Harbor Ghost

“Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow” is a nu-core debut album with 13 songs by Harbor Ghost. 

Harbor Ghost’s epiphany, “Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow” is refreshing testament of the contemporary glory of metal. In the era when the streaming and internet have eroded the traditional genre lines, Harbor Ghost taps into the music industry with their modern, metallic spin and they firmly reimagine the nu-metal renaissance. Their vocals have value in melody, intrepid performances and sometimes vitriolic lyrics skewed into the existential and emotional questions of life trying to show the underneath humanity under the masks of the everyday life. 

The whole album is filled with propulsive beats and strong, underlying guitar motifs that swerve between sounds and moods. Harbor Ghost evokes the grind, the dark, the trash in their overall heavy vibe. On the one hand they are catchy and joyfully anarchic, while on the other hand they vehemently deconstruct and rebuild the genre tropes recalling the heydays of Linkin’ Park – all in a self-defining evolution. 

As the album balances between stadium sing-alongs - avoiding fillers - it also examines the less than sunny outlook and they reveal something radically inventive, embracing the mix of niches and genres layering with sumptuous synths and some theatrical elements without overpowering drama. 

“Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow” is an antidote of pop and straight from the playbook of talented musicians caught up in the drive as they engulf themselves in a grinding yet polished sound. Their arty tangents bash out as an amalgamation of raw power and experience as they reimagine the template. 

As an album, “Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow” is a double, the first part is a swaying assault with head-rattling drums and crushing guitars and the other half has its grand statements with more anthemic songs with some giving the most weightless feeling. 

Harbor Ghost creates a trademark style as they sink their teeth into the music industry and they declare their independence at the same time. 

The namesake Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow is an uncompromising overture into the Harbor Ghost’s world, showcasing their strength. Tunnel Panic recalls what the mosh pit was invented for and they balance it right out with the melodic vocals – the lead guitars deserve praise just as the double-kicks feel on spot. La Petite Mort seems to tone down a notch and visit a new realm almost like an early Placebo. With New You we are immediately back into the loudness with extreme performances and right-fitting synth feelers. Paper Boats and Sea Ghosts has the most hard-rocking tendencies so far and the genre-blend works great, the rhythm section deserves the raise. Stars for a Ceiling is a short, quasi alt-rock; catchy tune with pop elements – an instant love as the tension is sung out. The Reminiscent Room is a fresh energy and another take on early ‘00s nu-metal with some Korn and playful modernity – a relatively experimental piece and sound with Chester Bennington-type vocals in Dream Theatre. Chaos, Please has the dark of a Norwegian death metal and an Evanescence melody line plus an outro of Rage Against the Machine. Dancing in the Freefall takes no prisoner and bursts the eardrums and crashes all the vanities. The chorus is greatly memorable and somewhat pop-ish helmed in a heavy metal setting Iron Maiden used to create. An interesting play with the synths in the mix of ideas seem to come together just right, probably one of Harbor Ghost’s most concert favorite. A Night in December is the counterpart of Stars for a Ceiling with a more ambient and withheld performance. Brown and Frayed sounds like an odd one out in the whole album: this is a stadium rock, very melodic, very full of love and emotions, greatly designed for the masses and this is an instant radio hit and playlist favorite, probably the most suitable for a movie placement. The Comedown again sounds like Linkin Park and it is on par with them easily. How to Grow Up When You’re Already Dead serves as a neat outro for the album with nice harmonization and a heavy and fast recall of why we like Harbor Ghost. 

Ultimately, the “Existing Between the Grey, A Silver Glow” by the genuine musical adventurers, Harbor Ghost, is an interesting, innovative, well-mixed, loud and sometimes surprisingly catchy debut, advised for grown-ups in musical taste. 

A band to see live!