Review by Dom Vigil
With more and more bands emerging each year, the hardcore scene is more saturated than ever, making it hard for newer artists to really stand out and create a sound that is all their own. Until We Are Ghosts, however, manage to do exactly that with their newest album, Bitterseed. Unlike most hardcore bands, Until We Are Ghosts find uniqueness in slower beginnings for the majority of the tracks on this album as well as mellow musical interludes throughout the record. But while that definitely sets them apart from most acts in their genre, the slower moments in some of their songs might not be for all fans of hardcore music.
While there aren’t necessarily any obviously weak tracks on Bitterseed, the album does seem to lose some of its energetic momentum with the instrumental breaks in the songs and throughout the rest of the record in general. A lot of the tracks on this album (“Bitterseed” and “The Deserter” for example) start off with instrumental or slow intros, which differs from many bands similar to Until We Are Ghosts, making some of the songs hard to get into until they really kick in with the rest of the band and vocals to back up the soft guitar tones. That being said, though, the vocals are definitely the high point on Bitterseed, especially on the record’s third track “Wearing Thin,” which is arguably one of the best songs on this album and starts off fast-paced and energetic with vocals kicking in right at the beginning. Rob Anders’ screams are very similar to The Ghost Inside, making the band a very interesting listen with their different sound backing him up.
Despite the fact that it took me a couple of listens to really get into Bitterseed, the album is definitely worth the listen, especially for fans of hardcore. It’s especially nice to actually listen to a new band that doesn’t just sound like every other act in their genre, and Until We Are Ghosts really does accomplish that with this record.
Rating: 3/5
Listen to “Wearing Thin”