Album Review: Spear of Destiny - "Ghost Population"

 

Kirk Brandon's certainly a man who likes to keep himself busy. Not content with taking both Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate out touring this year as well as heading up punk/post-punk supergroup Dead Men Walking, he's now signing off 2022 with the first SOD album since 2018's underrated Tontine. It'd be easy for a band who've been around on the scene as long as SOD have to phone it in at this point but thankfully Tontine showed that they were doing anything but and I'm happy to report that Ghost Population carries on this good run of recent form.

It gets off to a bit of an odd start with Shine almost sounding like a bit of a requiem with its mournful piano-led feel leading into a soaring chorus but it definitely works. The sinister Clarion Call and the almost funeral march style Pilgrim take things back into more familiar Spear of Destiny territory while the tribal drums of Neolythic By Design and Waster are suitably unsettling backing for Brandon's preacher on the hill vocals. Indeed, this is an impressively varied album - Ballad Of The Dog goes into a kind of gothy folk song territory while the gentle You're The Only Thing is almost hypnotic with its pounding rhythm. Best of all is Coward 306 which sees Brandon throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix with swirling strings, strident riffs and staccato piano before Bread and Circuses starts with a gentle acoustic opening before Brandon unleashes an on-the-money diatribe about the disgraceful state this septic isle of ours finds itself in in 2022 which he continues on the self-explanatory Forever Their England which has an almost '70s Who style slow building feel to it to close things.

There's a reason that Spear of Destiny have been in this game for so long and that's quite simply that they're a band who can continue to surprise you forty plus years into their career and Ghost Population is another very worthy addition to their back catalogue. Well worth investgiating for both long term SOD die hards and those who are just starting out with this group.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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