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I Am Ghost

Lovers' Requiem (2006)
Epitaph Records

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Contributed by: Ben_Conoley
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on December 1st 2006

Attention I Am Ghost: wanting to do something grand should never be confused with being able to do something grand. Touted by Epitaph as “a cinematic tale of monumental proportions,” and described by vocalist Steven Juliano as “essentially a rock opera but for hardcore or goth kids,” the Long Beach six-piece’s debut full-length is nothing more than a self-obsessed dose of “more of the same.”

Continuing with the status quo, Lovers’ Requiem throws together equal parts new era-screamo and metal while touching on punk and hardcore. These boys can play their instruments, and their arrangements are sometimes impressive. Then again, you could walk out on any high school parking lot at lunch and throw together a top-of-the-line band just like them.

Lovers’ Requiem is largely par for the course with what can be expected from a Johnny-come-screamo band signed out of nowhere. They’ve got screaming and singing, hardcore breakdowns and melodic intros, heavy metal licks and chugga-chugga guitars. You’ve heard most of the elements of this album before.

I Am Ghost sets themselves apart slightly with heavy use of both violins and keyboards. I suppose this is what they were getting at when they started throwing around “cinematic” and “opera” (by the way, has anyone ever actually seen an opera movie? "Phantom" doesn’t count). To their credit, these elements do add a fair bit of expansion to an otherwise generic sound, and coupled with proper production, the songs do sometimes attain the mature proportions the band seems to be aiming for.

Nevertheless, there’s a market for I Am Ghost, and they’re certainly going to appeal to that market. I can’t say I want anything to do with this market or am able to identify with it in any way, but it’s still there. If this is what the kids want, then it’s what the kids are going to get. Epitaph clearly knows this and is why the label has stayed profitable despite loss of credibility.

But here’s what I’m trying to get at -- you can’t just call yourself important and have it be so. Name one album in the last ten years that claimed immortality through the gate. Limp Bizkit? No deal. Important albums become so over time, not from day one. Let’s get over ourselves and focus on making a good album rather than a huge impact fellas; reputation should never precede action.

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Pretty-N-Punk (April 24, 2008)

btw.... i am ghost is amazing. ^.^

Pretty-N-Punk (April 24, 2008)

btw.... i am ghost is amazing. ^.^

Pretty-N-Punk (April 24, 2008)

I agree with Yvonne. Bashing on what other people like ISN'T cool. It's annoying.

xmirezx (September 12, 2007)

hey...not many people know bout this band in Malaysia...And u know what guys,they have the elements to attract goth kids around da country n for some reasons,their music suits my heart...I hope that someday they release a better album...nobis protemma vobis...

Yvonne (April 21, 2007)

By the way, if you guys don't like the music, go comment on the music you actaully like. That's what NORMAL people do. Stop being bastards and badgering a great group of musicians.

Yvonne

Yvonne (April 21, 2007)

I love I AM GHOST and don't know why everyone seems to want to badger them. They are amazingly talented and I love their music. I dunno about the rest of you, but I can see them rocking hard and topping charts real soon.

A true I Am Ghost fan,

Yvonne

sashachemicalbabe (April 9, 2007)

this is not garbage ok ppl!

sashachemicalbabe (April 9, 2007)

i love this band i dont care what any1 says!!!!

Anonymous (December 7, 2006)

more like i am gay

ben_conoley (December 4, 2006)

Yeah!

Anonymous (December 4, 2006)

man, why do you guys get people to review cds that dont even fucking listen to the shit they review? If you gave me a country album to review, or gave me a ska album to review.. i would probably fucking hate it too. I dont listen to ska or country. I listen to punk and hardcore and indi rock and some 80s. So, why dont you guys get your head out of your asses and get people who listen to punk/hardcore goth and get their opinion. I saw I Am Ghost in Detroit last month and they were amazing. Sick live band.

Icapped2pac (December 4, 2006)

That means that you think it sucks that Limp Bizkit sucks. I'm glad you feel bad for Fred Durst.

freesandwich (December 4, 2006)

score is for the fact that limp bizkit sucks

Kursk (December 4, 2006)

Some Girls put out a full length on Deathwish and an EP before they signed to Epitaph, they're not THAT new.

Anonymous (December 4, 2006)

This record (And AFI, Marilyn Manson, MCR for that matter) equals not goth.

The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters Of Mercy equals Goth.

Anonymous (December 3, 2006)

“essentially a rock opera but for hardcore or goth kids"

I love this, for the first time in history Hardcore and Goth have become entirely interchangeable.

ben_conoley (December 3, 2006)

I definitly don't expect a masterpiece, but when you say you've got one...

maverick (December 3, 2006)

Considering how new this band is, their live show was surprisingly tight when I saw them last month. Spot-on three-part harmonies, tons of energy, sickdrummer; if you're into this genre, you'll definitely enjoy this band live. Eons more talented than Aiden (who they're always lumped in with).

As for the record, it sounds like a record a bunch of young kids would write. Expecting a masterpiece out of the first time a bunch of 18-to-22-year-olds get together is pretty heady.

-Scott

dreux (December 3, 2006)

Great review. Need more insightful stuff like this.

High-school parking lot comment was spot-on.

Being able to play instruments != musical vision.

Anonymous (December 3, 2006)

I actually don't mind that Epitaph is signing mostly metal and hip-hop groups. I don't mind that they released this, I just happen to hate it. I realize others are going to like it, and to tell the truth, at least it does try to be something different. That cannot be said about the majority of punk bands.

Anonymous (December 3, 2006)

Like most people on this site, I think this record is shit. According to Mr. Brett, however, we all have terrible taste in music so this must be good. I wish Brett was available to tell me how to think with regard to everything, not just music. That would make life much easier.

