mht
07/18/08, 03:28 PM
Ghostlimb - Bearing and Distance
Record Label: Adagio 830 / Level Plane
Release Date: June 24, 2008
I could very easily start and end this review in about two sentences. The first being, if you are angry, so angry that you want to fight your friends and murder your parents with a ball peen hammer, then you'll like this album. Then the follow up sentence would be, go out and buy this album on CD, vinyl, grab a couple shirts and blast it all summer long in any social environment you can surround yourself in. That pretty much sums it all up here. But for everyone that needs just a little bit more with their serving of heavy, pissed off, and loud hardcore-punk styled tunes... the rest of this is for you.
Ghostlimb's sophomore release Bearing and Distance, really brings something raw for the summer of 2008. Ghostlimb is a three piece powerhouse that hails from somewhere out in California land under the mighty rule of their Graf Orlock loving Governator (for those keeping score: Graf Orlock and Ghostlimb share the same heavy toned vocalist/guitar player, so if you never heard Graf Orlock, you probably wouldn't get the Governator reference... in which case, you probably should also go listen to Graf Orlock right after you are done reading this). Anyway, Bearing and Distance starts off at about the same pace as their self-titled debut release, so I was expecting much of the same, at about where most people would think it was either the same album over again or just one big long song. Then, at about the halfway point, the album began to pick up showing Ghostlimb's new elements and maturity as a band. The songs "Ruins" and "Drowned in a Drought" started to display a barrage of nicely utilized blast beats and a crushing back-and-forth guitar and bass battle while the vocals began to show a nice touch of range. As the vocals picked up, I also felt the production got better; this was like that mediocre (five to seven on the rating scale) female you see out at the bar, as you drink more and more Pabsts Blue Ribbon or Bud Heavies, the girl gets hotter and by the end of the night, you want to spray your love juices all over her. In a nutshell (no pun intended), that is this album (kind of awesome in way, really).
A few other standout tracks included "Laughter" and "Bridge Above the Water," where these songs displayed - dare I say - a little softer side of the hard and loudness. With this album though, I am not sure a "soft side" is even possible, but the guitar work shown on these tracks displayed sounds that could fit nicely in any pop-punk/melodic hardcore style of play. The end result for this being that it added a nice touch of catchiness near the end that kind of eased me from the hard, wild and very fun roller coaster ride the album was taking me on. The album eventually comes to a close with the longest and what seems to be their most emotional song on the record, which leaves me in suspense with an awesome complex breakdown (who would have thought that was possible with today's music?) that makes me curious for the next chapter of Ghostlimb's direction. The final result of this album though puts Ghostlimb in the front of the pack in today's hardcore/punk world.
The only gripe I would have with this band (and I think others might have too) is not specifically with this album, but more so some love on the East coast. I know gas isn't cheap and touring is not easy, and hopefully someday in Ghostlimb's career, everyone on the east can see them in a live setting. I am jealous at the kids on the West coast for having a band like this at your disposal, because Bearing and Distance makes for a great summer anthem.
Graf Orlock, dudes, being angry
myspace.com/ghostlimb (http://www.myspace.com/ghostlimb)
Record Label: Adagio 830 / Level Plane
Release Date: June 24, 2008
I could very easily start and end this review in about two sentences. The first being, if you are angry, so angry that you want to fight your friends and murder your parents with a ball peen hammer, then you'll like this album. Then the follow up sentence would be, go out and buy this album on CD, vinyl, grab a couple shirts and blast it all summer long in any social environment you can surround yourself in. That pretty much sums it all up here. But for everyone that needs just a little bit more with their serving of heavy, pissed off, and loud hardcore-punk styled tunes... the rest of this is for you.
Ghostlimb's sophomore release Bearing and Distance, really brings something raw for the summer of 2008. Ghostlimb is a three piece powerhouse that hails from somewhere out in California land under the mighty rule of their Graf Orlock loving Governator (for those keeping score: Graf Orlock and Ghostlimb share the same heavy toned vocalist/guitar player, so if you never heard Graf Orlock, you probably wouldn't get the Governator reference... in which case, you probably should also go listen to Graf Orlock right after you are done reading this). Anyway, Bearing and Distance starts off at about the same pace as their self-titled debut release, so I was expecting much of the same, at about where most people would think it was either the same album over again or just one big long song. Then, at about the halfway point, the album began to pick up showing Ghostlimb's new elements and maturity as a band. The songs "Ruins" and "Drowned in a Drought" started to display a barrage of nicely utilized blast beats and a crushing back-and-forth guitar and bass battle while the vocals began to show a nice touch of range. As the vocals picked up, I also felt the production got better; this was like that mediocre (five to seven on the rating scale) female you see out at the bar, as you drink more and more Pabsts Blue Ribbon or Bud Heavies, the girl gets hotter and by the end of the night, you want to spray your love juices all over her. In a nutshell (no pun intended), that is this album (kind of awesome in way, really).
A few other standout tracks included "Laughter" and "Bridge Above the Water," where these songs displayed - dare I say - a little softer side of the hard and loudness. With this album though, I am not sure a "soft side" is even possible, but the guitar work shown on these tracks displayed sounds that could fit nicely in any pop-punk/melodic hardcore style of play. The end result for this being that it added a nice touch of catchiness near the end that kind of eased me from the hard, wild and very fun roller coaster ride the album was taking me on. The album eventually comes to a close with the longest and what seems to be their most emotional song on the record, which leaves me in suspense with an awesome complex breakdown (who would have thought that was possible with today's music?) that makes me curious for the next chapter of Ghostlimb's direction. The final result of this album though puts Ghostlimb in the front of the pack in today's hardcore/punk world.
The only gripe I would have with this band (and I think others might have too) is not specifically with this album, but more so some love on the East coast. I know gas isn't cheap and touring is not easy, and hopefully someday in Ghostlimb's career, everyone on the east can see them in a live setting. I am jealous at the kids on the West coast for having a band like this at your disposal, because Bearing and Distance makes for a great summer anthem.
Graf Orlock, dudes, being angry
myspace.com/ghostlimb (http://www.myspace.com/ghostlimb)