Sighs... What an album, embracing all the pain this world feels, leaving your heart weeping and bleeding. Hauntingly beautiful! That must be Finns! And yes, they are ;) In fact GHOST BRIGADE is a band that was unknown to me so far. Hailing from Jyväskylä the band was founded back in 2005 and has released a demo and the debut called Guided By Fire in 2007, which is supposed to be an insider’s tip. The band’s sophomore Isolation Songs emerges as a masterpiece, a wonderful gem of music, immediately captivating and mesmerizing. Isolation Songs goes under your skin, touches your soul and let you feel all the emotions you have inside. It makes you dream and it makes you cry. A roller coaster of feelings!
I just think it would have been better suiting to release this stunning record in fall where it can unfold its melancholic beauty much better than under a burning sun.
Every song gets stuck in your mind, caresses with clean singing as in My Heart Is A Tomb, Into The Black Light (pure gooseflesh!) and Secrets Of The Earth, or thunders heavily out of the speakers with harsh growls as in the opener Suffocated and Lost In A Loop, whereas latter one also includes cello notes. 22:22 Nihil again is a pure instrumental much in the veins of bands such as Leech and Long Distance Calling, while Birth is a 9 minutes monolith with wonderful piano parts.
Despite of all its variety Isolation Songs flows. All songs shine with catchy refrains and driving guitar work, you cannot get them out of mind anymore, and all wrapped in an utmost powerful production.
GHOST BRIGADE range between bands such as old Paradise Lost, Katatonia, a bit of Swallow The Sun and a lot of Amorphis, all with a restrained note of melodic Death Metal and slight progressive touch.
Isolation Songs is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece and highly addictive!