Note please: I know Ghostwoodlands was not released in 2008 but bare with me since I have been waiting to hear a full Striborg album and challenge the persistently negative image of the Machiavellian mastermind that is Sin Nanna.

Despite frequently negative reviews for Striborg’s overwhelming output I decided, why would any label output so many unpopular records unless there was something truly special within them. I am very happy that I took that leap, 2007’s Ghostwoodlands is a terrifying journey through the haunted wilderness of Tasmania.

One point on which many criticize Striborg is for Sin Nanna’s choice to use inaudible and, even by black metal standards, bad production. I am not going to lie, the guitars on Ghostwoodlands sound like flamethrowers. No, not the kind you see on the dragon tank in 007: Doctor No, more like the kind you would find in old SNES games like Final Fantasy III. But despite having a guitar tone you could roast pixilated marshmallows to, the buzz actually has this overwhelming quality that is outright terrifying. Usually I don’t like to sit through 3 or 4-minute ambient/interlude tracks, but in this case they accent the kvlt-er-than-thou black metal maelstroms.

The vocals are so coated with delays and reverbs that you feel as if you are being dictated your impending doom by night spirits of the forest themselves. The drums, however sloppily played, have a fairly clear and almost nice rock tone and give the utterly diffused guitar/vocals a more solid skeleton to build off of.

Without a doubt the stand out track on Ghostwoodlands is “Wandering the Wilderness of Eternal Misery”, this nearly 20 minute opus picks you up by the throat and drags you, kicking and screaming, through the mystical and ominous forests of Hobart.

Beyond the music itself the artwork makes this album all the more attractive, the booklet is filled with panoramic views of fog-laden woodlands thereby fulfilling all the desires you could possibly have in the purchase of an album under such name.
The bottom line is, Striborg’s Ghostwoodlands is a putrid bog of pseudo-psychedelic black metal. As to its bad reviews, Sin Nanna is obviously self-indulgent, arguably to the point where his music is pure self-obsessed trash, but is it all that bad? No, not at all, its actually quite enjoyable when you put your mind to it. And ask yourself one thing, doesn’t psychadelia entail self-indulgence? Listen to any of the psychedelic/noise masters like Merzbow, The Boredoms or Acid Mother’s Temple and tell me they are not overtly self indulgent. All in all, if you like dark, brooding and most of all distorted sadistic black metal then Ghostwoodlands, could, nay, should make you a very happy camper (or I guess in this case, a shaking-squealing-paralyzed-with-fear camper)