Israeli musician Vlad Shusterman began exploring his influences in the 2000s playing goth metal, indie pop and big beat techno with several local unsigned bands. Expanding to black metal and ambient bass soon after, he started combining all his influences with Ghost Bike. Ghost Bike released several EPs and full lengths from 2009 to 2019, each new release more ambitious and experimental. During this time Shusterman started the folk noir/post-metal project Cruel Wonders with Tamar Singer (Zeresh, Necromishka) who previously lent her vocals to Ghost Bike. Cruel Wonders’debut Gentle Ocean was released March 2017 and has elements of acoustic doom, cinematic metal, darkwave, neofolk, post-industrial, gloomgaze and post-metal. Cruel Wonders is working on a new EP to be released independently.