Review of the Album "the Ghost" by Finnish Death Metal Band Before the Dawn

The Ghost is the third studio album by Finnish death metal band Before the Dawn released in 2006. I notice a sort of technical death metal with this band but of course not as technical as the Polish death metal scene. Right from the beginning of the album with the song called "Disappear," the song is trying to address that cancer has spread everywhere from being in the air, to infecting people’s bodies. Some of us just want to disappear from this life as trust in human beings has been totally lost. Is human nature just flawed to begin with? That’s a philosophical question that people can debate for ages. The only way to save the planet from destruction is to help improve the environment by enacting cleaner air laws. The song itself is not a bad way to open the album but it pales in comparison to how the 2003 album My Darkness started.

As far as the music on the album The Ghost, it continues what we heard on the band’s first album called My Darkness and there is also a touch of modern Swedish melodic death metal with a sort of industrial feel.

"Repentance"

"Repentance" is a song that might as well be about humans repenting after they have engaged in sin. Rage is the most counterproductive attitude to have, yet too many people in this world seem to want to cling onto it because of their ego.

"Fade Away"

However, by the third song called "Fade Away," it is clear at least to me that the catchy riffs that we heard on the band’s first album are not there as much so for some of us, The Ghost may end of being a stale, death metal album that is less inspiring.

The production though is heavy and crisp even for an album that came out in 2006. However, the album’s lyrical themes center on melancholic themes but even so, Before the Dawn is easier to handle than some of these American bands like Obituary. This review is not meant to compare Finnish death metal to American death metal but anyone that has listened to a variety of bands and genres will know that Finland has the upper hand on the US in terms of quality death metal bands.

"Angels Tombstone"

"Angels Tombstone" is a song that describes what happens in a dark world, as the light is snuffed out and there is a desire to be sucked into the darkness of ghosts and other creatures. Is he really dreaming or is he really being sucked into darkness?

The song called Enemy has a bit of a Lacuna Coil influence in it so Before the Dawn is a mixture of Gothic and death metal in the album The Ghost. "Stormbringer" is a song about well…whatever the title implies. In life, it can sometimes feel like we are in a storm of negativity that can make us sink. The album ends with the song …Nowhere. This is a song about a person who has a lost, restless soul that has no home. He feels like there is no GOD to help him and no guardian angels to guide him. Overall, The Ghost is a decent melodic death metal and Gothic metal influenced album but the hooks that we heard in the album My Darkness are not present here to the same degree.