Background
Ghost King is a Brooklyn, NY, band formed in 2015, now carrying on the momentum from their debut album, Bones. Ghost King brings together Carter McNeil on guitar and vocals, Jorg Almengor on bass, Daniel Sweeney on drums and Christian VM on guitar and synth. In a very short time, as Carter puts it, the band has begun to explore “quicker and heavier styles” while sticking to their psychedelic pop beginnings.
Thoughts
“Melting Sky” keeps you out of the loop, yet still on your seat through a 3 minute runtime that just blows by. At first, you’re treated to a cinematic landscape — which gets quickly derailed by a cut into a rather intimate dinner among friends.
Ultimately, the darkness of the wailing guitar begins to surface as the face of the possessed central figure of the ceremony, maniacally pitting each person against the next, while sustaining a smile of satisfaction. This noisy, melodic tampering all comes together in a climax which only elevates the stakes of the game.
McNeil’s vocals almost set the scene on their own — “Melting Sky” with just its audio still accomplishes a highly dramatic production. That is to say, that the music video, as insanely gruesome as some may find it, stays true to the song itself. Fair to say that’s more than listeners bargain for. 4.5/5.
Support
All of Ghost King’s music, including Bones, can be found on Bandcamp, as well as on Spotify. You can keep up to date with the band on Facebook.
Ghost King has a handful of live shows coming up in March. On 3/8, you can catch them at Alphaville.
