Review Summary: He who said no man is an island never listened to this.
Ghost Brigade is a band from Finland that took the depressive rock sound from Katatonia and further improved it by adding influences from doom metal, death metal, black metal and post-rock. Isolations Songs is their second album which as the name suggests offers ten songs of solitude and melancholy.
With their first album the band had already shown great maturity in songwriting ability which they have developed even more with this album. The riffs are often very melancholic and melodic but there are also some mid paced chugging death metal like riffs and some black metal like tremolo picked riffs as well but without any distortion. The production is very clear. There are a lot of memorable catchy riffs which flow perfectly from one section to another as the songs progress.
Keyboards are present throughout the album. They create a rather melancholic atmosphere through simple repetition. However, there is no extensive keyboard solo like Amorphis or Eternal Tears of Sorrow. The keyboards are only used to give the songs further emotional edge. Some mournful cello can also be heard in one of the songs. Drums are very varied in this album. While there aren't many blast beats, drummer Veli-Matti Suihkonen mixes up his pace perfectly and also uses fills where needed to take the songs forward. During the sections with repetitive his dynamic drumming prevents the music from getting monotonous.
The vocals in this album are brilliant. Manne Ikonen's growls are powerful and emotional. The somewhat melodic growls convey both anger and despair at the some time and are also very catchy. Similarly, the clean vocals are also very catchy and melodic. Even though the clean vocals are melodic they never get as whiny as Jonas Renkse. The lyrics are very well written and thought provoking. The simplistic yet somewhat poetic lyrics are very introspective and deals with sorrow and hope in a rather existential manner.
All the songs here have their own unique identity. There are heavier songs that only use growls as well as softer songs that only use clean vocals. Some songs also use both styles of vocals through soft-heavy dynamic. There are songs that also slowly develops tension and there is even an instrumental piece which is better than bands like God Is An Astronaut or Explosions in the sky has ever done. Despite such different structures, there is no weak song in this album.
Ghost Brigade has excelled at whatever they have tried to do without ever making anything sound out of place. With this album the band has crafted ten very emotional and memorable songs that are capable of resonating with you in a deeper level. This album is bound become a personal favourite among the lonely souls. If you like your metal depressive and want something different than super repetitive dsbm and doom metal look no further. Enjoy your isolation in style with Isolation songs.
