''Ghost Thief'' is the eighth studio album by the

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

band

Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice is an American Christian metal band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1989. The band has released eight studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnso ...

. It is their second album produced by

Jeremiah Scott Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...

Writing and recording

The band toured in support of their prior album, ''

The Infinite Order ''The Infinite Order'' is the seventh studio album from Christian metal band Living Sacrifice released January 26, 2010. The album, produced by Jeremiah Scott and mixed and mastering done by Andy Sneap marks a return for the band since their pr ...

'', for three years before starting up work on recording a followup. The band chose to once again work with

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Jeremiah Scott, with whom the band had collaborated on their previous album. The band started with writing the music, and then wrote lyrics once the music was already established.

Themes and composition

The album's title, ''Ghost Thief'', is meant as "the

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

". Conceptually, the album's lyrics explore the fleeting nature of

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

, the idea of an

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

, and how death can be viewed as either "friend or foe" by different people in different circumstances. The tracks "Ghost Thief" and "Sudden" specifically were both inspired by family members of

Lance Garvin Lance Garvin is an American musician and, along with Bruce Fitzhugh, DJ Johnson and Jason Truby, a founding member of the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. Garvin is mostly known for using a Ride Cymbal in modern metal without making it ...

and

Rocky Gray William Rocky Gray (born July 2, 1974) is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He is best known as a former drummer of the rock band Evanescence from 2003-2007. He is the lead guitarist ...

, who died unexpectedly. The album consists of songs that are mid- to fast-tempo

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

and

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

, but also features more

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

guitar-work than prior albums as well. Many tracks on the album do not use standard

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...

Reception

Specifying in a three star review by ''

CCM Magazine ''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. History ''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has bee ...

'', Matt Conner recognizes, "With blistering songs like 'Sudden' and the title track, it's clear these guys aren't hanging it up any time soon." David Stagg, indicating in a three star review from ''

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The magazine states that its goal is to "honestly and accurate ...

'', realizes, "The album succeeds on most fronts, but if we’re judging on all the merits in between, the bulk of the tracks blend in." Signaling in a four star review for Jesus Freak Hideout, Timothy Estabrooks responds, "it is an excellent album filled with many masterfully-performed tracks and only a couple of disappointments." Lee Brown, mentioning for Indie Vision Music in a five star review, reports, "''Ghost Thief'' is simply a powerhouse album that fans who have been waiting three long years to get their hands on will not mind coming back to in the coming year/s until the next great Living Sacrifice masterpiece is released." The second opinion by Aaron Lambert from Jesus Freak Hideout, where he rated the album four and a half stars, depicts, "''Ghost Thief'' becomes yet another Christian metal classic from the godfathers of the genre itself."

Track listing

Personnel

Living Sacrifice *

Bruce Fitzhugh Bruce Fitzhugh is the second and best known lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of Arkansas's Christian metal band Living Sacrifice. The lead vocalist role was left to Bruce shortly after the departure of former lead Darren Johns ...

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

- lead guitar *

Arthur Green Arthur Green ( he, אברהם יצחק גרין, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston, where he ...

- bass, vocals *

- drums, percussion Guest musicians * Ryan Clark - vocals on track 1 *

Dave Peters David Peters is an American musician. He was the original guitarist for the band Eighteen Visions, guitarist for the band Throwdown, and, as of 2002, the vocalist for Throwdown. He did guest vocals for the song " Unleash" by groove metal band ...

- vocals on track 10 *

Nick Hipa Samuel Nicholas Hipa (born November 30, 1982) is an American heavy metal guitarist. He has performed with several notable acts. He is the current lead guitarist of Mire, and was the longtime former lead guitarist of As I Lay Dying. Background ...

- lead guitar on track 3 *

- acoustic intro on track 1 *T.D. Benton - additional percussion on track 2 *

Josh Childers The Showdown is an American Christian metal band from Elizabethton, Tennessee. While the members of the band are Christian and the band is signed to a Christian record label, the band does not consider itself a Christian act, according to guita ...

, Dustinn Lowery, Brad Hartley, Chris Bazor, Adam Phillips, and Loren Tew - Viking gang vocals Production *Recorded by

, at Jeremiah Scott Production *Produced by

, Living Sacrifice *Mixed by Steve Blackmon ;Art *Cover art by Travis Smith *Additional design by Ryan Clark of

Invisible Creature Invisible Creature is an illustration and graphic design studio based in Seattle, Washington. It is run by brothers Don and Ryan Clark and was formed in 2006. Don and Ryan are also the co-founders of Asterik Studio (2000-2005). Clients include: N ...

*Photos by

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Living Sacrifice albums Solid State Records albums