No one would have blamed The Ghost Inside for packing it in. A debilitating bus crash that sidelined the metalcore outfit for four years, followed by their long-awaited comeback album being released in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s easy to see why fans of the El Segundo quintet would feel the group has been snakebit at best, cursed at worst.
But the metal must live on, and even the darkest days can’t dampen the brightest of dreams. The Ghost Inside have endured, uncorking their long-awaited sixth studio album Searching for Solace, one dominated by creative swings and honest innovations.
Band members Jonathan Vigil, Zach Johnson, Andrew Tkaczyk, Chris Davis and Jim Riley sat down with Metal Injection, delving into their rise, creative rebirth and love of the road. The following is a selection of choice cuts from our lengthy interview.
On a glass-half-full mentality
Vigil: "We spent so much time after our accident and then during Covid, just like wanting this again. Every tour now that we've been able to do has just really reinvigorated this feeling of oh, yeah, I want to be here. I want to be doing this, I miss this a lot. The saying is very true, you don't know what you have until it's gone. Because when it was gone, I missed it so much. I don't want to speak for everyone, but we're so stoked to be able to go back and do this again."
On Releasing Their Self-Titled Album in the Pandemic
Jim: "We had to make the call on April 1st (2020), give or take, of whether or not the album was going to move forward. We were led to believe that it would be two weeks to stop the flow or whatever it was. And that things were going to go back to normal by summertime. So we made the call in the spring to move ahead with that June release date. So we kind of bet on that rather than hold off until the pandemic was over. And we bet wrong.
"And I think that's the worst thing, to know that we had spent so many years that culminated in that project coming out like that. I think in a lot of ways, that album saved our lives or brought our lives back, and for it to just kind of get thrown out into the void and we never really got the tour on it. We never got to really enjoy the release of it because there was so much other stuff going on in the world. It was pretty disappointing. And I think that subsequent two-year period of not really having shows, not really having opportunities to go support that record, it sucked."
Chris: "In a weird way, I feel like our accident kind of pre-prepared us to live through something like that. To have to take a step back and figure out our identity outside of being the guy in The Ghost Inside. What do I do to keep myself sane when I can't go see anybody I love? You know what I mean? In a weird way, we were almost kind of ready for it, but it didn't make it suck any less if I'm being honest."
Vigil: "When we had gone away for a while after our accident, we were kind of solo and isolated in that and that was our cross to bear. And then when the pandemic happened, it was everybody. So everybody understood the same feeling that everyone was experiencing. And so releasing the album and really knowing what it meant to people when they would reach out and say the song did this for me or helped me get through this or gave me the perseverance to keep going through this worldwide pandemic.
"It was nice to know that people weren't alone in this. I think that's the main thing, is you felt so alone and you felt so isolated and so by yourself. And we felt that from 2015 to 2019, and now everyone was experiencing it, so we knew what it felt like, and now everyone did. And it was nice to be able to have that beacon out there for people."
On Collaborating with Dan Braunstein, Cody Quistad, Carson Slovak & Grant McFarland
Jim: "These guys just gave us the freedom to explore all the different parts of The Ghost Inside that can exist. And that was awesome. Just to have other people say I love your band and I think this is your next step. And then for us to be there and take that step with them was really fun."
Andrew: "They totally unlocked all these things about our own band that we didn't know existed kind of and it took branching out and working with different people to sort of unlock those things … The performance on this record with Vigil is his best ever. There were times when Vigil was hitting things in the studio and we all looked at each other and went what, like, you can do that? Holy shit, it was crazy. And it was a new endeavour for us to work with so many different people. But I think it was the most fun I've ever had making a record. And I think that that contributed to it."
On Contrasting Melody and Heaviness and Experimenting on New Album
Andrew: "The contrast was 100% completely intentional. That's how we wanted to do it. We wanted to take every single aspect of the band to the fullest, maximum possible that we could do. And we wanted to create the contrast and have the record go up and down and back and forth like that. And that ended up playing into the theme of the record.
"We kind of created this theme throughout the record of this up and down … All of that contrast was completely intentional. We wanted to hit you with this super light, soft one and then hit you with the hardest one you've ever heard us have. That was fully the plan."
Chris: "I also think that there was a very intentional like nothing is off the table kind of vibe to this whole process too … The producers would suggest something and we'd all be like, oh, we can't do that. It's not something the band would do. And then we would try it and it would be awesome.
"It's like, well, why don't we just make that the whole thing here? There are no rules anymore. Let's just try everything, even if it feels scary. And if it's good and the five of us like it, then that's just what we're doing. The first thing for us was like, the five of us have to be stoked on it and let's not worry about anything else. Let's just try everything. And if it's good, it's good. And that's just the bottom line."
On The Emotions and Themes of the New Album
Vigil: "Tying with the theme of the record, we know that life isn't linear, life isn't point A to point B, and there are hills and valleys in every aspect of life. A big thing is the kind of mental push and pull that everyone goes through, in every aspect of life. That's kind of how we wanted the record to flow.
"We wanted it to be kind of jarring. We wanted it to hit you and then bring you back in and then throw you out there and then bring you back. We wanted that feeling with artwork, with the maze of the mind and kind of searching for this end goal, but not realizing that it's about the journey.
"It's about getting there. It's not about reaching the end. Because once you reach the end, there's always another end for you to go to. The goalposts just keep moving. It's not about ending up there, it's about getting there. And that's kind of how we wanted the record to feel. We wanted it to really feel like that. We did all this very intentionally. We wanted it to feel this way."
On Growing Personally and Professionally
Jim: "I think one of the things that's happening for us in a big way is that life is just catching up with us. You know, three of us are married, Jonathan's stepdaughter is 16, and Chris has two kids. Our lives have changed so much in the last nine years. If you rewind the tape to 2015, we are kids with no responsibilities, no real-world anything, and now we're different. And I think part of this record is us doing nine years of progression all at once."
The Ghost Inside's Searching For Solace is available now through Epitaph Records. Get it here.
