Until Fear No Longer Defines Us - Ghost Brigade (2011)

 ALBUM REVIEW

While listening to Ghost Brigade for the first time, at the Amorphis gig in November 2010 in Islington, it was quite clear that this band had something very special about it. And indeed it really does! With their second album Isolation Songs being an amazing album, the band is now back with a brand new album entitled Until Fear No Longer Defines Us out now via Season of Mist. This album, is a more mature and constructed work than any previous releases from the band, but still lacks some elements from Isolation Songs, which made that album so good. In general, the album gives a gloomy and dark atmosphere, as expected, but it seems as if the sonic explosions which made Ghost Brigade so good in the first place, are not sustained enough and this seems to block the energy of the band from coming out. The songs on this album are almost certainly songs that will sound amazing live and honestly I can’t wait to hear this band again with the arsenal of songs that they now have. Lyrically the band really did a great job with some great lines and very nice passages which fit extremely well with the melodic composure of Ghost Brigade. Production wise, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us is not at the top level! Definitely not a bad production, but it feels as if many sonic elements are lacking the power and amplitude they really need to become impressive! To sum up, Ghost Brigade’s latest effort is a good album which didn’t disappoint, despite the fact that I still consider Isolation Songs to be a better album on the over-all. However, this album only makes me really eager to hear the songs live and see what Ghost Brigade can provide with the next album!

Favourite song out of the album is Clawmaster, which is also the first track that we got to hear from the album. This song is an amazing combination of everything that is good in Ghost Brigade! There is atmosphere, feeling, energy and some really great lyrics which all together, combined with the talent of Ghost Brigade, make this an excellent song!

Until Fear No Longer Defines Us: 8/10    

Posted by Nick 

Amorphis - 11 Nov 2010 (Islington Academy)

As a few of you probably already know, last time Amorphis was in the UK was also the first time they were in the UK, and the only show that they had scheduled was in the Underworld in Camden, London. That particular show sold out a few weeks before the gig and people from all across the UK came to see it. This was not the case today. Having already played gigs in Manchester and Glasgow, tonight Amorphis faced a Londonian crowd that seemed to enjoy the gig till the last second. However I will be describing that later because before Amorphis two other bands made it to the stage. First to face the crowd was Ghost Brigade from Finland. I wasn’t particularly familiar with this band but I have to say that I liked what I heard and saw. This band has some great dark, gloomy vocals as well as nice growls. The melodic interchanges that happen during the songs are very interesting and it kind of reminds me of the early Anathema era. The atmospheric passages are very well executed and the feeling that the band gives toward the crowd is very strong. It sometimes reminded me of the My Dying Bride kind of atmosphere that you get at a MDB gig.  Towards the end of the set the energy that the guys were giving out was amazing and the crowd that was there, despite their little number, seemed to enjoy it.  Next on stage we had a completely different style of metal and a completely different culture too. Have you ever heard of Middle Eastern Heavy Metal? If yes: then well done. If no: shame on you. Not to worry though, Orphaned Land is here to teach you everything about it. The band came up with a good energy but the technical problems seemed to bring them down a bit. The band from Israel has some very strong influences from their traditional music and it does give a different colour to the whole thing since the wide use of the somehow oriental melodies and harmonies reminds you of the Middle East instantly. This can be quite a pleasant thing but it can also be very annoying if this is not your cup of tea...or pint of beer. Towards the end of the set the band overcame the technical problems and really managed to carry the whole academy with them which was very pleasant. And then it was time for the headliner of the night. As always Amorphis were atmospherically beautiful. The set list was composed from a few songs from Skyforger, such as My Sun and Skyforger, but also by tracks from albums from the Koskinen era such as Alone and My Kantele with My Kantele along with Silver Bride being performed during the encore. Tomi Joutsen(Vocals) really gave everything he could, despite the flu that was torturing him, and so did Tomi Koivusaari(Guitar) and the rest of the guys. The voice of Joutsen has many times been described as the best thing that ever happen to Amorphis and I think it might be true. Overall a classic performance by this amazing band, which I particularly enjoyed and I believe so did the crowd, which was awesome. The amazing thing about Amorphis’ crowd is that it is a very diverse crowd, which is kind of nice. I was particularly impressed by a man in his 60s'(not your average metalhead grandpa) wearing some sort of “suit jacket” on the front of the stage giving out everything he had and clearly loving it! Hopefully we’ll all be doing the same when we get to that age.

Amorphis: 19/20

Orphaned Land: 17/20

Ghost Brigade 17/20

Posted by Nick