn’t feel as grim anymore. There’s still tension, but it feels lighter. There’s more energy, more power. The electric guitar gets its solo. Maybe this is the point in the song where, whoever was on the brink of death, is not anymore and chose to continue and carry on. The song ends smooth as the electric guitar is left ringing on a low note.

Remembrance, the second single of this album, starts out as a heavier track. No classical instruments to be found yet. Just 2 guitars in a duet. Later, the voice of Cherry Summerfield shows up. The first track with vocals. It was a surprise to hear them, but they are very welcome. Cherry’s scream and clean vocals are heard here. In the middle of the track, it seems as if the song is over. The song fades out, or seems to fade out. Then one more blast of fast strumming electric guitars on top of a slower beat, and the scream vocals return.

‘Awoke into a nightmare.’

Lair of the Undead welcomes you with a lion’s growl and the sound of them eating things. Maybe they are eating bones? The sounds in the beginning set the feeling for the song. Soon, electric guitars take over, but the eerie feeling stays. One guitar plays low chords, as the other guitar hums on top of it. Welcome to the lair of the undead. The song stays low and gives less energy as the journey through the lair continues. It keeps its profile low, meaning that this song does not dare to use high notes. What if the undead would hear it?

The Eternal Rest (Interlude) starts beautifully calm with a piano that plays low notes with a high melody on top. Curiously, you’ll listen what is going to come next. Soon, a cello joins with low notes on top. You are expecting more to come, but this interlude is only a minute and a half long. Interludes are usually short, but this one had me hoping for more.

Hoping for Salvation starts with an acoustic guitar, we haven’t heard that one yet. The electric guitar soon joins with a low melody. Then the track shifts pace completely into a modern metal track. The drums kick in, the guitar picks up the pace, and the voice of Chris Maragoth himself joins us. The second track with vocals on this album. The instruments stay heavy and low during most of the song, while the vocals tell the story this time. Near the end, the guitar gets a bit louder and the vocals go to the background while they whisper the song to its end.

“Damaged in the past.
Damaged and fucked up.
Only tormented souls
Hoping for salvation
To come”.

Tales of My Demise is the song I loved the most about Chris‘ EP ‘Tales’. This is the remastered version of it. I didn’t think it was possible, but there even seem to be more details added this time. You can read the original review here.
Second to last song Carnival of Dreams starts, very fitting, with a carnival themed intro. Be it an eerie one. I love the low bass tones in it. They pass occasionally, but are very present. The buildup is also very nicely done. You feel something is coming, you just don’t know what. The electric guitar takes over and in comes the voice of Julia Dathe. She switches smoothly between her clean vocals and her scream vocals. Personally, I like Chris’ instrumental tracks better. They feel more special, deeper and more emotional. The songs with vocals are definitely nice too, but I don’t feel as consumed by them.

Last song Left Behind (The Last Goodbye) welcomes us with a light and calm piano tune. Later, the cello comes in, creating an even more peaceful vibe. It also gives you a touch of sadness with it. It feels like somebody is sad to be left behind, yet has peace with it too. The low piano notes give it some extra dimension, some extra drama, in a good way. It fits the song perfectly. It fades out with a few high notes, and with that, the first album of Chris Maragoth has come to an end already.

Time just flew by. I always love how Chris manages to tell such beautiful stories with instrumental tracks. It feels as if the instruments have their own life, their own soul. It’s truly beautiful, how a song can feel alive. This makes me feel like ‘Gatherer of Souls‘ is a fitting tile for this album. Chris states the album title also has another meaning to him. It has a self-referential component:

“as Chris collaborated on this record with several musicians (Souls) who joined him on the majority of the tracks, such as Estelia, a Jewish mezzosoprano with Georgian and Ukrainian roots, German female vocalist Cherry Summerfield of the Melodic Death Metal band July 15th and Per Lümbersson of German Melodic Death Metal band Aeon of Awareness. The cello parts in all songs were contributed by, an Ukrainian cellist”.

Chris also tells us the meaning behind the album cover;

“The cover artwork is a digital oil painting created by the German artist Dorien Hammer. When combined with the artworks of the two previous Singles, it creates a comprehensive painting. The lore behind the painting: The “Gatherer of Souls” represents a demon-like entity that collects the souls of the deceased at the moment of death to augment its power and employ them in sinister rituals”.

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