“Another crack in the ice under my feet.”
Two decades is an impressively long time to be a band together, and this year marks that milestone for The Ghost Inside. The group from California are undoubtedly cherished, with their anthemic, melodic hardcore-infused style of metalcore finding favour with many. It would be hard not to remember the disastrous bus crash the band endured in 2015. From the aftermath of the incident came their self-titled album in 2020, some of the group’s most emotional music to date. After a considerable absence from releasing new music, we finally find ourselves with Searching For Solace, the band’s sixth full length.
With its first single, “Earn It”, the album’s projected direction was concerning, to say the least. Employing an overly familiar, octane metal style, it seemed that the band was going down the same well-trodden path as many before them. It was a frustrating first prospect to this release, with its decidedly cookie-cutter sound seemingly signalling towards an album full of this tired trend. Sophomore single “Death Grip” did instil some hope, combining an infectiously groovy metalcore track with elements of their melodic hardcore origins. Although mostly consisting of a similar riff pattern, it at least had enough impact to give it credit. Drummer Andrew Tkaczyk holds a mean groove on the kit, keeping the band’s signature adrenaline-filled energy alive on the track.
Album opener “Going Under” unfortunately discredits most of the album’s later efforts, beginning on a rather generic note. Following a rather predictable song structure and main riff, the track hardly sounds like The Ghost Inside, save for Jonathan Vigil’s signature vocals. As strong as his vocals are, they can’t save the song from a rather uninspired chorus melody. It’s rather inoffensive, but that in itself presents some of the album’s wider issues.
This isn’t to say they completely bungled it; to their credit, some of these tracks actually work. “Light Years” follows in the typical verse-chorus fashion, but it actually boasts a rather strong chorus and a tasteful injection of a melodic hardcore verse. It may not be mind-blowing, but the favourable execution of the style does it a massive favour. “Cityscapes” is a proper standout, pushing fully into the emotion with a slow-building, big release-type track. The band executes this excellently, with guitarists Zach Johnson and Chris Davis crafting a masterful and beautiful soundscape complete with Vigil’s emotionally-charged vocals making this one of the album’s best tracks.
Most of the album seems to focus more on use of clean vocals. Although not a concept foreign to The Ghost Inside, it’s the execution of which is rather hit or miss on this particular release. There’s a confusing lack of consistency, with some of the hooks hitting satisfying strides, while others sound frustratingly stale. The band has always been able to craft a strong hook, and it’s a mystery why, on an album mostly focused on this quality, that so many of them don’t feel like they are written by the band at all.
Although initially welcome at the start of the album, many of the album’s tracks rely on the same trick of breaking into fleeting moments of their old style before retreating back into the album’s more generic sound. There’s an attempt at linking the past and present, but it does unfortunately feel forced in the context of the full album. Moments of proper aggression and energy do still exist on the album, but their sparse nature only made me wish for more amidst the mostly forgettable. There are some properly impactful, heavy tracks such as “Split” and “Reckoning”, tracks with a sound that I can’t help but wish took on a more dominant role here. “Reckoning” in particular sounds like classic TGI; it puzzles me that when they are still capable of it, they chose to commit to something less original.
The album does end on a favourable note with “Breathless”, sounding like the perfect blend of melodic choruses and hardcore aggression that the band was trying to achieve. I can safely say that it’s a TGI song through and through, but yet again I am left wishing that most of the album took on this style. Presenting two of the album’s best tracks at the end is undeniably frustrating, ending the album where it finally starts to find its footing.
Searching For Solace presents a rather unfulfilling experience. While there is genuine emotion to this album, it’s mostly overshadowed by an extremely fatigued sound for metal. It’s rather baffling that most of the album chooses to take this forgettable, done-to-death style to present this, especially given the moments of genuine innovation present on the album. Many of the album’s stronger tracks are unfortunately weighed down by an album of overall creative drought. The direction many of these tracks take certainly isn’t horrible; it simply offers nothing new in the development of The Ghost Inside’s sound. While it did offer more than what was anticipated, I’m mostly left unsatisfied amidst the filler. Despite this, the band hasn’t dead-ended itself; a number of sonic options exist moving forward. We can only hope The Ghost Inside move forward with a sound that has more to offer.
5/10
Searching For Solace releases on the 19th of April via Epitaph. Pre-order and merch links for the album can be found here.