Great American Ghost: A United Front

BAND FEATURESFEATURESMETALCORE
Great American Ghost: A United Front
March 8, 2025Dan McHugh


New Hampshire’s metalcore bruisers GREAT AMERICAN GHOST have garnered a hefty following since their explosive arrival on the scene back in 2012. A string of solid releases has firmly embedded them as one of the most exciting bands in the genre. 2025 has arrived and is looking to be a particularly prosperous year for the quartet with the release of their incoming full-length effort, Tragedy Of The Commons, which ushers in a fresh era for the band.



“Tragedy Of The Commons is an economic study that essentially explains that if many people have access to the same commodity that they will deplete and exploit it,” discusses frontman Ethan Harrison. “The songs and messages within this release characterise this mentality and the situations that human beings are dealing with now on a mass scale. Our guitarist Nico discovered the terminology and discussed using it as a potential theme or concept for the new material. Inherently we’re a political band and it influenced how we wrote and what messages we wanted to put across. Tron (Anthony) and Grayson are quite new to the band and this was the first time we involved the full band in the process. It’s always really just been myself and Nico. We definitely found our collaborative spirit this time around, everyone was pitching ideas and bringing something to the table and we wouldn’t have achieved the results we did if it wasn’t for their input. We all contributed lyrics and riffs and it was a completely different experience.”

GREAT AMERICAN GHOST have experienced numerous obstacles throughout their tenure, some which put the future of the band in jeopardy. Introducing fresh blood into proceedings proved to be their saving grace. “With Me and Nico having all the writing responsibility previously I think that piled a lot of pressure on both of us and our relationship was becoming a bit frayed,” admits Ethan.

“When we introduced Grayson into the band, Nico wasn’t really fond of the idea but he realised just how important Grayson became to shifting the dynamic of the band. It really alleviated the stress and pressure from both of us and then Tron came into the fold and things have improved even more. Power Through Terror was a particularly rough patch for the band and personally I think you can hear that uncertainty in the music but, without sounding pretentious, Tragedy Of The Commons feels like a united piece of art which wouldn’t have been possible if we were still at odds with each other.”

As with most bands, the quartet rely on technology to bring their creations to life as opposed to hashing it out in a rehearsal room. Adding additional influences to the mix has helped expand their horizons. “We all basically live in different corners of the country so the only time we’re ever really together is in the studio or on tour but we’re all good with Logic, Ableton etc and we’ll pretty much write entire songs, share the stems and then tweak things along the way,” explains Ethan.


“We had a lot of discussions throughout so it was a very open-ended process. There is something beautiful about being able to sit down and figure it all out in person but this approach works for us and we really value the ability to do so. Working with Will Putney again has been invaluable as we really appreciate his input, sometimes he would tell us that the song was great as it was and others he would suggest we throw it away and we value that kind of honesty. We want our music to be as strong as it possibly can be. I was really inspired when someone said to me ‘if you want what you don’t have, do what you’ve never done’ and I think that sums up perfectly what GREAT AMERICAN GHOST are doing with this record.”

GREAT AMERICAN GHOST have also recently joined the stacked ranks of SharpTone Records for this release, with the stars finally aligning and allowing this unholy union to come to fruition. “Shawn Keith who is one of the owners of SharpTone has reached out to us a few times over the years and it was just never the right time. Last year a lot of things happened and changed behind the scenes and SharpTone contacted us just at the right time,” informs Ethan. “We’re very fortunate and I couldn’t speak more highly of them. We are in regular communication and appreciate just how involved they are. Jackie Andersen is also an absolute powerhouse. When she speaks, you listen. It’s been a real pleasure to deal with people like that who understand their craft in such an in-depth way.”

Ethan is very proud of his roots, as a means of giving back to his community he arranged a holiday show which harboured a savage lineup including the likes of NO CURE, JOHNNY BOOTH and VOMIT FORTH with a portion of the proceeds being donated to Families In Transition, an organisation which help combat homelessness.

“I’m from Manchester (New Hampshire), I grew up there, went to my first shows there. There isn’t a lot of shows but the shows that do pass through are great. We have some amazing hardcore shows and the promoters are achieving great things but on a national scale we don’t get a tonne of touring bands. So when we do the hometown shows it reminds me of when I was a kid. I saw MISERY SIGNALS when I was 14 and HATEBREED when I was really young and it was life changing. If I can do the same for someone else it would be really special to me. This city made me so it means the world to be able to give something back.”

Following on from the album release, GREAT AMERICAN GHOST have no intention of taking their foot off the pedal, with a host of exciting opportunities coming just over the horizon. “We’re going to have a party in Manchester for the album release. We’re not doing a show or anything but just getting together with the people that are important to us to celebrate and hang out. After that the real work starts. We’re planning to hit the US, we’re supporting BLEED FROM WITHIN in the UK and we’re going to be back in Europe again shortly after that. We’re planning to hit every place on the planet in the next two years. I used to hate playing headline shows but I’m realising they’re not the worst thing in the world,” jokes Ethan.

“There is a little more build up, you get to have a bit of fun and fuck around with the format but I just love opening shows. People tend to walk in with no expectation of the first band on stage. If they don’t know who we are they’re definitely going to know by the time we’ve finished! I don’t care whether I’m playing to 10 or 1000 people I’m going to deliver the same level of show.”

Tragedy Of The Commons is out now via SharpTone Records.

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