Gathering of Souls by The Guildmaster

The core lineup of the first album The Knight and the Ghost (2020) featured Rafael Pacha as a multi-instrumentalist, with an arsenal including many folk instruments of different nationalities in the realm of “guitars”, international winds and percussion, Ton Scherpenzeel on keyboards, Marco Bernard on Shuker bass, Kimmo Pörsti on drums and percussion, and a long list of collaborations and guests, notably Alessandro Di Benedetti on keyboards, Rubén Álvarez on electric guitar, and Manoel Macía on baroque guitar.

The lineup changes for the second album Liber de Dictis (2022), where Alessandro Di Benedetti joins the core lineup (which remains the same for the third album discussed in this post), replacing Ton Scherpenzeel on keyboards, and all guests except Rubén Álvarez on electric guitar and Manoel Macía on baroque guitar no longer appear.

The lineup for the third album Gathering of Souls stays the same, but among all the guests Paula Pörsti on vocals is present from the previous work, and others are added: Yogi Lang, Nick Markham and John Wilkinson on vocals, Giovanni Mazzotti on flute, Alfonso Romero on Chapman Stick, and Tony Riveryman on electric guitar.

The album consists of 8 tracks, 5 of which are about 5 to 7 minutes long, the remaining three about 10 to 12 minutes. There are 4 fully instrumental tracks and 4 sung ones, with long instrumental sections. 

The Crusade of Earl Birger is characterized, like many tracks on the record if not all, by fantastic winds and classical guitar—here with a slight gypsy accent—but the piece is mainly driven by a beautiful medieval sound made of bagpipes and percussion, with softer and more intense sections when excellent drums and bass come in and the tempo rises in intensity, with great sound research. The mood turns more rock, drums and bass draw a pressing beat that soon flows back into a light, suspended mood. Beautiful track.

Where Are You? is one of the longest tracks on the album. It starts with (beautiful) acoustic guitar with an engaging melody, and the medieval folk returns with bagpipes, flutes, drums and strings in a play of rhythms that goes on for a long time, over which the excellent winds weave wonderful virtuoso lines following big guitar chords. Nice intersections and harmonies. The rhythm is then marked by the drums in the choral phase; all the musicians together give emphasis to the same theme. Beautiful guitar sounds that manage to emulate a kind of horn. Here the off-beats and groove are gripping, then the keyboards take the spotlight in an alternation of solos and phrasing with the electric guitar. The keyboards show off different sounds with vintage leanings, almost neo-prog (which by now is vintage). Beautiful vocalises over a synth bed, blending with each other and with the sounds, on a light electronic pulse, when the electric piano enters and the melody shifts in a wonderful direction. The tone becomes epic when drums and electric guitar take center stage; I like the drum sounds, deep and intense. The ending is epic and compelling, with a fine guitar solo and new keyboard runs—excellent prog. The closing is beautiful too.

Omnis saltat ad solem is a medieval-style ballad, bright and catchy, with good complexity. The rhythm section on these harmonies is perfectly on point. This is a kind of high-quality rock orchestration. After this fiery phase the mood turns dreamy: nice electric-guitar arpeggios accompanied by light piano, and then the blues rock arrives, very nice, with the guitar just aggressive enough and powerful drums that don’t shy away from using crashes for emphasis. When all the instruments join, it becomes a sort of medieval rock that leads into the last phase where the flutes briefly return to the fore, and then comes the epic closing, with medieval rock and the electric guitar up front. Beautiful composition. 

Blood and Oblivion is the longest track. It begins with a fantastic piano intro, an emotional, almost moving melody, enhanced by splendid winds and an excellent vocal part, stylish and greatly performed. At the end of the verse the acoustic guitar introduces a section with an almost jazz-rock rhythm, an essential drum base over which guitar, keyboards and bass draw a really beautiful overall groove. The bass, which I’ve mentioned too little, is perfect here as in the other tracks. Keyboards and guitar take the spotlight, alternating solos. And then wonderful choirs arrive, blending with keyboards and winds, flutes that make you dream, the piano. Then the beautiful bass rekindles the mood and the nice jazzy section returns. A fine electric-piano figure leaves room for the beautiful guitar in an intersection of soft atmospheres that flows into a new melodic interlude based on flutes and piano. Acoustic guitar and keyboard give us a new interlude of harmonies, followed by a return to the medieval mood, with deep percussion and beautiful vocalises, and the initial singing returns: a beautiful, engaging song with a beautiful voice. The finale belongs to the guitar, with sounds that sometimes recall Hackett’s style and great taste.  

Lo Prometido es Deuda is a beautiful instrumental with interweavings of acoustic guitar and piano, with a gorgeous bass that blends medieval harmonies and emotion, and classical sections but also rock moments of good intensity; the keyboards and piano are beautiful. A good linkage between sections with different tempos.

In Mary the Jewess the overall mood is great, with fantastic strings and voice—actually, voices. Fine rock fused with folk melodies that reappear in some phases. The guitar is always a plus when it comes in with its solos. The second part is a fine, complex prog rich in nuances, with a partly vintage sound. Beautiful track and beautiful song, with a bass always precise and drums that give their best, a warm voice with a fabulous performance, with its blues timbre—convincing, credible—and once again, I repeat, guitars, keyboards, strings and flutes at the TOP. 

Luonto puhuu is a ballad with something Celtic or Arabic, with beautiful voices and percussion and excellent off-beats. The guitar work throughout is very good, and the drums are also very good here, perfectly on target. Nice variation on the acoustic guitar followed by excellent winds and percussion in different keys that follow one another until the intense opening figure returns, with voices and percussion but on a more rock tempo. Not mentioned enough are the bass and the keyboard work as a sound substrate throughout the track.  

Sea and Sky closes the album, delighting us once again with acoustic guitar, winds and a beautiful passionate vocal. The flute takes us into a romantic atmosphere and then the voice returns with the moment closest to a song form on the whole record, with the voice and beautiful counter-singing. Nice central instrumental section until the sung part returns, the voice, on a beautiful melody. A fantastic guitar solo closes the album in grand style. 

Beautiful artwork by Ed Unitsky.

A very ambitious album with excellent production and a very interesting mix of international folk, played by musicians of exceptional talent. An album that convinced me; I’ll go listen to the previous ones too.

My Version

Label: Seacrest Oy – SCR-1047, Seacrest Oy – SCR - 1047
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: Finland
Released: 16 May 2025

Tracklst

1. The Crusade of Earl Birger (5:49)

2. Where Are You? (10:29)

3. Omnis saltat ad solem (5:55)

4. Blood and Oblivion (12:39)

5. Lo Prometido es Deuda (7:11)

6. Mary the Jewess (10:49)

7. Luonto puhuu (5:46)

8. Sea and Sky (5:36)

Length 64:14

Lineup

- Rafael Pacha - saz, recorders, crumhorn, classical, acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, bodhrán, electric violin, mandolin, zither, keyboards, hulusi, cuatro, viola da gamba, dulcimer, zither, percussion, whistles, violin

- Alessandro di Benedetti - keyboards, vocals

- Marco Bernard - Shuker basses

- Kimmo Pörsti - drums and percussion, additional keyboards

With:

- Paula Pörsti - vocals and vocalises

- Yogi Lang - vocals

- Nick Markham - vocals

- Giovanni Mazzotti - flute

- Alfonso Romero - Chapman Stick

- John Wilkinson - vocals

- Tony Riveryman - electric guitar