Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly brilliant, May 16, 2008
The Ghouls bring the sound of punk, which, as big of a fan I am of it, can be somewhat limited at time, and stretch it beyong the realms of other bands in their place. This CD is an easy 5 stars from a tough critic because to sum it up in one sentence, this CD is brilliant through and through.
Never have a heard a punk band where the instruments agree more. This band sounds a little like the Unseen, and they would considering they list the Unseen as a major influence, but they have one thing that makes them stand out from the Unseen. The Unseen is a little lacking in the agreement of their instruments, mainly because Tripp is not a fantastic bassist. This guy, however, I don't know his name yet, is spectacular. He makes the bass so pronounced and independent but he doesn't overwhelm the six-strings like some good bassists (ahem, Matt Freeman *cough*cough*) The result is that all three string instruments come together to form a strong union of guitars that really shred from track 1 to track 12.
The singer's voice is very easy to get into. It sounds like a mix of Mark from the Unseen and Paul from the Virus, two vocalists that are very appealing to the ear from the get go. The lyrics range from the sinister subjects of human nature and instinct ("Jekyll and Hyde" "Kill Doll" "Lose Control"), death ("Carnival of Souls" "Armageddon") and the kind of humorous social politics in songs like "Suicide Club" Usually, to be honest, you can't understand them all that well, but it's clear enough that after multiple listens you get the jist of what is actually going on, and then of course there are the chants from multiple backup vocalists similar to what we see from the The Casualties and the Career Soldiers. Very nice, very nice.
In conclusion, this band is definitely a sight for sore eyes in the street punk scene. I don't give a 5 star rating all that often and the last time I did, it was for a punk/reggae band that sounds nothing like this. This kind of stuff is the essence of what I listen to for the most part and this band, while just getting started, have been thrown to the frontrunner position after the Unseen's so-so followup to State of Discontent. Ultimately, buy this if you liked the aformentioned CD, or if you like any of the bands mentioned in this review. It's the best there is in this day and age.
Highlight Tracks: "Jekyll and Hyde" "Desolation" "Stand Alone" and "Armegeddon" but you won't find yourself skipping any of them.
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by The Ghouls 
