The Ghost Inside – Get What You Give

When I think of The Ghost Inside one word comes to mind, consistent. I think most of the people out there who have heard this band know what I mean. This is not just another replica of every other band. No, these guys stand out among the rest of the melodic hardcore bands. Every album brings something new to the table. Get What You Give is no different.

Many bands have tried and failed when trying to incorporate clean vocals into their sound. This time around The Ghost Inside took a crack at it and guess what? It’s not bad, actually I’m impressed. Engine 45 stands out because of it and so does Dark Horse. It brings something different to the sound. As I said before, The Ghost Inside isn’t just another replica. I like their decision, especially since they can pull it off. Jonathan (singer) shows that not only does he scream like a beast, he can sing also.

“All my life I’ve been searching for something, 
To break these chains. To break these chains. 
But I’ll keep swinging…”

As usual their music hits hard, drum fills and heavy riffs beating you until you feel groggy. It’s awesome. The few mellow moments fits perfectly. Never feeling forced and give another dimension to the album. When K.C left (drummer) left I think that many like me were a bit worried. Okay, really worried. He left a big hole to fill. In comes Andrew Tkaczyk, former drummer of For The Fallen Dreams. I never had any doubts that he could do great work behind the kit. K.C is skilled, but so is Andrew and this shows. For example on Thirty Three,  Andrew shows yet again how good of a drummer he really is. To be honest the whole band shines on that song. Teamwork at it’s greatest.

Lyrically they are as good as ever.  The theme of the lyrics deals with everything from self-sacrifice to addiction. Jonathan has stated that much of his inspiration for the lyrics on this album comes from his brother passing away. In the song “White Light” Jonathan deals with his brother passing. “I feel his cold breath on my neck, he’s watching my steps and telling me that I could be next”. That line did hit me really hard. In away it’s a beautiful line about how fragile life is. Top notch lyrics as always.

 

This album sounds massive. Just as before, The Ghost Inside hits you like a train, knocking the shit out of you. I’m amazed how they can push to another level with every album. It just amazing. This will be the album to beat this year, The Ghost Inside just raised the bar even more. I’m so happy, I’ve wanted to hear this album for a long time. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it. Mostly because I’ve been hyping it up in my head. Many times when you do that, you get disappointed. That was not the case this time around. I never thought that they would have clean singing on a album. That together with the lyrics, screams, drum fills, riffs and overall sound production make this a very solid album.

Rating: 4.5/5

Hundredth – When Will We Surrender

This 5 piece band hails from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. When Will We surrender is their first full length album, is it any good? Well let’s see.

Their lyrics revolves around a “never giving up” attitude and to accompany that a very melodic sound. Like many other metalcore/melodic hardcore bands they have the “famous” breakdowns. A must in this genre of music. But the difference between Hundredth and a lot of other bands seems to be that the former uses less breakdowns. Yes, the breakdowns are there but there is not a overuse (or underuse either for that matter). It’s nearly perfect in my mind.

One thing that annoys me about this band is that bassist Michael Raymo is not present. Well ok, he’s there, but you can’t hear it. This is true for a lot of bands in this genre. Although I love this kind of music, I have never really understood why they need a bassist in the first place if he never gets to shine, even if just a little bit. Now that is a minor complaint that can be applied to 99% of all band in this genre. But nevertheless it’s a valid complaint. Drummer Matt Koontz is for the most part just an average drummer that shines from time to time. I would like him to take a little more space in their music, there are some drum fills where he shows what he can do, more of that please.

Alex Blackwell and Andrew Minervini plays guitar in Hundredth. On this record they have the usual chugging and riff combination as most bands in metalcore/melodic hardcore does. No solos are present which can be a bit disappointing for some people, but I feel that the guitars are good enough as they are. They contribute much to Hundredth melodic sound. A good solo would certainly make this band stand out even more but isn’t a necessity to make you remember or like this band.

When it comes to the vocals they are really good. The first time I listen to this band I understood almost every word, which isn’t always the case with such aggressive vocals. But you come to a certain point where singer Chadwick Johnson vocals becomes a bit repetitive, a bit boring actually. Next time around I hope that he has worked a bit on this so that he has a bigger spectrum to play around with. If you listen to this record you might pick up on that the vocals changes in some songs. Well you might actually be right, there are 3  guest vocalists that makes appearances on this record. The first track of the record, “Catalysts” features  Matthew Hasting of MyChildren MyBride. Then we have Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside doing his thing on the track “Desolate”. Last but not least we have Ian Fike of It Prevails on the track “Willows”.

“Catalysts” features Matthew Hasting of MyChildren MyBride who I’m personally not that familiar with. I would say that he makes a decent performance on this song. It’s ok, not more than that.

On “Desolate” Jonathan Vigil makes an appearance. Although I love The Ghost Inside as a band and love Vigils vocals, it’s a bit hard to work out who’s who in this track. Still a great track though.

I love how they make use of Ian Fikes vocals on “Willows”. This song suits him perfectly. I love the lyrics too.

“My Whole Life…I’ve been compared to those around me. Expectations on my shoulder and people to please.
I will no longer sway with the willows. I will stand strong on my own. When everyone lets me down, I will stand strong alone.”

There are tons of melodic hardcore bands out there, but I think what makes Hundredth stand out from the masses are their undeniable passion for their music. This band does not reinvent the wheel by any means, but it’s nonetheless really good music. Remember that this is their first full length album, hopefully they have a lot of time to improve. I think that with a little work these guys can get huge. I’m not kidding, there is something about this record that takes a hold of you and just won’t let go. Although this record can get a bit repetitive or even a little bit cliché for this genre,  it’s full of emotion and that is what saves it. I can’t wait for their next release, keep an eye on these guys, they are on to something great.

Rating: 4 out of 5