Chasing Ghosts - These Hollow Gods (Mighty Music)

UK Band, Chasing Ghosts have delivered a powerful debut release with the album These Hollow Gods. It is eight songs of doomy, dark and heavy rock music. The riffs are dark and moody, complimented by simple keys that manage to add even more atmosphere to each song. The clean vocals are what really make this band distinct in the genre. This clean sound gives a very different vibe to this dark, doomy music and in my opinion, really adds punch. The lyrics are strong and emotive contemplating fear, loss, sadness and regret.

Born out of a passion to create dark and heavy rock music, Chasing Ghosts was formed by Lee Brueton. Influenced by bands such as Paradise Lost, Anathema, Moonspell and driven by a desire to give the UK rock scene some much needed fresh blood. The band were winners of the Ubeat ‘Rock Act of the Year’ award in 2016, one of the UKs most celebrated emerging music awards.

Everything Changes opens the album and introduces us to the sound through a gloomy keyboard piece before additional guitar solo licks help drive it along. This opening interval builds up the anticipation before a crescendo of heavy guitars and opening lyrics. “Everything Changes, everything dies! We are but shadows lost in time” are the first lines and set the tone for the album with the emotive style of the lyrics. The guitar work is strong and heavy, with a flowing and ebbing solo towards the end of the track. The rhythm section holds the track together tightly and gives drive before finishing off with more gloomy keys.

Everything Changes is the longest song on the album coming in at well over 6 minutes. The remaining tracks range from the four to over five minute range with only the heavy bass-driven From Depravity breaking the mould. The band have definitely decided quality over quantity for this release.

All tracks have a sound that really suits the lyrics. For tracks like This Fear and These Hollow Gods there is a dark, broody atmospheric feel to them that compliments the subject matter. With more upbeat lyrics such as From Depravity; there is a much more energetic feel and happier sound to the riffs and solos. Vocalist Nelson Cacini has a low key voice, having a similar range to the likes of: Blaze Bayley (Iron Maiden, Wolfsbane) or the late Peter Steele of Type O Negative. This vocal range really suits the dark, atmospheric feel of the album.

The band has released the second last track as a single. Recorded by Enter Shikari engineer Tim Morris and aired on over fifty radio stations worldwide, the track Fallen From Grace became the band’s first official video. The video featured Pixie Le Knot, actress and contortionist from Game of Thrones and Slipknot’s The Devil Inside video.

These Hollow Gods is a strong album from start to finish and I have rated no song under 4 stars. I would name the best songs on the album being: Everything Changes, From Depravity, These Hollow Gods, Fearless, Fallen From Grace and One Last Try, but I may as well name them all. The only thing that I find is not to like about the album is when it is over, so time to restart.

These Hollow Gods will be released on 9 February 2018 through Mighty Music, Denmark’s largest premier rock/metal label.

Do yourselves a favour, grab a copy of These Hollow Gods when it is released.