Rock, Metal

The Midnight Ghost Train - Cold Was The Ground (2015)

2017-09-08T13:38:29Z

The Midnight Ghost Train - Cold Was The Ground (2015)


01. Along The Chasm
02. Gladstone
03. BC Trucker
04. Arvonia
05. One Last Shelter
06. The Canfield
07. Straight To The North
08. No. 227
09. The Little Sparrow
10. Twin Souls
11. Mantis

Steve Moss – Guitar, Vocals
Brandon Burghart - Drums
Mike Boyne – Bass

Few bands are able to really capture a feeling with their music; this is particularly so when what they’re doing is trying to be evocative of not only a state of mind, but also of a time and place. This is especially so in the realm of stoner metal, where plenty of people (perhaps now more than ever) are trying to re-create the feel of the excess of the 60s and 70s, although devoid of most of the flower-power stuff that filled those psychedelic years. Kansas’ The Midnight Ghost Train (TMGT) are here to face that challenge.

Cold Was The Ground is an album full of the kind of southern/stoner rock goodness that seems to have been made to transport you beyond your bedroom (or wherever it is you’re listening to it) and place you in the middle of an opiate-infused evening somewhere in the Arizona desert, or perhaps behind the wheel of a convertible as you speed down a desolated highway(yeah, I put a lot of thought into that).

Plenty of fuzzy guitars are scattered throughout the album, producing a plethora of bluesy riffs (there are plenty of hat-tippings to the likes Kyuss and Clutch), as well as enough stoner passages to get you high as a kite. Actually, Cold Was The Ground seems to have been engineered to do just that, to transport your mind to somewhere far away in the cosmos, whether you’re ready to go or not.

Steve Moss’ voice is really enjoyable, and works great for the sound of the band, sticking to a style that, while not being a growl, is definitely not clean. It’s an interesting take, and which reminds me a lot of what the guys of Kadavar are doing, although in a much “growlier” style, where most of the lyrics seem to be yelled, and not so much sang. While Moss’ voice comes off really aggressive, it still manages to be melodic and to convey a good amount of feelings and emotions, which is no easy feat (even if a good number of them can be summarized as “fuck this shit!”). Even his shot at spoken-word poetry with “The Little Sparrow”, declaimed in a growly-tone, works really well (even if it comes out of nowhere).

The production of the album definitely works to the band’s advantage. Drums, bass and guitar are clear in the mix, although they leave plenty of space for Moss’ voice to shine. It’s clear that these guys work well together, and the album demonstrates that they seem to have a really cohesive thing going.

While TMGT are not exactly inventing the wheel here, since their sound follows a formula that has been used plenty of times before, for every band that nails it there are dozens that come short of making anything worthwhile; well, TMGT have certainly managed to leave their mark. --- J Salmeron, metalblast.net

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The Midnight Ghost Train - Cypress Ave (2017)

2017-08-12T12:50:05Z

The Midnight Ghost Train - Cypress Ave (2017)


01.Tonight
02.Red Eyed Junkie Queen
03.Glenn's Promise
04.Bury Me Deep
05.The Watchers Nest
06.Break My Love
07.Lemon Trees
08.The Boogie Down
09.Black Wave
10.The Echo
11.I Can't Let You Go

Steve Moss – guitar, vocals
Alfred Jordan – bass
Brandon Burghar – drums

The Midnight Ghost Train’s decade long love of ferocious riffs and explosive live shows has made them a favorite band among the stoner rock crowd, but the Topeka group has always asserted themselves as merely being an especially loud blues band. They’ve proven this before by placing the occasional spoken word piece or gospel tune alongside their heavy jams, but their fourth full-length album really ups the ante in terms of genre experimentation. Some will say that The Midnight Ghost Train has lost its way, but I think the band is just putting its money where its mouth is.

Before one even takes the genre exploration into consideration, Cypress Ave. immediately stands out for its more song-oriented approach compared to previous outings. This was demonstrated right away on lead single “Red Eyed Junkie Queen”; while the band’s signature guitar rumble and gravelly vocals are on full display, the song is much more organized with a prominent vocal line and a clear verse-chorus structure on display. Elsewhere, tracks like “Glenn’s Promise” and “The Echo” opt for a similarly heavy vibe but the performances are much more restrained.

When you get into the meat of the album, it may be fair to say that The Midnight Ghost Train has gotten soft. Several songs are either ballads or feature much more scaled instrumentation as the opening “Tonight” starts things off with soft/loud trade-offs that are downright theatrical by Ghost Train standards and “Lemon Trees” is a pleasantly old school number. Elsewhere, “Break My Love” just might be the best track on the album as its minimalist instrumental dynamic and foot tapping tempo show the band’s long hinted-at Tom Waits influence fully blossoming.

But the most interesting track and likely biggest point of contention is “The Boogie Down,” which sees the guitar and traditional vocals completely drop out in favor of a horn section and guest rapper Sonny Cheeba. Such a decision would easily be a recipe for disaster in the wrong hands but it works incredibly well thanks to the raps showing off enjoyable flow and the horns making the song too damn happy sounding for me to hate. It also helps that the move doesn’t feel like a calculation for mainstream exposure but rather just a thing that they would be fun to have on the album. Maybe the mixture of hip hop and heavy rock needs a second chance, if only so the doom guys can try it out this time around…

In a way similar to their peers in All Them Witches, The Midnight Ghost Train is evolving beyond the stoner rock tag by experimenting with their more subtle influences. But rather than completely losing themselves to their jams, the band opted for a more song-oriented approach that avoids sounding commercial. As a fan of the Ghost Train beyond the Buffalo days, I applaud this direction and am curious to see how it’ll affect the intensity of their live performances. --- PsychicChris, sputnikmusic.com

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The Midnight Ghost Train – Buffalo (2012)

2017-08-20T13:23:23Z

The Midnight Ghost Train – Buffalo (2012)


1. A Passing Moment of Madness
2. Henry
3. Foxhole
4. Tom’s Trip
5. Spacefaze
6. Cotton Fields
7. Southern Belle
8. Into the Fray

Steve Moss – Guitar, Vocals
Brandon Burghart – Drums
David Kimmell – Bass

Midnight Ghost Train has never strayed from the heavily blues-influenced rock sound, but “Buffalo” has a much different mood than other albums the band has released. This album is upbeat and fun, where other albums delved into a darker realm of pain and suffering. However, this does not mean that Midnight Ghost Train has lost its edge either; parts of these songs conjure up images of COC and Soilent Green.

Vocalist/guitarist Steve Moss still does his best impression of a possessed Southern preacher throughout the album. He goes from the intense and scary guy in the sexually violent “Southern Belle,” about a man getting ready to attack a woman in her bedroom, to the genteel gentlemen singing a rendition of the old folk song “Cotton Fields” with only his band mates’ responses stomping and clapping along to back him. That particular song also has a very nice ending where Steve just plays a blues guitar solo in the studio with some rustling in the background to make it seem spontaneous and real.

Steve’s heavily distorted guitar forces out the melody as David Kimmel keeps the low end booming with bass on “Henry,” “Spacefaze,” and aptly named trippy song “Tom’s Trip,” which has a psychedelic-influenced opening. That doesn’t last long before going into a sad, soulful melody, and then all out craziness. Drummer Brandon Burghart keeps the pace the entire time, and he has a great rock style with lots of cymbal for a noticeable compliment to the grunginess of the guitar.

Every part of this album is Southern rock to the core, but no listener should feel alienated by that fact. “Buffalo” definitely shows MGT’s versatility for mood and once again proves that the band has incredible talent. --- metalunderground.com

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