Album Review

The Ghost Of A Thousand – New Hopes, New Demonstrations

• 1st Jun 2009

‘New Hopes, New Demonstrations’ is the second album from the much fêted hardcore punk five-piece from Brighton. Their first album ‘This Is Where The Fight Begins’ was lauded critically, so this had a lot to live up to.

And boy howdy, does it. This swaggering album is nothing short of an onslaught. It’s ferocious, intelligent and vital.

‘Moved As Mountains, Dreamt Of By Sea’ comes racing out of the block with a killer riff, frantic drumming and frontman Tom Lacey wasting no time in mangling his vocal chords. It pretty much doesn’t let up from there, with the band only pausing to take a breath on the first verse of ‘Nobody Likes a Hero’. It’s evident that the boys have gone for a hard rock feel – ‘Bright Lights’ has crunchy guitars and is driven by Gaz Spencer’s rumbling bass, and there are moments of Motorhead-esque boogie on ‘Running On Empty’. ‘Good Old Fashioned Loss’ is a departure, with its electric piano and a passing resemblance to The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ towards the end.

This is an epic album. Bristling with brutal riffs, tectonic plate-bothering bass and maniacal vocals, it’s exciting and relentless.

The Ghost of a Thousand have stated their case as one of British Hardcore’s brightest hopes.