Review Summary: The classic Post-Hardcore concept album.
The Ghostship EP has reached a pseudo-legendary status among fans of the genre. It’s the first concept album by The Fall of Troy and technically their only one since Phantom on the Horizon keeps the same lyrics as Ghostship.
The story of the Ghostship goes as follows: The narrator is a sailor on a vessel crossing the ocean. Massive clouds turn the sky dark and the sailors begin to see flashes of something around them. They’re attacked by the ghost of a Spanish Galleon, the Ghostship. They can’t kill the ghosts attacking them and their ship sinks. The narrator is slowly driven insane by the malevolent Black Demon. Finally he succumbs to despair as he reminisces about a woman he used to know.
As one would expect from the Fall of Troy the riffs are the main draw. They’re faster than their later Phantom renditions, just as raw as the riffs on their self titled EP, and as complex as the ones in Doppelgänger. “Part I” has a huge build-up that is well paid off. And my god the chorus has some excellent screaming. “Part IV” is hands down the best song on the EP. The opening lick is incredible and iconic and the lyrics are the most creative and my favorite. You really feel like you’re watching a man go insane. “Part V” concludes the story and goes from energetic to mellow to some of the most crazy moments in The Fall of Troy’s discography. It’s a rollercoaster ride and it is a tremendous ending to the saga.
Now the obvious debate is “Ghostship vs Phantom on the Horizon?” I for one firmly take the stance of Ghostship. The original is raw and rough and just full of character. While Phantom is more complete and has some excellent production and is just a grandiose adventure I think Ghostship captures that feeling of fear better. It’s constantly shocking with screams out of nowhere, very little use of clean vocals (none of the choruses have cleans), and abrupt shifts and quakes. You feel just as disoriented as the narrator on the ship being assaulted. While Phantom played up the atmosphere to darker and creepier levels Ghostship keeps the primal fear at max the entire time and that is something not easily replicated.
The fourth and final song is “Macaulay McCulkin” which crosses the middle ground between their self-titled LP and Doppelgänger. It’s a decent track, nothing really stand out from the usual fare, but the production level is better than the self titled and worse than Doppelgänger. It’s also still got the original short and kind of barking screams that they utilized a lot on the self titled but it has Thomas actually singing like on Doppelgänger. It also has slower and more mellow moments to it that really weren’t seen on the self titled. It’s fascinating to listen to just because of this. It really is the bridge between the two albums.
Overall it’s an excellent demonstration of The Fall of Troy’s DIY attitude that they carry with them to this day. Self recorded, original, and powerful.
