Promethium - 'Bleeding the Ghost'

Following on from their previous album, Faces of War, and the acoustic reimagining that was Revisions, the long-awaited fifth album from Promethium, entitled Bleeding the Ghost, has clawed its way through the musty earth and is coming to eat your face.

Bleeding the Ghost sees the studio debut of James Candlin on vocals, Andy Haworth on guitars, and Stu Gordon on drums. To say that their presence has taken Promethium to new heights would be a gross understatement to the collective brilliance of all involved.

From the moment the first track kicks in, the instrumental "Goat", it's apparent that we're listening to a strong collaborative effort and you'd be forgiven for thinking this lineup had been together since the band's inception. The title track immediately melts your face (just as well, as it saves it from being eaten) with crunchy stabs and a Lizzy-esque hook before segueing into Candlin's raw yet velvety vocals for the first time. Multi-part vocal harmonies carry throughout the chorus, elevating with each reprise.

The third track, "Priest", opens with a riff that has more bounce than a space-hopper factory, grinding and tearing along with Gordon's meticulously crafted rhythms. The vocal melodies during the chorus, the minor changes, and even the lyrics to a degree, are reminiscent of Ozzy-era Sabbath. And that's never a bad thing.

Now, before we delve into the musicality of "Murder She Wrote", there needs to be some disclosure. In the '90s, when I reviewed albums, I would listen to the album for the first time and write a review based on that first listen. I'd then listen to it a second and third time, and would write a second review based on my thoughts after becoming more familiar with the album and the published review would reflect both feelings.

I wasn't able to do that with this album, however, as it ended up being played on a loop for six or seven hours per day for the past few days. What that did, though, was allow me to subconsciously soak in the lyrics and, for the first time in a long time, had me reaching for the CD booklet to make sure I wasn't actually making up nonsense in my head.

No, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else in between... I hadn't misheard. The fourth track, "Murder She Wrote" does indeed tell the alternative history of Cabot Cove and its seedy underbelly. Unwavering fans of Jessica Fletcher may want to avoid this one whereas I, on the other hand, absolutely love the fact that we're being let in on her lifelong secret as a serial killer. I've since ordered a hat from Amazon so I can doff it to you all, gents. Bravo! Seriously.

"Healing Your Sin" starts, as you'd expect, with some killer guitar work between Lovett-Horn and Haworth as they rip through yet another series of hook-laden riffs. The chorus on this, with its countless layers of backing vocals and bouncing guitar melody, was almost reminiscent of CKY circa the Infiltrate-Destroy-Rebuild era.

Track six, "Knives Out", blasts off with yet another guitar hook, this time repeating over an ascending and descending foundation of grindy-as-plums * unity between drums, bass, and guitars. The solo here soars and comes to a beautiful close with a bass break, flawlessly ushering in the track's whispered conclusion. Only thing that could possibly improve this track would be if Ana de Armas sang it to me on a beach somewhere.

In what can only be described as a cultural coincidence, we see a change of pace with track seven, "Manhattan", as it carries us through a metaphorically volatile relationship - "This chain reaction, it's too fast to control. Embers and fractures burn a hole in the soul." Despite the change of pace, "Manhattan" manages to burrow itself deep within the subconscious and was a welcome earworm over the past few days. It comes to a close with a glorious solo-to-fade affair from Andy while Stu once again goes to war with some explosive 16s on the kicks.

The metaphors continue with "Catfish", whose lyrics could apply to the tasty dinner item just as easily as the human counterpart on which the song is based - "In the darkest depths below is a creature of deception"... "The chameleon of the deep, she's a predator. Always hiding secrets you'll never keep". Despite being the shortest non-instrumental song on the album at only three minutes long, it still manages to sink its hooks in. Pun intended.

The guttural rumble of 'Gentle' Ben Macfarlane's bass drags us from the murky depths of "Catfish" and onto terra firma for "Snakebite". A multi-layered spoken verse stalks across the top of a percussive tom-heavy rhythm before twin guitars reach down to rip us back to the dizzy heights we've grown accustomed to. The final quarter features a reprisal of the chorus along with some excellent playing off each other between all involved. The drummer in me can tell that Stu Gordon had a great time here.

Sadly, we reach the end of the album with the heavily string-infused closer, "My Fate". First time I heard this, my mind immediately drifted to A Perfect Circle and Tool. Not that it rips either off, or even sounds anything like them, as it doesn't... but those little subconscious triggers we all know so well jumped straight to Keenan and his pals.

The tortured approach to the verse is juxtaposed by the uplifting harmonies and strings in the absolutely stunning chorus with its staccato guitars, and that drop in key prior to the final line of the chorus... ugh! As a musician, you always hope you'll write something that not only brings a smile to your own face every time you hear it but to those who have honoured you enough to listen to it. The chorus on "My Fate" does this, but so much more - actual goosebumps. Not something you'd hear me say very often.

There are only two things that let this album down - that it only has ten tracks, and it comes in just over thirty-seven minutes. I want MORE, fellas! There are few albums I've heard in the past ten years where, after the initial listen, I've felt compelled to play it immediately after and not wait for that all-important settling-in period where you question whether you actually like it or not. Bleeding the Ghost had me hooked before I'd reached the end. Not to do any sort of disservice to founding member Daniel Lovett-Horn and personnel from prior releases, but this album makes it abundantly clear that Promethium has found the perfect lineup for their brand of metal. The quantum leap in lyricism, melody, hook, and overall unity has been a privilege to witness.

Unless someone comes along with something capable of bleeding this particular ghost dry, I don't imagine I'll find anything to knock this one off repeat. It is, quite simply, my album of the year thus far.

*They wouldn't let me swear, so I improvised.