GHØSTKID - HOLLYWOOD SUICIDE Album (Initial Thoughts)

 I know the "Ø" in the band name is supposed to be an O, but it's a Danish Ö... A slight pet peeve of mine, people misusing letters... But in this case, I sort of get it. It makes them stand out, similarly to how DAMAG3 stands out by using the 3 in her name instead of the E. Also, if one wouldn't know that Ø is a letter, it'd just look like an O that's been crossed over and that can have symbolic meaning for the band.

From this album, I've heard the title track and FSU.
I've also heard FØØL and THIS IS NØT HØLLYWØØD.

HOLLYWOOD SUICIDE

Nice screams, especially how effortlessly he can go between screaming and singing.
Oh, and rapping! I didn't remember that!
Not surprised, though. I don't have Ø in my keyboard and googled "ghostkid" to find a place to copy it from and did so from Tuska's (a Finnish metal festival) website, and they describe the band as:

Saksalainen Ghøstkid tuuttaa metalcoreaan synkän persoonallisella otteella. Trap- sekä numetal -vaikutteet täydentävät kylmän teollisen tunnelman, kauniiden melodioiden viedessä kuuntelijaa vastapainoksi tunneskaalan toiseen ääripäähän. Bändin perustaja, vokalisti Sebastian “Sushi“ Biesler tunnetaan aikaisemmasta pestistään metalcore-suuruuden, Electric Callboyn mikrofonin varresta. Nyt mies ajaa toisenlaista konetta – Ghøstkid on tosissaan.

Translation: German Ghøstkid pushes out their metalcore with a dark, personal touch. The trap and numetal influences complete the cold and industrial atmosphere, while, as a counterbalance, the beautiful melodies take the listener to the other end of the emotional scale. The band's founder, vocalist Sebastian "Sushi" Biesler is known from his former job, being at the mic in the metalcore giant Electric Callboy. Now the man is driving a different kind of machine - Ghøstkid is serious.

So, like - metalcore, with trap and nu metal influences and a cold, industrial atmosphere. Yeah. I hear the "industrial", the rapping is a clear indicator of the trap and nu metal... Very good description. 

Also, HOLLYWOOD SUICIDE, not HØLLYWØØD SUICIDE? Huh.

S3X

I like the music. The singing's a bit mainstream to be perfect... But his belting and screams make up for it. Chorus and forward it gets better. Surprising choice, to have a song called "Sex", be a ballad, and have it as the 2nd song on the album.

FSU

The energy just punches you right in the face! Especially following a ballad.

I REALLY hear the metalcore in this... That sort of... mainstream, very catchy, aimed-at-teenagers-but-you-can't-help-but-still-love-it-when-it's-done-right...... And my god this guy can scream!

HEAVY RAIN

That high-pitched instrument reminds me of Motionless in White's WASP. It has a similar sound.

I like when he sings in this style, in the beginning. Sort of slurring his words, kinda like grunge singers do.

The robot voice effect at the end of the chorus was cool. Unexpected.

It's a good metal song. Not The Vibe, though.

The screams at the end <3 I got shivers!

VALERIE

A hiphop beat...
I hear the trap influences. And the Motionless in White vibes again.

This is The Vibe. Stripped back and kinda creepy. Much better than the mainstream metalcore I've heard countless of times before.

BLACK CLOUD

A banger. Literally, couldn't help myself but to headbang in the beginning.

Not BLACK CLØUD? Either they're slowly moving away from using the Ø or it has a symbolic meaning when they are using it and when they're not.

UGLY

I like the juxtaposition between the modern, industrial sounds and the distorted guitar sounds.

Amazing vocals in this. The whispers, the cleans, the screams, the rapping... it's all top notch. One of my favorite songs from this album. And judging by the streaming numbers, I'm not the only one. This is the most streamed song from the album. Does it have a video, is it a single release? -- No, but it has a visualizer. From 2 years ago?! How long have they been working on this album?? 

Visualizer has 111 000 views but only 3100 likes... That's not good, especially for a big label artist (Century Media Records) like GHØSTKID...
I watched it and I understand. I didn't like it either. It's... messy. Too much going on. So much going on one can barely make out what is happening at all. The visual quality is very amateur-ish as well...

I think this song works better without a video or a visualizer.
But if they're going to do one of any of their songs, at least make it properly and include the band's visuals into it, don't just slap whatever spinning skives in there that have nothing to do with the song...

BLØØD

Raaaaaaawwrr!!
The screams are so good <3 

MURDER (ft. Code:Pandorum)

Nice. 8/10.

DAHLIA

Another pretty good metal songs.

I'm starting to have a better idea what this band is like.
It's not exactly my thing, anymore. I would have been all over this in my teens.
And now, the trap, nu metal and industrial influences keep it interesting. The metalcore in itself is nothing new.
But THIS IS NØT HØLLYWØØD is still a very good song, that's how I ended up here.

HELENA DRIVE

Your average metalcore ballad. Not a bad song, but nothing special... Worst on the album.