Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
Burlington, Vermont‘s Ghastly Sound is far from ghastly. They signed on a while back with Magnetic Eye Records, which is based in my hometown of Albany, NY. I scooped up their limited 7″ single before even listening to it. I trust MER wouldn’t fail me as a music listener, and they never have. When I finally did listen, my jaw dropped to the goddamned floor.
Ghastly Sound has a multi-genre, layered sound that spans the dimension of heavy music. It’s melodic, soaring, dark, deep, dipped in tar, and then there are these vocals ranges that run the gamut of what stretches a human throat rope to snap. That’s just their sound, the songs themselves are well-structured and catchy. It’s quite a beautiful balance of heavy and light. You can grab a copy or five of both their EP releases (including their latest ‘The Bottom‘ just out on 12/15/2017).
I asked Ghastly Sound bassist TJ Maynard if he wanted to contribute a list of his favorite 2017 rock-related releases. Surprisingly, he seemed really excited to do it. Who knew? TJ is a pretty fun gent and Ghastly Sound kicks my ass, so I’m likely way more excited than he is. They’re also set to perform at the New England Stoner & Doom Fest in Connecticut this April. Score!
Riff Relevant presents to you TJ Maynard’s Top Ten of 2017! He has a few of my own favorites on his list, which pleases me immensely. He was also kind enough to provide a Spotify link for his choices, so give ear!
10 – Cannibal Corpse – ‘Red Before Black‘
09 – Glassjaw – ‘Material Control‘
08 – Husbandry – ‘Bad Weeds Never Die‘
07 – Switchblade Jesus – ‘The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter 7‘
06 – All Pigs Must Die – ‘Hostage Animal‘
05 – Elder – ‘Reflections of a Floating World‘
04 – Mutoid Man – ‘War Moans‘
03 – Primitive Man – ‘Caustic‘
02 – Unsane – ‘Sterilize‘
01 – Blood Sun Circle – ‘Distorted Forms‘
Many thanks to TJ Maynard for sharing his favorites for the year, as well as to all of Ghastly Sound for sharing their music with the rest of us. – Leanne
Here is Ghastly Sound‘s recent release ‘The Bottom’ EP.
