I Am Ghost – Those We Leave Behind
Filed under: Album Reviews by Chris15 Comments »
I Am Ghost are instantly familiar. Their sound brings to mind several other bands, for better or worse. I’m thinking My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold, Aiden…even a bit of Bullet For My Valentine. A heady mix, and for some, incredibly exciting.
For others, it’ll sound like absolute hell. Sorry about that.
But they do enough of their own to carve a niche, despite the intense similarities. Ignoring the attempt at a ‘haunting’ intro (a gaspy female vocal, talking about nothing in particular, easily skippable), first-track-proper “Don’t Stop Now’ could easily be a pre-’Three Cheers’ My Chem thttp://crowdsurfer.net/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=615rack. ‘Those We Leave Behind’ is almost indistinguishable from the aforementioned Welsh metallers. However, ‘Those…’ is still a quality track; very metal, considered-yet-harsh vocals, and flurries of kick drums.
Lyrically, I Am Ghost don’t stray to far from what can be expected from this type of band. Full of romanticised goth stereotypes – hearts, blood, love, death – you know the sort…but they are still well put together, and it’s obvious that some thought has gone into them. Steve Juliano’s vocals are versatile, and fit the mood perfectly. His is a confident voice, without sounding too studio-polished (see: Shinedown), and still with the ability to carry even the slowest songs on here.
‘Bone Garden’ is, in my opinion, the best song on here. It encapsulates all the positives from elsewhere on the album, and best represents the band. “Saddest Story Never Told” bring I Am Ghost into ballad territory…and it works.
The rest of the album keeps the quality high, whilst not really doing much different…there are a few attempts at originality, and it all goes down well, but most of the tracks here kind of blend into one after the first minute or so. But that shouldn’t detract too much from your opinion…everything here is made with heart, and is polished without sounding false. There’s obvious talent in the band, and I’d urge any fan of the bands mentioned to pick it up immediately. Yes, they sound a bit like Avenged…but in the absence of a truly good Avenged Sevenfold album in years, this could be ideal.
I’ll admit something here; it’s difficult to write about an album that is consistently good. I don’t mean ‘incredible, astounding’ kind of good…I just mean Good. Competent. Better Than Average. Especially with specific genre albums, that tend to follow a pre-set pattern for the tracks.
The reason for this is because, by the middle of the album, you’ve said everything that can be said. Saying the same points again, and relating them to the second half of the album – no matter how much they fit – feels lazy, which results in odd little tangents like this. I hope you enjoyed it.
Anyway…to conclude…I Am Ghost have produced a great album. It isn’t an instant classic, but it is instantly likeable, and doesn’t become stale. I’ll be honest…it’s much better than I expected.
Rating: 
