Social media is a challenging platform, full stop. And for musicians, there is the ever-growing list of skills independent artists need to master, from being a songwriter and performer to recording/mixing/mastering to videography, and of course, now, social media manager and influencer. Despite its challenges though, social media has led me to stumble across a bunch of great musical acts that have since found their way to being a Weekly Featured Artist, and Planetary Ghost is no exception. After hearing their debut single, “Entropy”, through an Instagram Reel, I knew I wanted more. In fact, when I reached out asking them to contribute to this article, they hadn’t even released their full first EP, Arbiter’s Grounds. Now, with their first release out, I am excited to introduce you to the Georgia technical death metal act, and hopefully you’ll hear what captivated me about them.
While they began releasing music in 2024, the seeds of Planetary Ghost were planted in 2020 when Cameron Richardson (guitar) and a previous member started writing with no plans except to make something fun: ‘We didn’t really expect to be considered a tech-death band, but that’s what people kept saying we were, so we leaned into that heavily with our new music. Our band name was based on a concept album Cameron had written a while back in a previous project. We really liked that title and decided to use that as our band name!’
The group is now a three piece, featuring Forrest Hinton on bass and Josh Padgett on vocals alongside Richardson. And is their music technical death metal? It’s hard to say it’s not the foundation of the group’s sound. Yet, even on the brief opener and title track “Arbiter’s Grounds”, the group features Animals As Leaders-esque clean guitar sections and Cynic-meets-The Contortionist clean vocals that widen their sonic palette beyond the band’s proficiencies in rapid, Archspire-like instrumental blasts, dancing basslines, and guitar histrionics you might associate with the aforementioned genre.
The breadth of their sonic wizardy is no accident, considering the myriad influences shared with us: ‘I’d say some of our biggest influences as a band are The Faceless, Soreption, Animals as Leaders, and Necrophagist. The list could go on forever, but those three bands come up a lot when we write. We also take a lot of influence from genres like classical music, grunge, and prog rock. We plan on showing off more of these influences in future music!’
“Tabula Rasa” features some of the sci-fi production elements you’d associate with a The Faceless record, alongside the aforementioned’s hyper-technical melodicism. However, much of the song is built around staccato, tightly controlled bursts of instrumentation and groove that hook the listener in, and must cause audiences to erupt into mosh pits live. All of this is furthered by an energetic guest performance from Chaney Crabb (Entheos). It’s this control of dynamics that really impresses me about Planetary Ghost’s debut. A song like “Lapse” has some of the most fast-paced and face-melting moments of the four songs on Arbiter’s Grounds, but contrasts them with breakdowns, and restrained moments of moody bass and clean vocals, all topped with an impressive feature from Kris Xenopoulos (Vulvodynia).
The four songs on Arbiter’s Grounds often started with Richardson’s riff demos, which he would circulate to the rest of the band. In group writing sessions in front of a computer with guitars and a drum pad, the tracks continued to take shape until fleshed out demos were sent to producer John Douglass (The Contortionist, Alluvial, Whitechapel, Nick Johnston). By the time the band was in the studio, the tracks are fully formed with minimal tweaks late in the game.
The level of intentionality we hear in Planetary Ghost’s music and production process extends beyond their composition and performance into their aforementioned social media presence. Recognizing the current context of the music industry, the group studies social media trends and have found ways to showcase their musical prowess visually. And it seems to be working (if I’m any proof): ‘It’s been really rewarding to see so many people latch on to our stuff. We studied a lot of music marketing trends to make sure we came onto the scene strongly and professionally.’
This intentionality with marketing, alongside an impressive, mature sound, has led the fledgling band to have streaming numbers that rival their influences out the gate. The EP is intentionally relentless, and, even with Planetary Ghost‘s attention to dynamics, there is no denying that every moment highlights the group’s impressive chops and blistering intensity. The group’s relentless approach extends beyond streaming numbers, with some major label interest and tours in the works, alongside a full-length album. Even with all this excitement, the group is grounded in exactly who got them this far:
‘We’d just like to thank all of our fans. Your support so early on in our formation has meant the world, and it’s been incredibly validating to see people enjoy our music so much. We will be on the road soon, so be sure to keep up with us! We want to meet each and every one of you.’
