Ghost-The engraving

Self-produced

2010

Ghost came together in Oslo, Norway some eight years ago and. During that time they have gone through some line-up changes and knocked out a demo plus an EP before releasing this their full length debut. Indeed eight years is a long time to wait for putting out your first full length album. However in this case the album is worth the wait for fans and hopefully the band gets the recognition they deserve. It's obvious that this effort because this is one of the better melodic metal releases I have heard in some time. The playing here is sharp and tight with a strong mid to late 80's influences. I hear some Loudness, Dokken, even some Grim Reaper on a couple of the heavier tracks and other influences as well. That's not to limit Ghost because they put their own spin on the material and it's not entirely stuck in the past either. The vocals are of the slightly raspy variety and work wonders here. The majority of the songs lean more towards the metal side, but there are some strong melodies and the band is just as adept at handling slower tracks as they are at belting out the heavier, pounding songs. "The engraving" is an album that is smooth in all it's details that I enjoyed it right away on the first spin and every additional play allowed me more time to appreciate everything that they did on this album. The only real complaint was that I kept waiting for them to really bust loose on at least one song and get maybe a little beyond that mid-tempo, but it never happened. That's a very minor issue because overall this is a strong outing with much to offer.

www.myspace.com/ghostrocks