Review Summary: Do you feel that? The scars all over my hands from crawling out. Of this hell that I've been in.
Isn’t it weird how someone can literally take up every second of your life and then suddenly they become like smoke and fade away. I had to come to terms with losing my best friend/wife after a long time together. It’s not every day your whole planned existence crumbles and your left in a two-bedroom apartment with two kids thinking WTF happened.
Such is life.
People come and go, music doesn’t though. I’ve said it many times before but when music hits me in the
feels there isn’t a lot that can happen for me to fall out of love with it. Ghost Chant hit me right where it hurts, repeatedly. This is lame, but it truly feels like their songs were
written for me, or maybe to help me. I ain’t that self-centered though, I know that is not the case but bear with me, please.
‘Paradise’ was the first track I ever heard from the lads, and despite my confusion as to what Counterparts song I was listening to, I fell in love. It’s a metalcore lovefest filled with riffing guitars, drums that go all around the kit and a vocal performance that slaps you in the face with desperation. This is Ghost Chant at their peak, melodic metalcore that is packed to the brim with emotion. Don’t get me wrong, there are A LOT of bands who do this, but not a lot do it better.
‘Currents’ is a self-reflective look at the end of a relationship. To me it’s an obvious counterpoint to my own relationships that have broken down, but it could apply to any kind. The clean vocals are soothing whilst portraying nothing but misery. The lead work throughout the EP brings in a lot of pop-punk flavor and the reliance on breakdowns isn’t the top priority for Ghost Chant. Whilst they do know how to get
brutal it’s not your standard chuggy chuggy riffing. It’s filled with melodies and chords and some very impressive drumming leading to a mixture of pop-punky, metalcorey, emoy goodness.
The words here are the main reason I keep coming back. I felt every single one of them. They are honest and open but still enough room there for you to interpret them as you will:
Knocking back drinks and dwelling on you
But hey, I've found comfort in the simplest of things
I no longer wonder if it's you when my phone rings
I embraced the quiet, I embraced the truth
That you're now okay I can go on without you
Ghost Chant provide me with everything I need from music. They make me dance and move. They make me sit down and reflect on past loves and people who have faded from my memory. But most importantly they make me smile and think, music
does save.