Grayscale: When the Ghosts Are Gone

CD, Sound Riot Records 2002

Track list: The World Today - A Dead Season - Gray Singer - Squeeze - The Fire Inside Me - Absent - Shape in the Shadows - Cast Aside - When the Ghosts Are Gone

First of all, credit to Fransesca di Leandro for the cover of this album: it's beautiful, dark and a bit scary. That's quite descriptive of the music, actually. Grayscale plays metal, sure, but they are quite melodic and there's a dark tone in it. And forget boring ambient synth soundscapes, Grayscale knows how to play loud when necessary! There's a nice balance of faster metal and atmospheric parts. I am not so sure about the vocalists - occasionally he's quite good, but sometimes his voice sounds a bit "amateurish", should I say. This one isn't a classic by any standards, but quite nice, still. ****