Review Summary: A natural progression for a band that ascends even further on its upward climb
Much like the cold, towering mountain reaching towards the sky on the cover of this album, The Ghost Inside have been on an upward climb over the past few years. While their debut didn't show much to set them apart from other metalcore acts, something changed with 2010's
Returners. There was something new in their sound, something that added a much needed variation to the formula of metalcore they were playing. Fast forward two years and add a new member whose talents only further spearhead this climb, and you have their new effort
Get What You Give.
When the album starts, it is rather decieving to the listener. "This Is What I Know About Sacrifice" opens the album similar to how Returners started out, except instead of being an instrumental it serves as a brief introduction full of breakdowns and leads into "Outlive", where the album really kicks off. Frontman Jonathan Vigil tears through the microphone as the band follow suit with crushing riffs and former For The Fallen Dreams drummer Andrew Tkaczyk only further heightens the intensity of the music as the bands new drummer. Being the primary songwriter for his former band and one of the most talented drummers in modern metalcore he capitalizes on the bands newfound melodic sound with another stellar drum performance on this album.
Apart from the further progression of the melodic aspect of their sound,
Get What You Give also introduces clean vocals to the bands formula. Used sparingly and tastefully done, they don't bring the songs down at all and make them even more enjoyable. "Engine 45" and "Dark Horse" both feature excellent clean vocal sections with the former ending the song with an extreme sense of melody without sacrificing how intense it was building up to be and the latter featuring arguably the best chorus on the album. The addition of clean vocals changes things up from Vigil's screaming and saves the album from falling into the problem that
Returners had with too much sounding the same. This aspect is where
Get What You Give is very successful, in the fact that the band stepped out of their comfort zone this time around and improved their formula on all fronts.
Another aspect of this album that should be noted is its production. For their third studio effort, The Ghost Inside enlisted A Day To Remember frontman Jeremy McKinnon as producer and to assist with some vocal sections and I couldnt help but feel his influence all over some points of this album (most noticeable in "Dark Horse") . His production is great though, and at some points the album feels like the band is actually playing on that snowy mountain with the effects that were added in. The vocals, guitars, and drums are all perfect in the mix and although the bass is drowned out in metalcore its rarely at the forefront. Although the band might have drawn some influence from McKinnon, thankfully the music never once sounds like ADTR and they stay true to their sound while improving it in all aspects. The band also brought in Comeback Kid frontman Andrew Neuman on "Face Value", and his guest spot is also very well done with his vocals combining flawlessly with Vigil's as the track descends into one of the best breakdowns on the album towards the end.
When taken into account how the band have progressed over the years,
Get What You Give feels not only like a natural progresson from
Returners but a massive improvement in their sound that sees them heading in the right direction. From the beginning of the album to the very end when the epic melodic riff kicks in at the last minute of "Test The Limits", the album is filled to the brim with melody and intensity that easily makes it the best in their discography so far. A lot of the songs here will no doubt work just as well in their live shows, and although the breakdowns might turn some people away from this most of them are well placed and don't take away from the music. With an excellent production and the addition of one of the most talented drummers in modern metalcore resulting in the improvement of all the aspects of their sound, The Ghost Inside only further continue their upward climb with
Get What You Give.
