Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Ghost Inside, The - Get What You Give (2012)
You can't always get what you want, but when you give people what they want, chances are you might get something you want too. The Ghost Inside has given their fans what to expect from them and gained high amounts of praise as a reward. Get What You Give continues the band's natural ascent to the metalcore skies...
The mountain in the cover art seems like a metaphor for how high the band can climb as they try to reach the top of the world. But they were kind of at the bottom in their debut Fury and the Fallen Ones. Then they added more promising variation in Returners. With this album, Get What You Give, you can witness the band climb up further and motivate people even more while getting more motivation from those people.
Starting the album a bit oddly is "This Is What I Know About Sacrifice". Rather than starting with a melodic intro, this one is just a long breakdown verse. It segues to the kick-A crusher "Outlive" in which Jonathan Vigil's vicious yells travel alongside the riffing and drumming. Oh yeah, this album marks the entrance of their current drummer Andrew Tkaczyk, who had just left For the Fallen Dreams. His intense drumming talent really stands out in that track and the more melodic ones later on in the album. "Engine 45" falls into that category as the kind of song you need for any crisis you struggle with. This band needs a lot more fame and glory. Let us have the bravery to choose our actions, break these chains, and keep swinging! The satisfying blend of melody and heaviness in the riffing doesn't slip from "Slip Away".
"The Great Unknown" is another hard-hitter with driving instrumentation. Only the strong will survive! "Dark Horse" has awesome cleans and the best chorus here. To be honest, that's what was missing from the band's first two albums that could've made them as successful as this one. Those cleans have improved the formula with more variation. Although I enjoy many metalcore albums with only unclean vocals. You gotta thank producer Jeremy McKinnon (frontman of A Day to Remember) for giving The Ghost Inside that cleaner aspect. Not to mention more melodic guitarwork in "White Light". And more of that in "Thirty Three", though a bit tiring at this point.
Andrew "The Goose" Neufeld, vocalist of Comeback Kid, guest stars in "Face Value", and his vocals alternating with Vigil's make a killer combo, leading into a massive ending breakdown, one of the greatest from the album, probably from the band. "Deceiver" also has brutal heaviness to please me. It's so raw and breakdown-hungry, in contrast to the more melodic tracks. Ending the album in an epic bang is "Test the Limits" that has some of the most melodic riffing in this earlier era, especially in the final minute.
Now those are songs you'll want to hear live! The breakdowns are in good places and will barely turn any metalcore fans away as much as outsiders. Great production and great talent from the members, especially the mighty Andrew Tkaczyk. Get What You Give is another level up for The Ghost Inside on the modern metalcore mountain....
Favorites: "Outlive", "Engine 45", "Dark Horse", "Face Value", "Test the Limits"