GHOST IRIS | Apple Of Discord | Album Review

Among some of the best kept secrets in progressive metalcore is Ghost Iris, a band from Denmark that has become one of the biggest bands of their ilk in their home country. Ghost Iris formed in 2012 and since then they've been going strong with two studio albums previously to this under a fairly new label in Long Branch Records. Here in 2019, despite having the most streams of a Danish metal album in Spotify's history with 2017's sophomore release "Blind World", Ghost Iris have bigger ambitions and a brighter road to look forward to crossing with their third studio album "Apple Of Discord". In an article written about the album's impending release on Bravewords.com, the ambitions are clear with the article stating, "The album will reflect the fundamental transformation the band has made since their founding only a few years ago. A transformation based on relentless motivation and optimism, personal and musical progress and growth." In an age where new bands for the most part rely on DIY methods to get themselves more publicity, Ghost Iris are seming to go forward with a stronger push for attention not just in Denmark, but the rest of the world altogether, and with a junior album focused on melody and crushing djent-riffs, it's obvious that might become a reality.

The first single from "Apple Of Discord" was released at the end of November, that being "Cowardly Pride", a track near the end of the album as track #8. "Cowardly Pride" does a great job at embodying everything this band seems to go for in a stylistic way with well calculated riffs and a chorus with a noticeable hook. Everybody in the band seems to put a lot of effort into their performance on this album, and the production handled by Buster Odeholm is crisp and clear when it comes to every element involved. One of the dealbreakers of the song that is noticeable after hearing it for over three months in anticipation for the album, however, is the repetition of the lyrics of "Cowardly Pride". The line "Say we've come too far" is repeated eight times throughout the song and the chorus is also repetitive with the line "We're open wide" repeated several times more. The instrumentals still carry this song to be a true highlight but there really isn't too much to the lyrics of this track that we haven't heard many times already. Of course it isn't bad, and some of the lyrics are solid, but the repetition and the fact that the whole idea of the song has been a little bit overdone clearly aren't the standout moments of the song as the performances and the guitarwork really override that one flaw. 

When listening to this album front to back, you can tell that the rest of the album follows suit with "Cowardly Pride" in terms of style with heavy riffs, melodic choruses, and vocals fluctuating from harsh to blissfully clean and well layered. This is after the intro track which could be considered the title track that last for well over two minutes before getting into the album's first track "The Devil's Plaything", and bleeding into other tracks such as "Final Tale", "After The Sun Sets Part II", and "Beauty In Expiration". The previous two of those three cuts, "Final Tale" and "After The Sun Sets Part II" feature heavy riffs like the leadoff single but actually work better in my opinion. This is Ghost Iris at their best, not even including other tracks like "Magenta Moon" and album closer "Virus" that also leave good impressions upon multiple listens. The album has a steady composition throughout and the vocals are extremely solid for a great majority of the album, even in weaker tracks. There are also guest vocalists that help out on a couple of these tracks, notably Don Vedda on "Beauty In Expiration", which despite being a lesser track has a second half that takes an interesting turn with Vedda on vocals, who does a great job belting out her part. There's really a lot to love about "Apple Of Discord". 

Overall, this is a very consistent album, but it does come with some tracks that don't connect quite as well as other. Tracks like "The Devil's Plaything" have a solid foundation in the riffs but lyrically there isn't much we haven't heard before. "Heaven Was Pure Hell" bears not only a cheesy title but also feels like one big climax and not a fully fleshed out song. Also, I would have liked to see a bit more variety as the album is honestly a bit too steady, and a couple more slow burn or softer tracks would have fit in well with the ten tracks that make this album up. However, the pros outweigh the cons here and there is still a lot on "Apple Of Discord" that brings a lot of promise to the table for the future. There are a couple of tracks that fall by the wayside and don't really offer as much but there are also many more tracks that showcase that Ghost Iris have potential to go far past their laurels and make a very impressive album in the future. This album is highly recommended for progressive metalcore fans who have already heard of bands like Northlane, Erra, among others, and are looking for something else that has high musical value at the core of its apple.

RATING: 8/10 

Leave your thoughts about this album in the comments section below. Was this album good or bad? Was it a surprise or a disappointment? All you have to do is type it in. Everybody's opinions matter even if they are different than mine. Scamp4553 will be back with more reviews and content coming your way soon.