Album Review: Until We Are Ghosts - 'Bitterseed'

The melodic hardcore scene is rather cluttered as of late. This means that every second band putting out a new album/EP/split through an independent or alternative label sounds the same. It means that every song filled to the brim with passionate, emotional subject matter now sounds the same.

Despite the surge in quantity over the past few years, the quality has thankfully, remained high. Until We Are Ghosts, one of InVogue's many melodic hardcore bands are in a very crowded scene, but their debut album, 'Bitterseed', should definitely gain them respect and a fair amount of fans internationally. Even if it is rather a generic release for this genre.

'Wearing Thin' and 'Hourglass', the album's two singles, really sum up the band's sound. Both are a mixture of fast, hard-hitting hardcore sections and strong dynamic, melodic moments that love to expose and revel in the subject matter of each song. It's also in these sections that the band loves to make use of some delayed guitars that play an extreme amount of tremolo. Loads of other bands utilise this little knick, but it never once gets old here. Plus it AWLAYS sounds solid and the melodies are all very well placed - which shows astute song writing capabilities.

The biggest issue with 'Bitterseed' is an issue that's all too prevalent in other bands - this style is getting a little too cliché. Cliché in the instrumentation and contesting sections. Cliché in the sense that there's unsurprisingly two guitar instrumentals that break up the album ('Tradewind' and 'Trails'). Cliché that there's songs about relationships falling apart - 'Wearing Thin'. Cliché that there's a rather touching song about losing a family member - 'The Deserter'. Is it insincere and down right unfair to consider such a heart wrenchingly emotional song that deals with loss like 'The Deserter' as a mere cliché? Possibly. But with that being said, it is also the best song on the album due to its heavy subject matter and incredibly powerful delivery. So while it is the norm to find songs about loss with this genre, they can easily hit close to home, for obvious reasons.

Ultimately, 'Bitterseed' isn't any different from what a lot of other bands are doing these days. But like every other melodic hardcore band, there's been a huge amount of passion and emotion wholeheartedly poured into this album. It ticks all the right boxes for a fantastic album, but still, it's got a big case of 'heard it all before' syndrome.

1. Weighted Down

2. Repression

3. Tradewind

4. Wearing Thin

5. The Deserter

6. Fault Lines

7. Trails

8. Hourglass

9. Bitterseed