Track Review: “Forever Falling Upwards” by Tribe Of Ghosts

“‘Forever Falling Upwards’ is about fear, phobias and giving into them. That when you give into your fear and take that step off the edge, it’s not hitting the ground that scares you – it’s that the falling won’t ever stop”  ~ vocalist and guitarist Adam Sedgwick

A journey that began in 2022 when their artistic vision came to fruition and took them to Summer Bash, Bloodstock and Rabidfest a year later finds Brighton Industrial Post-Metal outfit Tribe Of Ghosts at a cross roads. Having delivered us to evil with their dystopian concept album “City” last October with its ambient soundscapes, Extreme Metal influences and soaring clean vocals leaving us haunted by night terrors, what could their next chapter have in store? The answer to that one is a forthcoming four track EP titled “Open Wounds” which is said to explore fears, emotions and inner worlds, personifying the darkness and chaos of their sound. The first evidence of that is “Forever Falling Upwards“…

It’s going to sound like a cliché but “Forever Falling Upwards” genuinely picks up where “City” left off as if Tribe Of Ghosts never left the studio. Enriched by electronics that benefit from the growth in confidence thanks to guitarist and vocalist Adam Sedgwick’s project Noiseboy, this one has weighty churn and burn riffage to it giving it a real urgency. Sedgwick and Beccy Blaker’s vocals have been cleverly interlaced in perfect harmony, the pair trading harsh and clean moments word for word at times giving as if they are two halves of a schizophrenic mind. Its a nice touch, breaking the chains of the usual verse and chorus interchange that other bands offer, her classically trained sounding ethereal moments are the beauty to his savage beast, the almost tribal drum fills before their brutal screams another touch of class. Sedgwick does have some delicate clean vocal moments of his own that border on a nuance in the final third of the track, just one of a number of moments that lurk in the shadows on this one only to appear over multiple listens. The weight of emotion carried within the lyrical narrative tells you about all that has been suffered and will resonate with anyone who has suffered from anxiety or depression, the fear of falling very real. What makes the track is the contrasting elements and the way in which they collide, bouncing off each other like sparks from an angle grinder on sheet metal. As if that wasn’t enough, the huge breakdown that brings it home with visceral screams is going to see people get broken in the mosh pit [8.5/10]