Ice Giant - Ghost of Humanity

Angry Metal Guy

You gotta love a good genre-bending record. Morphing between two, three, or even more distinct metallic styles is not easy, but it’s even more difficult to attempt while still putting out a great record. That being the case, there are relative few bands in the metalverse who’ve perfected this particular feat—Mutoid Man, Sanguine Glacialis, Paladin, OK Goodnight, Diablo Swing Orchestra, and Slugdge being some notable examples in my library. Boston, Massachusetts progressive symphonic metal act Ice Giant aim to join these ranks of successful shape-shifters with their sophomore LP, Ghost of Humanity.

In reality, Ice Giant sounds very little like the bands I mentioned above. Mixing progressive metal with epic trad metal, symphonic metal, death metal and thrash metal, Ice Giant in 2023 most closely resembles bands like Aeternam, The Beast of Nod, and Obsidious, with subtle twists of flavor sourced from bands like Havok, Megaton Sword, and Bütcher. Progressive song structures and odd time signatures sync with catchy hooks and massive choruses, peppered with chuggy riffs and swaggering grooves. Livvy Gallop’s vocals juggle several personalities (this is where the Havok/Megaton Sword/Bütcher influence is most commonly felt) and represent a multifaceted performance that will potentially polarize listeners. Nonetheless, I enjoy her performance and there’s an undeniable passion in her delivery. Her interdisciplinary riffset and epic lead work, coupled with Eddie Shifflet’s companion harmonies, groovy rhythms and meaty roars, Danny Saillant’s slithery bass performance, and Alexander Paiva’s acrobatic drumming all complement each other quite nicely, exploring a wide gamut of styles, techniques, and textures. Meanwhile, lush orchestrations, buzzy synths and brassy horns dramatize the proceedings further without absorbing too much real estate from the metallic elements. Altogether, Ice Giant’s sophomore record constitutes a majestic opus detailing humanity’s journey to find a new home after a terrestrial apocalypse.

Ghost of Humanity by Ice Giant

At first, I didn’t like Ghost of Humanity, but over time its multitudinous hooks and indefatigable charm started to turn me around. A grower, Ghost of Humanity features some killer tunes that could easily populate a list-worthy record—”Unification Epoch” being the shining pinnacle of the set. Coming in late in the album’s forty-nine minute runtime, “Unification Epoch” is the moment where Ice Giant’s formula gels most smoothly, resulting in a cohesive and massively affecting climax created by lush symphonics and a sword-raising chorus that will put hair on your chest and powerful muscle on your limbs. Thankfully, there are several strong moments along the way that build up to that triumphant exaltation, like “Grandeval’s Machine,” “Serenity of Darkness,” “Venthos Prime,” and “Ghost of Humanity.” Each of these highlights blend Ice Giant’s various styles admirably, boasting cohesive tones, memorable passages, and distinct identities. In story, Ghost of Humanity also succeeds, meticulously following a logical template from Earth-based apocalyptic lore to the trials and tribulations of exploration for a new home and into a post-climactic resolution depicting a newfound hope for humanity.

Unfortunately, a significant portion of the songwriting featured on Ghost of Humanity sacrifices sword-wielding, pit-opening fun in the name of that “progressive” tag. In much the same way The Beast of Nod let odd time signatures on Multiversal interfere with their knack for memorable songwriting more faithfully represented on debut Vampira: Disciple of Chaos, so too does Ice Giant stumble on Ghost of Humanity. “Emergence,” “Home for Eternity,” and “In the Maw of Reality” and others trip over themselves trying to get from point A to point B. Whatever sharp hooks, righteous solos, and epic choruses exist therein (and they do, no doubt, exist therein) do their best to re-establish traction but often aren’t enough to recover lost ground. This, consequently, creates a rubber-band effect that seriously damages this record’s momentum. As a result, Ghost of Humanity simply isn’t as consistently compelling or highly invigorating as it ought to be.

At the very least, Ghost of Humanity proved to be a thoroughly interesting experience, one from which I happily carved out primo cuts for playlist duty. And perhaps, with more time spent, I’ll grow to enjoy this record as a whole more deeply than I currently do. With tightening and refinement in their more progressive-leaning passages, Ice Giant could easily craft a future effort that only needs an instant to win me over. Until that happens, mileage may vary, but I’m nonetheless intrigued to hear what Ice Giant does next.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self Released
Websites: icegiantband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/IceGiantBand
Releases Worldwide: September 8th, 2023

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