{"id":8481,"date":"2022-03-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=8481"},"modified":"2025-11-30T11:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T10:49:29","slug":"ghost-toast-shade-without-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/rock\/ghost-toast-shade-without-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghost Toast – Shade Without Color"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ghost Toast is an experimental metal band from Hungary. In 2020, they released ‘Shape Without Form’. By then, the songs of ‘Shade Without Color’, the album that will be released on March 3, had also been written. Both albums are based on the poem The Hollow Men, by S. Eliot. In short, it is about emptiness, and the things that lead to it. Personal fate, weakness, the impersonal technology and so on are present<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first few seconds of the album are a bit peculiar, the sounds are too short to hear properly what it is. But then the metal starts at a fast pace. The tempo changes gradually. The subdued piece is beautiful, there are several changes in here as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The special intro of ‘Leaders’ is well distributed over the headphones. Very slowly the volume increases, in the background there are occasional wordless vocals. Sometimes different layers of spoken sampling can be heard intermingled. The music in the background is special. Slowly it becomes heavier and some metal is added. Some layers of music melt together in such a way that some details are very far in the background. Even with headphones, you can hardly hear them. If you listen superficially, a lot of things pass you by. The end is beautifully sudden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Chasing Time’ has a slowly played intro, this mysterious atmosphere stays for a while. The drums and cymbals are played gently, in the background you can hear the sound of string instruments The change to rock\/metal is good, there are regular lighter elements interwoven. The song seems to end, but it’s a turn to a subdued part. There’s a good build-up to more power, with good drumming among other things. There’s some cool guitar playing and the bass guitar is also great. Through this you can hear lighter piano sounds, unnoticed they have disappeared. There are quite a few layers in the music, and the tempo is quite high. A little later, some piano sounds are sprinkled through again. Just before the end, the warm sounds of the string instruments emerge once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of the strings in ‘Let Me Be No Nearer’ is beautiful. The added sounds and the beat take away some of the intensity. The electronic sounds sometimes sound like a computer game. This creates a special blend with the classical elements and the metal. The special vocals (with reverb) also fit in very well. The songs are certainly experimental. You can regularly hear cello, acoustic guitar sounds, piano playing, metal and various details in one track. Spoken sampling is also an element that comes back in several songs (sometimes quite extensively).
Yet the songs differ enough from each other. The atmosphere in ‘Acceptance’ is sometimes summery, in ‘Deliberate Disguises’ the metal tempo is mostly quite high. While in ‘Reaper Man (Eastern) folk influences can be heard. The “choir vocals” in ‘Whimper’ melt nicely with the rock\/metal. The calm music of ‘Rejtekb\u0151l’ suits the (wordless) singing. The percussion forms a good blend with the strings. This last track extinguishes nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contrast in volume and pitch could have been greater. There are nice details, but sometimes they are quite far in the background. Occasionally, there are quite a lot of repetitions, but on the other hand, this ensures accessibility. Because at times, the whole thing is quite experimental. There are a number of pieces with spoken sampling, special sounds and atmospheres. Because of this, the album will have to grow on you. You don’t have to be familiar with the poem to be able to appreciate ‘Shade Without Color’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(78\/100) (Inverse Records)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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