Album Review: The Mystifying Oracle – Ghastly

I have always loved Ghastly’s brand of dubstep and this album definitely reflects the hard beats from his sets. Though this is not to say he doesn’t blend in new sounds. I was pleasantly surprised with the variety in the tone of tracks and various electronic genre influences sprinkled throughout. I would totally add these tracks to my running or pregame playlist but “I’ll Wait” is heading straight to my wind down playlist. Keep reading for my top tracks, track by track review and my thoughts on Ghastly live.

My Top Tracks:

“I’ll Wait” – Comes back to his lighter style from “We Might Fall” that I love.
“LSD”- I have a soft spot for psychedelic dubstep.
“Everybody”- Ghastly with a house influence… sign me up!

Track by Track:

The Mystifying Oracle– Love the opening vocals, definitely sets the stage for trippy and bass heavy ride. Great first drop and intro to the album.
Fake You Out (Credit Barely Alive)- Check out the dark mechanical build up at 2:00 for some dirty beats.
Black Mamba– The first time I listened through the album I was almost to the end when I realized that I was listening to it on shuffle. So “Don’t Give Up” transitioned to “Black Mamba” and I really enjoyed it. Ghastly showing love for his many pet sneks with the vocals obvs.
Don’t Give Up– This is the type of dubstep that gets me dancing like a manic. Felt a bit of an old Skrillex vibe which made me very happy. Side note: What I would do to be a fly on the wall during studio session with Ghastly b2b Skrillex. (But really what I would do to see a Skrillex set in general.)
Everybody (feat. Sam King)– Trappy opening talking about booty, cars and nonsense does not have me impressed. But then the drop comes in with a house influence and I am smitten. If you like Joyryde you’ll like this.
Lemme See U (Credit Crankdat)- For this track I am not editing my notes. Enjoy my stream of conscious… Nice dance track but nothing special as of 1:25… don’t get me wrong I would dance my pants off to this in a live set but…I just realized Crankdat is credited for the song… I now see why I’m not impressed… just not a fan… sorry not sorry.
LSD– Ghastly dropped this in his ‘17 set at Spring Awakening and I really enjoyed it. I love the psychedelic liberties he takes with his brand of dubstep. Literally playing with the way the sound moves in your ear. I remember that effect live and it was magic.
Geisha (The Tokyo VIP)– Love the hollow bell sounds in the opening.
Shadow City– The hook holds a special place in my heart. I have lived in or near New York City all my life it has never failed to deliver me the people and experiences my soul needs at the time.
Rise Up (Credit Dr. Fresch)- The drop at 1:00 is crazy funky. The best word I can think to describe it is saucy. I’ll be honest I was underwhelmed at the beginning of this track but by the end… I fucks with this.
This Is How– Good dubstep *shrug emoji*
I’ll Wait (Vocal Mix) (feat. Shaylen) –Ghastly puts a smile on my face coming back to his uplifting style of “We Might Fall”. The first drop jarred me a little and for sure messed with my fairy type Pokémon flow from the opening. When the second drop came I was holding my breath but my ears were quite pleased with the transition.
Yes/No Goodbye– Great way to wrap up the album. Lighter beats give you the feeling that the Mystifying Oracle has said all he needed to.

Ghastly Live:

The first time I ever heard Ghastly was as a BMP Breaker on Sirius XM with “We Might Fall” in ‘17. *Side note: if you have a car and do not have Sirius XM you need to change that ASAP! They have new music on there all the time.* The light yet haunting vocals caught my ear but the sweet spiral in the drop is what got me hooked. Later that summer I caught the last 30 minutes of his Spring Awakening set because *dramatically puts hand to forehead* I sacrificed myself to heat and sluggish pace of the water line so my friend who loves Ghastly could go. When I did eventually get there Ghastly was throwing down and had me grooving and headbanging the whole time. Great dirty dubstep. As the set neared its end he blended in “We Might Fall” and my ’17 festival season was off to a perfect start.

If you like this you’ll love: Rock The Party – Jauz, Take My Hand – Slushii, I Ware House – JoyRyde.

Links you want: The Mystical Oracle Album, We Might Fall- Ghastly