Interviews

'Cityscapes' and The Australian Influence Behind The Ghost Inside's Emotional Album Track

Paul 'Browny' Brown

CEO/Founder and Editor-In-Chief

Apr 18, 2024

7 min read

If you didn't know already, The Ghost Inside has a long-standing relationship with Australia that dates back long before their first-ever tour here; and more recently, they hopped on a plane to exclusively play UNIFY Gathering 2020 - which was their second comeback show after their bus accident in 2015. The feeling is mutual too, we love them more and more with every release and can't wait to see them back down under in September supporting ParkwayDrive.This week though, they're releasing their brand new album Searching For Solace and to build anticipation, Wall Of Sound got to sit down with frontman JonathanVigil to dissect and uproot anecdotes about certain tracks. One song in particular that stuck with me during my initial few spins was the sombre-sounding 'Cityscapes', which was inspired by a tragic call Vigil received while in Australia for The Amity Affliction's Chasing Ghosts Tour in 2012 alongside Architects and Buried in Verona - yep, we're going back a bit kids.

When asked about the song's inspiration, Vigil shared a very personal story about losing his father - just as the tour started in Brisbane - and how the city skyline played a part in the conception.

"That song is about the first day of that Amity Affliction/Architects tour we did. I remember we played the first night, I got to the hotel room and I got a call from someone in my family telling me my father had passed.

I remember looking out at the Brisbane skyline in tears, looking out and not knowing what to do [or] where to go. We had invested too much time, money and effort to get down to Australia to do this tour - we were all excited to go out there with our mates and do this... and then it was like; I didn't know what to do. I lost my father."

The news from home put the vocalist in a difficult position - do you withdraw from the tour and head home to be with family; or do you soldier on, put on a brave face and finish the run? Vigil explained further, revealing:

"My gut was telling me 'Go home dude, go be with your family, this is a time for grieving'. But then in the back of my head, I was thinking 'My Dad is the one who got me into music. He's the one that started me on this path. He's the one that introduced me to music at a young age and he cultivated my love for lyrics and singing'.

I remember him always being so proud that our band had people that looked forward to us playing, especially across the world. The fact we had people in Australia that were looking forward to seeing our band play, I knew I couldn't leave, I knew had to be there and I had to finish the tour.

I unfortunately had to take the next day off because I couldn't even leave bed. I couldn't concentrate. I was just distraught. So we cancelled one show and the next day I got back on the tour, but I just remember 'Cityscapes' is about the Brisbane skyline, looking up at our hotel at the lit-up skyline just thinking about my dad who passed away, and it was tough."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4lpnJa_Y-QLost for words? Yep, me too.The struggles this band have overcome and everything they have been through in their career needs to be commended - the fact they're STILL here after all of it is a testament to their strength and adversity, not to mention their infamous mantra: TRIUMPH over TRAGEDY.I've always said The Ghost Inside have a place in Australia's hearts, and as it turns out, our connection with the band runs deeper than we could have ever imagined.

Interview by Paul ‘Browny’ Brown@brownypaul

‍Check out the full interview on our Patreon.

Searching For Solace is out now via Epitaph Records.

Get it here