Gandalf’s Fist: G�shollow

Four long years have passed since we felt the force of Gandalf’s Fist, a medieval space-rock band (their words, not mine…) who have built up a reputation for creating some of the most adventurous and intentionally quirky progressive based rock to come out of the UK in quite some time. The quirk factor often arrives from the band’s Englishness, expressed through musical atmosphere and the lyrical situations we find ourselves in as we enter their world… oh and badgers, they do like badgers.

G�shollow is no different, a wide, varied and yet focussed journey seldom taking the most obvious of routes as here, in the frigid months of the year, we enter the treacherous territory of ‘the Christmas album’. But fear not faithful traveller, if you have become one of the Fist’s party on a previous adventure, this is safer terrain than the worrying banner it carries suggests. The band themselves do go on to expand that in effect, their tenth album (I think, it’s not easy to know what with the numerous little releases they’ve put out over the years), is more of a sojourn into a time and a place that just happens to occur as geese are getting fat and pennies are put in an old man’s hat (the lyrics at one point confirm these activities), rather than sitting on the knee of a rotund, red faced, bearded chap that has a penchant for mince pies.

Bringing on board three of the band’s previous songs that highlight (I was going to say celebrate, but these tales are a little dark to be celebrations) the colder times of the year, both the excellent “Winter’s Mourning� and “Witchwood� have been remastered, while “Hearth And Ale� receives a new version entirely, ensuring there’s a cohesion to events. The concept finds the album opening on the eve of the Solstice, when the lord of G�shollow Manor strays into the Witch of the Woods’ forbidden garden, being cursed into animal form in the process. His own hunting party then catches and cooks him for the feast. From there, a frozen maid claims a soul every winter, a woodsman strikes a fatal bargain with the witch, and the Witchwood comes to collect its debts with wrathful vengeance.� Merry Christmas!

As ever, it’s the clever juxtaposition of what could have been a twee starting point but bringing it into a much more nuanced, adult world that makes this compelling listening. Musically, the effect is doubled, the wonderful voice of Keri Farish embellishing some of the more folkier elements as the band’s main-man Dean Marsh (also lead vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin, bouzouki, keys & synths and Melodeon Ice-Age Mammoth-Flute (I’m not making this stuff up, they are…)) weaves a way of wonder. However, as early as track two - the title track itself - a crunch of rifftastic proportions suggests that Gandalf’s Fist have been swept aside as Black Sabbath enter this world to dominate all. It makes for a clever and welcome counterpoint to some of the album’s more gentle and meandering wonders, “Winter’s Mourning� fragile and beautiful, “Frostmage’s Jaunt� prancing and dancing as though a certain Mr. Anderson who likes to Tull his Jethro, had entered the room.

“Harvest� begins pensive but it’s the album’s second riff-fest and mighty it is too, this time embellished with a melodic backdrop that gives way to Uilleann Pipes and another wonderful vocal from Farish. In fact, with Stefan Hepe on drums, Ben Bell on all manner of keys and bass and Luke Severn adding backing and occasional lead vocals (and Chris Ewan being credited with bargain snack procurement and Goose-Wrangling…) the band are superb throughout. Something confirmed on the ever evolving “Those Wild Winds Of Winter�, which in itself covers so much of this album’s ground.

Gandalf’s Fist never do anything by halves and thankfully, G�shollow follows in that very same all or nothing style. Somehow, the results always manage to become greater than the sum of their already impressive parts. In terms of ‘ranking’ this album, it does feel a little stingy scoring it as 4/5, but even first encountering this collection late in October as I have, there’s no doubt that its charms become much more honed once the night has drawn its veil, something mulled is in your goblet and the fire roars and crackles its approval. In that setting an extra half star can be applied.

Track Listing
1. Woodman’s Carol
2. The G�shollow
3. Winter’s Mourning (Remastered)
4. Frostmage’s Jaunt
5. Harvest
6. Witchwood (Remastered)
7. Hearth & Ale (New Version)
8. Those Wild Winds Of Winter
9. Of Gorse And Grief

Added: October 28th 2026
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Gandalf's Fist Online
Hits: 140
Language: english

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