The Ghost Inside - Returners
Record Label: Mediaskare Records
Release Date: June 26, 2010
When I hear the phrase “returners” in this context, I immediately visualize an alien takeover and subsequent brain squelching horrors. But that’s not why The Ghost Inside is here. They have not returned to take away your father, nor team up with Sigourney Weaver to embark on a ruthless killing spree, as it was already done with their previous release Fury And The Fallen Ones. If we step away from this wild imagination of mine, we realize that Returners actually represents the cyclic lifestyle of a touring band making do with continuously changing familiarities that they re-encounter.
Their second full-length, Returners is a savory mélange of metalcore, bourgeoning occults, and horrific fantasy. The cavernous, hollow sound of the intro “Walk Away From The World” becomes an instrumental siphon for grave imagery and enchantingly sinister melodies, casting only the darkest shroud over the entire album.
For some of us, music releases often land into the same algebraic equation as movie sequels. Sometimes after the third trial of a film, one’s high expectations are wildly stampeded by primitive efforts. But thankfully The Ghost Inside know how to move skillfully across an unearthly minefield of anarchic guitar riffs and rhythmic blasts throughout every release. And on Returners, songs like “Greater Distance” and “Chrono” are the most deserving of heroic battalions.
The triumphant track “Unspoken” catapults gang vocals into a moral fusion of “give it all, give it all, give it all’s ” that crystallizes the symbolic camaraderie the group has interfaced in a sea of scene sharks, as they brave themselves against an industry of hook-line and sinkers. Not only do they sew the seeds of uniformity, but they also twill the threads of musical rebellion to produce a quilt of abrasively notated coup de tats track per track.
Returners features potent familiars in hardcore, such as ex-Bury Your Dead’s Mat Bruso, and the same emotive style of no-holds-barred lyrical directness that Have Heart prided themselves on. So in the words of vocalist Johnathan Vigil, some albums are “just worth fighting for.”
Surprisingly they have their own unique sound which is neither hardcore nor metalcore, it's in between [the lines] so to speak, just because they aren't playing sweeps and tapping solos, doesn't mean they're cheap.
Surprisingly they have their own unique sound which is neither hardcore nor metalcore, it's in between [the lines] so to speak, just because they aren't playing sweeps and tapping solos, doesn't mean they're cheap.
I see what you did there ;)
I agree. They're kind of doing their own thing. It sounds a little influenced by Misery Signals or For the Fallen Dreams, but it's a separate beast entirely. I thought this was a killer record and that they didn't just go for some big gimmicky breakdown that would hurl them into success.
I agree. They're kind of doing their own thing. It sounds a little influenced by Misery Signals or For the Fallen Dreams, but it's a separate beast entirely. I thought this was a killer record and that they didn't just go for some big gimmicky breakdown that would hurl them into success.
Completely agree man, they do sound a bit like those two bands, but completely different at the same time. It was easily one of the best records in 2010 and a great follow up album, and you're right about how they aren't a gimmick band like the typical post-hardcore screamo scene band like Bring Me The Horizon. They have a unique and recognizable sound that can't be emulated.
Browse Reviews
Write a Review
Alphabetized Listing
Popular Reviews
Best New Music
View Artist Profile
View News Articles
Stream the Music
Buy the Album or MP3s
View Profile Picture
View Signature
Posts: 1,482
View Blog
Follow This Review
More Reviews By This Author