Second albums can often be difficult, but Leeds-based Ghost Of The Machine didn't lose the harmony that informed their debut and delivered a superb follow-up. In 2025 band members Charlie Bramald, Scott Owens and Stuart McAuley told Prog about Empires Must Fall and why they certainly don’t mind comparisons to Marillion and Genesis...
Ghost Of The Machine have created something of a stir in the prog community since their formation at the start of 2021. Some rapturously received live performances preceded their award-winning debut, Scissorgames, in 2022 and a clutch of scene-stealing UK festival appearances. Now they’re back with a terrific follow-up, Empires Must Fall. It’s a powerful and rewarding album, brim-full of melodic ideas, revealing its real treasures on repeated listens. It also continues the narrative that began on Scissorgames.
“There was an ending point to that story, where our character, Hope, who you see on the front cover of both albums, has liberated herself from a tyrant,” explains singer Charlie Bramald. “But it was a violent act that helped her achieve that, so there are consequences. She ends up in prison, where she transforms herself into a godlike figure, much like the tyrant that she destroyed on the previous album. She creates an empire made of light into which she brings all the people who would do terrible things in the future. But the question is: if those things haven’t happened yet, is it justice to prevent a crime that hasn’t occurred? It’s a little bit like the Tom Cruise film, Minority Report [laughs]. She starts a revolution which ends up in war, and this leads finally to the end of this cycle of tyranny and the simple act of holding out a hand of forgiveness.”
It’s a powerful theme, and it was the nature of the story that informed the sparse vocal arrangements – with backing voices rarely used. This was a deliberate move, explains Bramald.
“Originally, I thought there were going to be a lot of backing vocals, but when we tried them out, we realised that we’ve already got a very dense production, there’s a lot going on, we needed to let those instrumental moments shine. Thematically, this prison, this panopticon that is at the centre of this empire, is very isolating as well. So, you only really hear the backing vocals start to come in toward the latter half of the album when the uprising against the empire is beginning. It’s a production and a thematic choice.”
The arrangements themselves were largely crafted in the studio, with the music in progress even before the band had finished recording Scissorgames. Indeed, they don’t generally road-test material, an exception being the epic album closer After The War, which has had a number of live outings that helped edit a long piece in a concert setting. Guitarist Scott Owens comments on the way the songs generally come together.
“The catalyst for us is Mark Hagan on keyboards, who generally has a few ideas in his reservoir. Mark and I will often get to rehearsals before everybody else, and we’ll bash a couple of ideas out. But the song structures and the arrangements emerge from the six of us playing together in one room. We’ll write different sections, and then we’ll discuss where we can go with a particular idea. Sometimes it doesn’t really fit anywhere, but later, we’ll write something new, and finally find a home for it.”
“We’ve got a group of musicians here who’ve been playing together for a very long time,” Bramald adds. “A very, very long time in a few cases. Mark, Graham Garbett – the band’s other guitarist – and Stuart McAuley on bass have been in bands with each other since the 90s. So, there’s a sort of shorthand for how each other writes, which really helps those different parts lock in together. We’ve got people in the room who can also be very editorial about the song structures and the rhythmic ideas, particularly Andy Milner on drums. He’s got a good ear for when something’s not working, and when we’re flogging a dead horse. So, it’s an absolute team effort.”
While Bramald is always there at rehearsal, his methodology for interacting with the band varies, as Owens notes.
“In some sessions, Charlie will sit back and be quiet, but we can see him making notes and mulling things over. Then at the next rehearsal session, he’ll suddenly leap up and start singing something, even if it’s not the final words.”
Prog notes that while it’s not unusual for a band of this genre to have two guitarists, it is probably less usual for them to have equal stature within a band. How do they interact and share duties?
“Mine and Graham’s styles are at the opposite end of the spectrum,” explains Owens. “Where I’d naturally play something, he does the opposite. We never clash in the same place or with the same ideas. I’ve more of a hard rock background, so I tend to play bigger, chunkier chords and take a solo here and there. Graham is brilliant at hearing and playing melody lines that weave in and out throughout the song. It gels perfectly.”
While many parts are developed in rehearsal, others arrive pre-written by the bandmembers, a process that can require subtle manipulation, as Stuart McAuley candidly notes.
“If someone’s got an issue with what I’m playing, I just change it slightly, then bring it back the following week, and the band will have forgotten about it, so then it’s possible to get it under the wire.”
Those listening to Ghost Of The Machine’s music tend to bring their own preferences and prejudices. Prog scribe Johnny Sharp’s review of their debut referred to the album as “neo-prog gold”, a label the band are both wary of and grateful for, as Owens notes.
“Somebody will suggest we sound like this band or that band, but it’s just us being ourselves, and whatever comes out, comes out. Sometimes people suggest that we sound a bit like Genesis, but I’m not a massive Genesis fan. I do like Marillion, however, and people think they hear that as well. So, it’s interesting. I wouldn’t categorise ourselves as any genre in particular.”
“It’s amusing when people liken you to other bands that you have never actually heard,” adds McAuley. “We’ve all got different musical backgrounds, but the only thing that we always make sure of in our music is that there are strong melodies. Without that, it’s just playing for playing’s sake, really. Like Scott, Andy comes from a rock background, and Mark and Graham have more of a pop sensibility: new wave and 80s stuff. Mark particularly loves Gary Numan. There’s probably only me and Charlie who are big prog fans, and because of my age, the prog that I like is from the 70s. But probably because I’m getting older, I listen to more jazz than anything else.”
Prog hears very little jazz as yet, but a lot of Wakeman and Banks in some of the keyboard work, especially on the terrific opener Keepers Of The Light. But even more prominent are the many repeating piano lines that demonstrate an interesting post-punk aesthetic. This is an aspect of the band’s music that really sets them apart from their contemporaries. Charlie concurs, adding:
“Labels [like neo-prog] can be helpful from a marketing perspective. When I play the
first 10 seconds of Scissorgames, I think that Marillion fans who were listening to music in the 1980s are going to love that sound. So, we do hearken back to that era, but I hope we’ve got a fresh take on how it sounds rather than just being pastiche. But, in the end, if you’re getting compared to great bands like Genesis or Arena, who’s going to complain?”
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