Upholding an uncompromising vision with clear intention, Great American Ghost know exactly what they want to say about their community, the greater world around them, and humanity as a species. Now, the band announce Tragedy Of The Commons, their fourth full-length offering and SharpTone Records debut, set for release January 31st, 2025.
Great American Ghost set the stage for the arrival of Tragedy Of The Commons with singles Hymn of Decay and Forsaken, and now share Lost In The Outline. Not for the faint of heart, this song clocks in at over 4 pummeling minutes with an arrangement that commands attention the entire time. Ethan Harrison’s vocals spiral into a hellish cacophony of anguished screams with moments of melodic clarity, equal parts complex and cathartic. The official video for Lost In The Outline is visually stunning, set against a sci-fi backdrop addressing the feeling of being trapped.
“As a human, you’re often just a rat on a wheel,” guitarist Grayson Stewart observes. “You’re moving forward in your perspective, but you’re never actually accomplishing anything. ‘Lost In The Outline’ gets into the lies you’re told when you’re young. You come to this realization that you have no agency over what happens to you or what you do. You’re a cog in the machine.”
On the Will Putney produced record, Great American Ghost transmit their message without filter delivered through a combination of basement-born hardcore spirit, staggering metallic precision, polemic lyrical provocations, and unexpectedly arresting melodies.
Set on examining our basest instincts as a society, vocalist Ethan Harrison expands: “We are a political band, and we always have been,” notes Ethan. “We integrate ‘extreme views’ into what we do, which is ‘extreme music’. Rather than write another generally political album, we tried to play into broader themes of hopelessness. Normal people are losing control on a constant basis. Tragedy Of The Commons is a statement about exploitation. If two people share finite resources, one person will eventually exploit those resources and hurt the other person. Citizens don’t have enough money to eat and live in this country, but our government is spending billions on funding other armies around the world that are being used to kill other poor people. Tragedy Of The Commons boils down to this fundamental exploitation of the less fortunate.”
