"These Ghosts of Mine" by Massasauga
Review
It's official: Massasauga's new EP is going to be called ‘This Savage World' and the lead single, "These Ghosts of Mine" comes out on 5th June.
This also gives me the opportunity to congratulate Conrad & Adam on winning their semi-final to appear at the Coventry edition of Metal 2 The Masses.
The song itself (and maybe the whole EP?) marks a new chapter in the story of the band. Whereas the music so far, which certainly caught & held my attention, might fairly be categorised as "cinematic" in overall style, often relating to specific movies and tending to invoke visuals: not always wholly of the hyper-realistic variety. It was an effective approach, but like all such strategies, if over-extended it could dilute the efficacy of what they've done & dull down into repetition.
Thus "These Ghosts of Mine" (and at this point I would point out that Massasauga remain a band who paint visuals in their lyrics rather than adhering to the prosaic so the words aren't necessarily clear on the matter: as they acknowledge themselves) is about the search for success in music, the associated pressures on artists and the potential meaning of "success" in their context.
If the shift in message might make all you Massasauga fans uneasy: I can reassure you that you're not getting an existential acoustic ballad here: the delivery systems are still set to "full on". However I do detect a slight evolution in the production: hitherto their trademark sound has involved compressing vocals, fuzz-guitar & drums into one primordial compound which as you'll know, was pretty overwhelming: in a good sense. This time, separation is more in evidence so each element is more discernible.
Again: I think it's a good call: the continuing total commitment to the performances means that there is no feeling of compromise and as I just suggested, without development of what they do, the law of diminishing returns is likely to kick in in they simply apply the same formula each time out.
And this really sounds fresh. Since the band are ‘Killer Riffs R Us', "These Ghosts of Mine" is based around another one they've dreamed up, this time the song seems not to have the usual metal sent-from-Hades tone but something related more to other parts of the Great Beyond: the guitars having been treated so that in the opening section particularly it sounds like Tony Iommi experimenting with replicating his parts on a synth: and it works. It's always a good idea to grab the listener's attention in the first few bars. It might also I suppose be a bit satirical but then reading too much into tracks is a bit of a problem with me.
And again: please don't fret: the effects are soon switched back off (they even return covered in fuzz later on). But if in the meantime, they've unsettled anyone: so much the better I say.
"These Ghosts of Mine" could & should make people sit up & listen, whether they've heard Massasauga previously or not.
