Let me drown to light with my ghosts

After the release of Until Fear No Longer Defines Us Finnish masters of sorrow, GHOST BRIGADE, had to cope with the departure of founding member and bassist Janne Julin in 2013. The band took a six months break and luckily decided to go on with new members. So, IV - One With The Storm sees the debut of new bass player Joni Saalamo and also the new and permanently recruited keyboard player Joni Vanhanen. Both, break and new members, have already left its positive effect on the new album.
This time, the new GHOST BRIGADE record has seen the light of day at the right season and does not have to fight the midsummer sun, as the predecessor did.  On IV - One With The Storm the Finns focus once more on clean singing but at the same time let it almost continuously and properly rock. Until Fear No Longer Defines Us however was a bit too soft and uniform at the end, even if on a high level.
With every song on IV - One With The Storm GHOST BRIGADE show all of their distinctive trademarks: powerful and dynamic rhythms, alternating singing by Manne Ikonen, and plenty of hauntingly beautiful melodies that immediately get stuck in your ears. Already crushing opener Wretched Blues melts your heart, but also Aurora, with its noticeable Katatonia touch, the epic Electra Complex, Stones And Pillars and the amazing Anchored have a magical effect on the listener. The Knife again surprises with an interesting drum intro, something I would love to hear more often on a GHOST BRIGADE album. Generally speaking, every song is a smashing gem. There are not so many quiet moments to find on IV - One With The Storm, although the Finns can't completely do it without either. 
And IV - One With The Storm became a bit more electronic. Joni Vanhanen creates many, quite eerie yet unobtrusive soundscapes in the background, which intensify the already dense atmosphere to the max creating a melancholic sound universe to die for.   
IV - One With The Storm is another stunning record one hardly can stop listening to. With their fourth album GHOST BRIGADE raise the bar even a bit higher and I'm meanwhile wondering how long the Finns can go on with their special and unique style without starting to repeat themselves exhaustively. Stylistic changes and development on their albums are in fact noticeable yet however rather marginal. The guys keep it thrilling ;)