Album/EP

The Ghost Inside – Searching for Solace (Album Review)

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Apr 12, 2024

7 min read

The Ghost Inside – Searching For Solace
Released: April 19^th, 2024

Lineup:

Jonathan Vigil // Vocals
Jim Riley // Bass
Andrew Tkaczyk // Drums
Zach Johnson // Guitars
Chris Davis // Guitars

The Ghost Inside online:

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Some bands forge a pretty damn respectable, and in many cases, long-running career pumping out exactly what their fans want, album after album, live show after live show. And that’s what we have here.

This band has been around, in one form or another, for no less than two decades (taking a three-year hiatus in the mid-late 2010s following their bus accident), and this is their sixth full-length studio album. Their very consistent sound runs the gamut between melodic heavy rock and metalcore, and they have pounded this formula, to great effect, for the entirety of their career.

There are no attempts to reinvent the metalcore wheel here. Such a feat is close to impossible in such a heavily defined sub-genre anyway, with only a small handful of bands globally managing to truly break new ground. Searching for Solace is a ‘stick with what you know’ release through and through, and they do it damnably well. Much to the delight of their legion of fans worldwide.

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All of the tried and true metalcore trappings are present here in droves – it’s nice and heavy where it needs to be (for example, opener ‘Going Under’ signals the album’s intentions in no uncertain terms as it veritably bursts from the speakers. Check out the appropriately titled ‘Wrath’ too), the heavy parts featuring tasty unclean/howled vocals, segueing into the inevitable clean, soaring choruses that are guaranteed to gets their fans singing along and pumping their horns at the sky. Especially in a live setting (catch them supporting Parkway Drive in September).

At the same time, within the defined boundaries of the metalcore sub-genre, this band manages to provide some very welcome dynamics and variation across the course of the eleven tracks on offer here. Not only is there a clear delineation between the heavy and melodic sections, TGI also slam the occasional thrashy section into the mix. At the other end of the scale, there are quieter moments (the surprisingly effective, emotional power ballad ‘Cityscapes’) subtle touches of electronica (‘Wash it Away’.) and even some clean electric/acoustic elements (‘Breathless’).

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Different again is the slow to mid-tempo grind of ‘Death Grip’ which gives a solid argument for being named the album’s best cut. So, while this band certainly taps into a formula, they do so while managing not to sound too cookie-cutter.

Realistically, if you don’t like this band or this sub-genre of heavy music, Searching for Solace will do little to change your mind. However, if you do, you will adore this album. If you’re a fan, pre-order it, or grab it the day it drops. You will not be disappointed. In fact, you will very likely be inspired to wack it on your ‘top albums of 2024’ list at the end of the year.