Track Review: “Scald” by Tribe Of Ghosts

“‘SCALD’ is a track inspired by the most extreme moments of ADHD. When over-stimulation hits and you forget where and who you are. When you forget your human and push yourself to limits that you think you’ll be riding forever. Followed by the burnout – stapling another face to your own, begging for someone to hold you and bring you back to sanity whilst knowing you’ll just repeat the cycle over and over.” ~ Vocalist and guitarist, Adam Sedgwick

After “Forever Falling Upwards” and “Nerve” comes the third advanced installment “Scald” from an as yet undated EP titled “Open Wounds” from Brighton based Industrial Post-Metal collective Tribe Of Ghosts. Once again produced, recorded and mixed by their guitarist and vocalist Adam Sedgwick (also of Noiseboy fame) and mastered by Paul Winstanley (Grim Ravine, Haken, Novena), the promise is of yet more electronic soundscapes with Extreme Metal and pop vocals in trademark fashion. Curiously enough the band, who comprise Sedgwick alongside bassist Ben Kitching, drummer Danny Yates and vocalist Beccy Blaker, are describing the forthcoming EP as “Viscerally depicting the feelings of desperation and need for connection… “. Are you ready?

As with its predecessor, “Scald” feels like a song distilled to its purist form as Tribe Of Ghosts refine and redefine their sound, stripping away any fat so that we’re left with something urgent that wastes no time in getting straight to the point. That plays perfectly into the lyrical narratives that the band are trying to portray, capturing the darkness of feelings and emotions in order to give the us the opportunity to understand what its like to suffer the real pain and the brutal introspection they cause in the aftermath.

Almost flipping the script on some of their previous material, “Scald” allows the discerning listener to experience the weight of neurodivergence by cleverly switching the roles of their vocalists. Moving guitarist Adam Sedgwick’s harsh passages to the forefront mean that Becky Blacker’s lush clean moments become like his inner voice, the voice of reason if you will, in an almost schizophrenic nightmare. He delivers the narrative which cathartically screams for peace or release as she soothes as the vocals intertwine before they conjoin as one. Building the sense of tension from the very start with driving riffs and hard hitting rhythms, the band then flirt with Nu-Metal electronics in faux vinyl scratches to underpin as mid-tempo chorus of aching beauty offers a fleeting moment of clarity. That has a hypnotizing groove that will have you swaying like marionette before the tension builds once more as Blacker then demonstrates her abilities to scream alongside Sedgwick. Screams of “I swear, I swear I’m trying!” burst into a thunderous breakdown, the pulverizing rhythmic battery hitting harder than a brick to the skull. It could easily go one a verse and chorus more and if it did you wouldn’t batter an eyelid because the once you’ve fallen in love with warmth and darkness of Tribe Of Ghosts, there is no escape. What’s incredible about this is that the vision and the concept is achieved in just 156 seconds and yet there are so many layers of depth and texture to it that you can listen to it over and over and never grow tired of it. Fresh nuances pop out of the mix with each repeated listen, the four piece going from strength to strength in the process [9/10]