In Moscow, early in the 21st century, a young Russian girl faces a near death experience. Voices speak out to her, they command her, they entice her, they lead her from that break in the road, the one path leading to the eternal realms where the mortal skin has no flavor, the other returning her to the land of the living, to that mortal path of pain and wonder. On this occasion, the mortal soul of Aina takes the path back to mortal reality, with a dictate to listen, to obey, to do what must be done.

Aina’s reemergence into the mortal flow proceeds in the traditional manner. Her convalescence is followed by friends and loved ones. They visit her, the comfort her, they leave their gifts. One of these gifts is a book of witchcraft, a view into the dark realms, a preview of the path she must travel. The girl is captivated, her recent exploration into the realms of the netherworlds have left a thirst for further revelation. Her interest lingers, and on a dark night in October, on All Hallows Eve, she and several young classmates engage in a pact. Their charge is to spread the message, to take the tome of the dark side to a wider audience, to visit their understanding upon those who need to know. And thus is born Blackthorn, a musical vehicle to spread the wisdom of the darkness that has been revealed.

Gossamer Witchcraft is the initial offering of this communication from 4 Russian witches. The four, Aina on vocals, Verbena on bass, Elvira on lead guitar, Freya on keyboards, are joined by the blind drummer, Max, to spread the wisdom drawn from the books which have served to educate this dark troop. An initial offering was done in Russian, the one under review here is translated into English, to the extent that that translation is possible. The sound is symphonic metal, strong symphonic metal, with an ethereal vocal line that speaks to the dark side, the left hand path, in the truest interpretation of that mystical direction.

Gossamer Witchcraft takes us in new directions, and we enjoy the ride, this is good music. The musicians are first rate and the only way to beat this sound is to see the witches playing in concert, to say they are visually stimulating is to understate the obvious in a serious way. But make no mistake; this is music from the dark side, a symphony of the macabre, a glimpse into the ethereal. The symphonic serves as a basis to the music, the screeching guitars provided by Elvira entice us to follow, and the vocals draw us into the darkness.

The tome begins with a vocal line over a haunting piano, Immortelle for a Hollow Grave introduces us to the witches chant. Aina draws us into the beyond whispering:

But this is metal, and the witch on lead guitar appears to blast us into the symphonic with the keyboards screaming, Aina goes dark and threatening to take us to the next level. And that progression continues. Necromance is a Russian sound, a dark melodic movement complete with a Death metal component, compliments of guest vocalist Dart Scarsson. This is a strong death metal track, Morton Veland would be proud, and the lyrics again take us to a more profound understanding of the basics of witchcraft. It doesn’t hurt that the metal component is near overwhelming, the guitars crush, the drums from the blind drummer pound, the vocals soar.

The musical direction continues, pounding drums, screeching guitars and the dark sinister vocals provide by Aina. Saturnia is a highlight of this dark symphony. We begin with a gothic bell, followed by the symphonic drone. The keyboards flow to the crunching guitars of Witch Elvira, which lead us to the vocals. There’s a particularly enticing base line here, and, if you watch the YouTube videos, you get to see this stunning blond base player in action. She’s no longer with the band but presents an interesting visual on those existing videos. There’s even a little layering of the vocals here, a direction that enhances the dark vocals being presented.

Blackthorne Winter is another symphonic gothic work. The guitars are a little harder, the direction more intense. Aina drives the sound forward over a thundering background with a warning to the living:

Gossamer Witchcraft may be the darkest selection in this very dark offering. Aina may have a beautiful voice in song, but her straight, non-singing vocals, are straight from the grave. Her’s is the voice of doom, the haunting sound that visits our darkest dreams, our fears given mortal listen. We hear the witch here; we listen captivated to that wisdom from beyond. An ethereal background music accompanies this monolog and evolves into a more metal theme that continues the warnings. Aina conjures up visions of disaster, she entices us to directions we must not consider, and she lures us with gifts of unending love and immortal loss. The thundering metal takes us to dimensions of unequivocal pain. And we are left wondering.

Gossamer Witchcraft is a journey; it is one woman’s gift, with a band of like-minded musicians, into a reality that we can enjoy for the music but one we must heed for the direction, for the wisdom it relates. The left hand path is not for everyone, but we can always be alive for the possibility, especially when the journey is encompassed in such a lovely musical vehicle.

9.5 / 10