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I AM GHOST - THOSE WE LEAVE BEHIND
| Ukmusicreview |
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TRACKLISTING Intro: We Dance With Monsters Don't Wake Up Those We Leave Behind Buried Way Too Shallow Bone Garden Saddest Story Never Told Smile of a Jesus Freak So, I guess This Is Goodbye Interlude: Remember This Face, Baby Burn The Bodies To The Ground Rock N' Roll High School Murder Make Me Believe This Is Real They Always Come Back Set Me Free Hailing from Long Beach, California, rockers I AM GHOST return here with second album, ALL WE LEAVE BEHIND, released through Epitaph Records. Whilst not winning any points for uniqueness or earth shattering originality, I AM GHOST certainly have the energy, attitude and passion to impress, unleashing fourteen slabs of hard rocking fury here. The likes of WE DANCE WITH MONSTERS, DON'T WAKE UP and title track ALL WE LEAVE BEHIND pretty much sum up what I Am Ghost are all about, blending heavy riffs, anthemic melodies and pounding drum beats to loudly satisfying effect. Rocking similarly noisy musical ground as the likes of Deftones, Disturbed or Avenged Sevenfold before they went all Nickelback on us, I Am Ghost deftly cross pollinate post-hardcore, screamo and metal to stadium rocking effect. SADDEST STORY NEVER TOLD ups the anthemic tendencies with the five piece barging their way into your heart with a mixture of emotional tenacity and sheer volume. SMILE OF A JESUS FREAK has elements of Glassjaw in its blending of angry diatribes, eighties metal guitar freak outs and melodic intent whilst with SO, I GUESS THIS IS GOODBYE, they veer from acoustic spanish classical guitars to violent hardcore with barely a second thought. REMEMBER THIS FACE, BABY belongs in downtempo electronica territory with programmed beats and ambient piano chords whilst BURN THE BODIES TO THE GROUND, ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL MURDER and THEY ALWAYS COME BACK return to hard rocking territory, all crushing riffs and anthemic choruses designed for arenas. With MAKE ME REAL, I Am Ghost venture to more adventurous sonic territory and make inroads into prog, briefly metamorphasising into a more mainstream baiting version of the Mars Volta. SET ME FREE ends things much as they started, with I Am Ghost kicking up a storm of noisy guitars and raging melody, Steve Juliano crooning and screaming himself hoarse one last time. Nothing new or particularly original perhaps, but for fired up and energised modern rock sounds, I Am Ghost provide an impressive sounding soundtrack, THOSE WE LEAVE BEHIND an album well worth investigation....full text |
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| Sputnikmusic |
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Vampire jokes aside, I Am Ghost used to be a fairly passable band. The female vocals and violin work of Kerith Marcantonio did a lot to keep the band from sounding as flat and lifeless as the countless other post-hardcore bands that, to be honest, probably would not exist if it wasn't for MySpace. The only other things that really set the band apart from their peers was the slightly above average guitar playing of Gabe Iraheta, and the fairly decent drumming of Ryan Seaman. Sadly, all three of these members (as well as their bassist but this is more or less irrelevant since he contributed very little and was rarely heard) left the band shortly after the release of their previous album, Lover's Requiem. So, the band headed into the studio, sans three of their major components, to record their follow up to Lover's Requiem. The resulting album, Those We Leave Behind, can best be described as a swirling torrent of mediocrity, completely void of any originality or variety. Vocalist and lyricist Steve Juliano has done absolutely nothing to improve in any way, shape, or form on this album. The lyrics still revolve around vampire imagery and...well...not much else. Whenever Steve gets "inspiration" from areas other than his unhealthy obsession with the undead, he comes up with gems like "These wounds arrive from watching you and I/Don't wish to give our last goodbye" and "I am an addict burning winter, a closed-door annihilator/Mother***er burned who was married in your bone garden." The vocals are still just as underwhelming as they have always been. The singing comes through his nose a good 70% of the time, and the harsh vocals are performed in an almost gasping/wheezing manner. There are a few female vocals thrown in, but they really just seem to have been thrown in at the last minute in an attempt to make up for the loss of Kerith Unfortunately they feel largely forced and out of place. So with all this disappointment in the vocal department, you would think they would do their best to find some musicians that where comparable to the ones they lost right? Sadly...no....full text |
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| Musicemissions |
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A chilling, Halloween fitting and eerily ambient commencement that matches the haunting touch of Conor O'berst in the title track from his Casadaga album, introduces Los Angeles' I Am Ghost through 'We Dance With Monsters'. Before 'Don't Wake Up', sets off with a shuddering guitar catapulted instrumental assault and frantic lead vocals. Followed by screeching backing vocals that would wake the dead, giving spice and gnarl to this ebb and frothing flash from a foraging metal/post hardcore, Timoteo Rosales III led quartet. An intense, but focused Chiodos and Thursday conjoining touch makes 'Bone Garden', biting, eerie and emotive, as this tension releasing quartet speaks of vengeance and redemption, but what is most important is that you can tell that they mean what they communicate. Songs like this are given extra impetus for the fact that they are slotted alongside slow building, reflective and regretful sojourns like ‘Saddest Story Never Told', whereby the high pulsing percussion beats of Justin McCarthy impart feeling, mood and rhythm. Melody is not a complete stranger to this eerie, mood tossing bunch of alt.rocking, metal skirting renegades. A case in point is 'So, I Guess This Is Goodbye', building from a Mediterranean acoustic trickle into a big riffing, ball-swinging harmony parade. Timoteo's vocals soften a little to take on a yearning slant, but in his favour it only just gets the Sap-ometer moving....full text |
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