THE MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN - Cold Was The Ground
March 6, 2015, 9 years ago
(Napalm)
Kansas-based rock trio The Midnight Ghost Train destroys like a F5 tornado on its third full-length album, Cold Was The Ground. On its 11 tracks, the band fuses Delta blues, southern rock, hard rock and stoner rock together in a pleasing manner. The band’s sound is reminiscent of bands such as Clutch, Karma 2 Burn, Red Fang and Kyuss. Fuzzy distortion riffs with a sludgy Southern twang is mixed with gargly, throat-splitting vocals throughout the album. Steve Moss’s voice is so hoarse and gravely, it sounds like his vocal cords are being ripped from his throat. His voice is gloriously gritty and muscular, and it fits well with his fuzzed-out riffs and the raucous rhythm section.
CD-opener “Along The Chasm” is a minute and a half, wall-to-wall fuzzy instrumental rock jam. It bleeds right into the first song proper, the catchy “Gladstone”. Its rumbling basslines, sharp, stabbing lead guitar melodies and the main, bluesy riff really moves the song along. It’s clearly the highlight of the album and there’s a reason why it’s placed so early on in the track order. Moving through the Clutch-on-steroids swagger of “BC Trucker” and “The Canfield”, the band settles into a comfortable groove. CD-closer “Mantis” rolls along like a menacing, sludgy riff-tank, leaving everyone in its wake. Cold Was The Ground is not groundbreaking in the least, but it’s a nice addition to the sludgy swamp rock genre.
