Album Review: The Amity Affliction - Chasing Ghosts

It's hard to discuss the work of The Amity Affliction without mentioning the savage tall poppy reception they now receive from the hardcore community which they grew up in. Since their second long-player Youngbloods dropped in 2010, it's seemed that the band can't release a new merch design, let alone music, without drawing criticism from the scene's message board warriors.

It would take a team of scene historians working around the clock to pinpoint exactly what The Amity Affliction have done to enrage Brisbane hardcore fans, but whatever its root, any hatred directed towards the band hasn't slowed them down. They've been selling out shows and found themselves at home on an international label for the release of Chasing Ghosts, an album which showcases that, in the face of any negativity, Amity have the classiness to rock a positive mental attitude, and the chops to make a damn catchy metalcore/melodic hardcore record.

Sticking to the catchy chorus, dirty verse formula that served them so well on Youngbloods, …Ghosts immediately sounds familiar. In spite of the changes that saw them lose a keyboardist since their 2010 record and gain their new positive 'tude, …Ghosts is very much the next, logical step. The Amity Affliction know what they do, and they do it better than ever before on soaring numbers like Open Letter and Life Underground. There are incremental changes; a fresh, clean production highlighting the nuance of the songwriting, sharper songs with a greater sense of dynamic, but its business as usual for the band. And though this will undoubtedly incense their detractors, it makes for a pretty bloody good record.