This release was one of the bigger surprises that I have gotten from the Sonicbids site. It was mostly such a shock due to their description which made me think why do bands even attempt to contact a site like our, if they know it will get a bad review?. GHOST IN THE MACHINE though does have some crossover appeal so I went through with the undertaking.
GHOST IN THE MACHINE released their first EP in 1998 and have since released several other records and singles. Their bio describes them as Electronica with a hard edge known as Rocktronica, pretty creative huh? The band eventually gained recognition through Mp3.com and Garageband.com. The band has also been used in ads for the Sci-Fi Channel and MTV.
The first track took me by surprise since their description makes them sound like an entirely electronic 'rave' kind of band. While yes it did have elements from the side of music, but it also had a fairly hard rock edge that I am sure a fan of STABBING WESTWARD or possibly even CROSSBREED would enjoy with guitars and nice heavy edge. Invincible is where their sound takes a turn for the worst and sounds like it belongs in a rave and is absolutely nothing more than a head ache, though Chris' vocals are pretty good. Standalone is an interesting combination of both the first and second tracks that the band included on their EPK. While it is not as good as Contact it is certainly light years ahead of Invincible.
The One Within I could recommend to any music fan that likes both rock and electronic music equally or to people that enjoy the more Electronic Metal bands like STABBING WESTWARD or possibly CROSSBREED, but not like a STATIC-X or RAMMSTEIN kind of Electronic Metal. These guys could really go somewhere if they market this release to the right crowd.
Tracklist:
Birth (Of A Monster) Monster Contact Confession Invincible King Of My World The One You Love Standalone Three Kill Site F.I.S.T. Pieces Of Eight Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ TOP cover)
Lineup:
Chris Weerts - Vocals, Programming, Guitars Mike Kern - Bass, Programming, Vocals RJ Thompson - Guitars, Vocals