After playing impressive sets at 2016’s UK Tech Metal Fest and Euroblast Festival, djenty Danish mob Ghost Iris have returned with their brand new sophomore record, ‘Blind World’.

From the opening moments of ‘Gods Of Neglect’, Ghost Iris make no bones about their penchant for technicality. Leaning towards the heavier end of their sound here, vocalist Jesper Vincencio bellows atop tightly executed grooves, widdly leads and even some slap bass. ‘Save Yourself’ follows suit, bringing some Haunted Shores-esque chord voicings into the mix, as well as some more melodic vocals, with much of the first six tracks following in a similar fashion.

Following a palette cleanser featuring a somewhat groan-worthy excerpt of Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’, it is clear that the second half of this record follows in much the same vain as the first – much to its detriment.

With each track feeling remarkably similar (particularly in its use of heavier textures) the band fail to allow each element of their sound room to breathe. When by and large each song features a juddering DUN-DUN-DUGA-DUG-A-DUN breakdown, brutal growls, soaring clean vocals, uber melodic guitars and an ambient section, the potency of each is lost. /p>

‘The Silhouette’

manages to balance these elements better than most, but had its strong chorus and clean guitar motif been given even greater precedence, this album highlight could have been even better.

‘Blind World’ is a hard album to truly dislike. Yes, it sits a bit too comfortably within tech metal’s preset borders, and often puts songcraft second to sonic complexity, but Ghost Iris do just enough on this release to make their next release a curiosity. For now though, this is unlikely to excite you unless you live and breathe this genre.

2.5/5

‘Blind World’ by Ghost Iris is released on 17th February on Long Branch Records.

Ghost Iris links:Bandcamp|Facebook|Twitter

Words by Josh Graham (@jollyboyjosh_)