Jason Savio

Ghost

Rite Here Rite Now

Swedish rock band Ghost has taken its theatrical show to the big screen with this summer’s release of Rite Here Rite Now, a feature film that mixes live performance with a unique story weaving through it. Accompanying the film is the soundtrack of the same name, which is made up of Ghost’s sold-out two-night stand at the Forum in Los Angeles in 2023. And, as bonus, Rite Here Rite Now boasts a new single.

But is it worth the price of admission?

Chances are if you’re a Ghost listener, you’ve already heard all of the songs here (except the new one, entitled “The Future is a Foreign Land”) and might have even attended the shows these live songs came from. If that’s the case, perhaps this is a skip for you, depending on how big of a fan you are. For newcomers, this is a good entry into the world of Ghost. Favorites like “Call Me Little Sunshine,” “Rats,” and “Mary on a Cross” are among many featured on Rite Here Rite Now, and the live versions of these songs pack a wallop; each captures Ghost at its most powerful and engaging, taking you back to the Forum in 2023. 

The new song here, “The Future is a Foreign Land,” has a smoky ‘60s feel , due in large part to the organ humming in the background and the fact that the song is being sung from the perspective of being in the year 1969. It has a jumpy chorus that calls for peace and will have you humming along to it in no time. 

For more, visit: ghost-official.com/

Extinction A.D.

To the Detested

Get ready to bang your head with New York City’s Extinction A.D. on their fourth studio album To the Detested. Mixing hardcore and thrash of yesteryear, Extinction A.D. delivers a gritty and relentless offering with To the Detested. But as good as it can be, it sometimes sounds too familiar. 

Most of what is on To the Detested is what you would expect from a band of the genre and that’s not a bad thing, it just means you already know what you’re in for. “Escape From New York,” which seems to take a cue from the John Carpenter movie, has the New York York grittiness the song calls for, with a claustrophobic, tempo-shifting breakdown. “Epidemic of Mutation” slows it down a bit for the guitar solo, allowing more room to breathe before diving back into another spiraling metal hurricane. What will really catch your ear on this album is the work of guitarist Ian Cimaglia, who shreds and bends his way through the proceedings, giving these heavy songs a melodic feel that make them more memorable. 

You can certainly hear the influence of bands like Pantera and perhaps Testament on To the Detested, and that’s fine, but Extinction A.D. would do better here to carve out more of their own sound. There’s an effort to do so on “Burnt Sienna” but it starts out with a confusing bongo section. Props to the band for trying to go outside of the box, but not like this. 

Make no mistake, To the Detested will kick your butt in the way you’ll want if you’re a thrash/hardcore fan, but revisiting it after one listen may not be what you choose.

For more, visit: extinctionad.bandcamp.com/