Anonymous (December 2, 2006)

eh, but some girls released a bunch of shit (including a few 7 inches which were re-released as All My Friends Are Going Death) on three one g before signing to epitaph. they've been around for about 3 or 4 years, since around the breakup of AN. i was gonna mention converge too, but they've only been signed to epitaph for the last two albums. and converge are hardly new, and encompass many more genres than just punk.

ben_conoley (December 2, 2006)

Some Girls were pretty new when they signed to Epitaph - but as for debuts and "punk" I'm not too sure.

Cos (December 2, 2006)

Does Epitaph sign new punk bands anymore? I'm not talking about screamo/metal shite, but actual punk bands? Hellcat doesn't count. The last CD I got from them was the Draft, who don't exactly count as a new band. Are they just ceding that territory to Fat?

--Cos

Anonymous (December 2, 2006)

this is hilarious. it's like the mall-screamo bible.

"....and in the beginning, the used begat my chemical romance, which begat from first to last, which begat i am ghost, which begat...etc, etc, etc...and on the seventh day, brendan kelly cried."

Anonymous (December 2, 2006)

Gay-FI. That is what this band is to me. I'm sorry for being un-P.C. but they are if AFI went even more goth which is too goth for anyone.

Anonymous (December 2, 2006)

This cd is awesome. It's the closest thing you'll find to symphonic punk.

It's not "more of the same" at all, it's a much more seamless record than their debut album. I loved their first album but the songs on that one sounded a little jumbled at times, on this album all the instruments are in perfect harmony.

treos (December 1, 2006)

"I'd argue that music taste is never entirely subjective. Sure, people may like different things, but that doesn't make them good.

For example: I'll freely admit to enjoying Fall Out Boy. I can't help myself. But would I ever say they were a good band? No. They're shit. But I like them. They're objectively shite. But I still like them. People really need to start seeing the difference between enjoying things, and those things being of any worth."

I'd like to pose the question, what makes a good band, is it technical ability, the ability to compose something different, the ability to create something to entertain, or maybe a combination of these elements plus more?

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

“essentially a rock opera but for hardcore or goth kids,”
oh yeah...hardcore and goth, two birds of a feather...

Fuck this guy!

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

Mr. Brett if you happen to be reading this review, what the hell is wrong with you?

You don't have to sign every single different shitty indie, screamo, metalcore, pop, backpack rap, goth, & etc that you come across.

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

I'm only happy when it rains.

iconoclast (December 1, 2006)

garbage.

Deadpan (December 1, 2006)

P.S. I miss the time when seeing a link to "watersports" on porn sites conjured up images in my mind of people having sex on jet skis. Alas, no.

Deadpan (December 1, 2006)

I'd argue that music taste is never entirely subjective. Sure, people may like different things, but that doesn't make them good.

For example: I'll freely admit to enjoying Fall Out Boy. I can't help myself. But would I ever say they were a good band? No. They're shit. But I like them. They're objectively shite. But I still like them. People really need to start seeing the difference between enjoying things, and those things being of any worth.

thekidscaneatabagofdicks (December 1, 2006)

I've seen some internet videos of young ladies that drink urine....

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

"taste is relative you idiot!"

This is true, some people do prefer Pepsi, others Coke, some prefer Lucozade. Oddly enough though, you never see people drinking bottled urine, I wonder why that is, considering that all things are down to personal taste and there's no such thing as good or bad?

Answers on a coastguard to....

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

Crazytoledo is probably stoked on this.

GlassPipeMurder (December 1, 2006)

score is for the first half of the comment below me.

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

taste is relative you idiot!

do you want a coke, pepsi, mt. dew, jones soda, and so on.

you like what you like, good for you. they don't like it, good for them. I'm sure you never talk shit about bands you don't like.

on that note: Panic! is a most awful band ever. Even as people... they are just awful people. maybe they should have toured a bit before getting a record deal... earn your "fame"

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

This band is amazing...just because you guys have no taste, doesn't mean the band sucks.

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

i wonder if they want to set their friends on fire?

but honestly, I heard about this band, and the EP before it, isn't too shabby, so I borrowed the disc from a friend, and it is.... in one word... a bubble gum version of the goth/punk genre. I love this genre, and probably because of the Misfits, but all the same, I would like to see what they have to offer in terms of a live show.

lastly, would it ever be possible to have a review written by someone who is more versed in the genre the CD is in? Because lets face facts, if you don't identify with it, you can't write a fair review. I would be like asking my parents to review the next Marilyn Mason album.... its all just noise.

ctkrohn (December 1, 2006)

"Johnny-come-screamo"

Awesome phrase.

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

score is for the white ninja

- ( the real ) the ryan

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

if you don't pay too close attention to the lyrics this album is listenable, however if you see them in a live setting it will kill any possibility of this ever being a guilty pleasure ever again

Anonymous (December 1, 2006)

I like My Chemical Romance and AFI, but hate this band and Aiden. I really tried to listen to and enjoy this record, but just ended up laughing at it. Whereas MCR have quite a bit of fun and humor in The Black Parade, these guys take everything so godamned seriously and ultimately it becomes unintentionally funny.
Aiden is worse.

killdefenses (December 1, 2006)

score for the link

damnitsderek (December 1, 2006)

There was supposed to be one "L" in there.

damnitsderek (December 1, 2006)

Score is for Neill's comment.

GlassPipeMurder (December 1, 2006)

here's my score...i know..i'm generous.

Neil_Cawlley (December 1, 2006)

I am gay.

-Neil_Cawlley
-AIM-Longlivetheduck4

But not as gay as this.