Phantom Amour (Spinefarm) is the second album for Toothgrinder and it is one of the most diverse, eclectic releases you will hear all year. On first listen this may all seem scattergun in approach, but, as you will read it, definitely deserves your attention. Cutting to the chase there is so much going on here, I’m never going to able to convey the depth of this bands talent and, more than that, their self-confidence in said talent.
The début album Nocturnal Masquerade (also Spinefarm) was a progressive metal sleeper hit akin to bands like Periphery and Meshuggah but with an extra added dynamic here and there, it garnered much praise from fans and critics alike. Now Toothgrinder are looking to broaden their horizons even more than before, and boy, oh boy do they! They have now developed a knack for writing catchy as fuck songs that range from djent type heaviness to full-on radio rock anthems.
There is, by the bands own admission, a more emotional weight to the songs on Phantom Amour; vocalist Justin Matthews has sought to make this more about telling stories which gives credence to the approach to the songwriting. It is this emotional weight that has informed where the progression of the band, and the direction of the songwriting has gone.
Opening with the track ‘HVY’, Toothgrinder shows off some of their alt-rock leanings that are strewn throughout Phantom Amour. It is here you can really see a progression in the band’s writing and they add a load of new flavours included industrial tinges and fuzzed up guitars which are at perfect odds with the melodic vocals. They also don’t stray to far from their heavier roots, and ‘Vagabond’ is case in point: what a fucking blinder this is! Coming off as part Periphery and part Clutch the sheer amount of groove on show will having you head bobbing in approval for ages and the song begs for itself to put on repeat. This is where the band excel, crafting an excellent ending to the album. And you can’t ignore a song like ‘Jubilee,’ which comes absolutely perfectly in the middle of the track listing, a ballad that has so much conviction and heart.
What an album this is; dynamic and heavy when it wants to be but not afraid to take you down paths you might not have wanted to go down. But that is this bands MO, really, constantly challenging the listener from track to track. They have carved themselves a new direction while retaining that which made them great in the first place.
Given the right push some of these songs could provide real crossover appeal and see Toothgrinder hit the same heights as bands like Sevendust, while on the other hand the heavier moments will still see them revered amongst fans of heavier music. While this may be one album too soon for that move towards commercial success, this band deserves way more recognition than they have been getting, and off the back of Phantom Amour, they should get it in spades.
8.5/10
KIERAN MITCHELL
Kieran Mitchell, Album Review, Ghost Cult Magazine, Ghost Cult, Toothgrinder, Phantom Amour, Periphery, Clutch, Sevendust, Justin Matthews, Djent, Progressive Metal, Alt Rock, Nocturnal Masquerade, Alternative Rock, Groove Metal, Spinefarm Records