Category:
Punk / Emo

Try if you like:
A.f.i., Aiden, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance

•   Dark Carnival Of The Immaculate
•   Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps

I think whenever "requiem" is used in an album no one seems to know what to expect. It is defined as "a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead". So when a band like I Am Ghost uses it along with 'lover' then one can only come to the conclusion that one person has died in the relationship. A rather extreme case but when you are talking emo then really, everything is taken to the extreme and beyond realities. 

This ambitious album starts out with what could be considered a traditional Requiem - "Crossing The River Styx". It shows what the band is capable but doesn't make a great representation of what Ghost is all about. The second track ("Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps"), on the other hand, is an ideal example of this young band's potential and style. "Dark Carnival Of The Immaculate" presents a little more moody side of I Am Ghost. It gets trucking along at quite a furious pace. And a cheesy title but "Pretty People Never Lie, Vampires Never Really Die" is actually one of the best tracks of the set. 

I shied away from I Am Ghost due to the suffocating press that they were receiving upon release of Lover's Requiem but I have to admit that I am glad that I finally checked out the album. It's quite refreshing in the post-hardcore/emo realm. Nothing totally groundbreaking, hence my 3.5 score, but still tight and deserving just the same. Not sure Lover's Requiem will stand the test of time but for now, I'm enjoying it.