Ghostemane is a 35 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, musician & producer from West Palm Beach, Florida who’s dropped 8 full-lengths as well as a handful of mixtapes & extended plays under his belt since 2010 including N / O / I / S / E & it’s 2020 predecessor Anti-Icon despite coming up as the guitarist for a hardcore punk band called Nemesis. He has since spent the remainder of the ongoing decade up until this point taking a hiatus from making music, returning for his 9th studio LP in time for Halloween next weekend.
“Alive!” kicks things off what an intro that’s primarily compositional other than a horribly underwritten verse & chorus whereas “Deus Ex Machina” instrumentally takes more of an industrial trap route talking about feeling like a false hope. “Miazma” lyrically treads the horrorcore waters admitting he’s on the verge of losing his shit whilst turning up the bass just before “0 Day” produced by Kenny Beats blends nu metal, rap metal, trap metal & industrial hip hop to talk about now being the time to do something violent.
The self-produced “Bucketlist” combines trap, trap metal & hyphy lashing out at everyone who has a fucked up perception of him leading into “Jupiter” reaching the midway point running it back with Kenny to talk about looking for a place that he can finally call home. “Hyperdrive” begins the 2nd half dabbling with electronic dance music for a few minutes sampling Jovi Whitney during the drop while “Mean Girls” wants to know why those type of women love him the most.
“Cyberia” incorporates some jungle influences for Ghoste to talk about feeling like his own worst enemy while “Get Gone” asks if one will leave him alone if he gives them what they want. “NSFW” includes a hilarious jab at MGK when he says “I’m never gonna let go of thе machine gun & no I don’t mean the poser with the name Machine Gun” but once “Noose Knot” wickedly talks about being diseased, “A Fire in the Skye” ends AM:FM hoping his wife Skye Whitney realizes she meant everything to him.
Becoming a fan of his when N / O / I / S / E came out & performing at the 20th annual Gathering of the Juggalos prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Blackmage Records founder’s comeback following a lengthy hiatus with what might be the most experimental thing Ghostemane has ever made. His own production alongside each of Kenny Beats’ contributions explore beyond trap metal in favor of nu metal, rap metal, industrial hip hop, trap, hyphy, jerk & EDM to deliver a bloodthirsty half hour’s worth of lyrical performances.
Score: 3.5/5
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