REVIEW: Ghost Thrower – 10 Songs

Artist: Ghost Thrower
Album: 10 songs
Genre: Hardcore/Punk
Label: Equal Vision

This sure has been a rough week for music. Somebody should have told Thursday and Thrice that announcing their break ups within 24 hours of each other is a lot to ask of the fans that grew up on their music. This combined with Alexisonfire’s hiatus, the bands from my childhood are dropping like flies. These bands had such a profound effect on so many people during their relatively lengthy careers, it’s hard to think of a music scene without them around, but I suppose the time had to come eventually, as it does with all bands. However, most people seem to be coping with these developments better than Boston did after hearing the news of Therefore I Am’s break up last year. Therefore I Am had released several albums, and toured the world, but when it came down to it, they would always be a local Boston band, not to mention one of the most universally respected bands in the New England music scene. So naturally, the break up of a band that had grown to become local legends caused quite the ruckus. Thankfully, the guys from Therefore I Am weren’t marking the end of the band as the end of their musical careers, and almost immediately after they played their last few shows as Therefore I Am, there were already several bands rising from the ashes of their former band. The first of which was Ghost Thrower, the new project from guitarist Travis Alexander – later featuring drummer Chris Fernandes, another ex-TIA member – who released their debut, the Get Miserable EP remarkably quickly, which was followed by a record deal with Equal Vision, a rerelease of Get Miserable, and the newest album, Ghost Thrower’s debut full length, 10 Songs. In less than a year, Ghost Thrower has managed to accomplish more than many bands can pull off in their entire career, and there seems to be no end in sight. So while Therefore I Am might not be around anymore, this sort of dedication can’t be stopped.

Those familiar with the Get Miserable EP won’t be surprised with 10 Songs, and should recognize the first five songs as the same songs that were featured on the first EP. Which is actually a pretty cool concept, the fans got to follow the progression of this album from the very beginning, with the first demos, to the final product that we have here. For those that aren’t familiar with Ghost Thrower however, this album features a collection of gritty hardcore punk songs, driven by utter filth and cathartic passion. The music may not be intensely polished and produced, but it’s not supposed to be, this is the kind of music that is written by tapping into the deepest, most horrific and untouched reaches of the soul, and presented in it’s absolute most pure and honest form, no matter how rough that may be. And that is exactly what I find so appealing about this album. Oddly enough though, while Ghost Thrower pull off the punk sound flawlessly, the stand out tracks on 10 Songs are the two more downtempo ones; the slow and dreary (in a good way), “It’s The Way You Play The Game”, one of the most raw and emotional songs I’ve ever heard, and the closing track, “A Kind Woman Lives Here (Tells A Pitiful Story)”. Such flexibility is rarely seen in punk bands, but the songs that bend the rules a bit are pulled off beautifully, and still fit in with the whole Ghost Thrower ethos of heartfelt misery, that really define the band.

At first, when I discovered that half the album was made up of the Get Miserable EP I wasn’t sure if this album would end up being as fulfilling as I was originally expected. But it was really never an issue at all, 10 Songs didn’t feel like five new songs were just tacked onto the old EP, it felt like a complete work, like this final iteration of this collection of songs was the way it was envisioned from the start; it wasn’t a work that was compounded upon, it was a collection of pieces used to make this whole final product. The music industry needs more bands like Ghost Thrower, the Boston music scene was left reeling from the loss of Therefore I Am, but the passion among these musicians is hugely admirable; both the passion in these songs, and their passion for music in general. And I can’t help but respect that, especially when that passion is materialized into such a damn good album.

SCORE: 9/10
Reviewed By: Mike Hogan

James Shotwell
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