The sound of Steampunk?
Ghostfire describe their own sound as a mix of rock, folk, spaghetti western and shanties and 'The Official Sound Of Steampunk' which is obviously where their appeal lies, having headlined the UK Steampunk Festival two years running. The problem with trying to encapsulate the sound of a mostly visual and novelised genre is that everyone will have a different idea of what that should sound like and while Ghostfire certainly do have an eclectic, (mostly) upbeat party sound it will not appeal to all Steampunk fans.
The Ghostfire sound is like a very English version of Gogol Bordello, and in the spirit of Steampunk they play with history and mix tradition with cinematic/fantastical elements. For those familiar with the novels of the genre however, be warned, this is very much the 'party-hard' version of Steampunk, full of drunken bawdiness and bringing to mind seedy, cobbled streets filled with fog and dodgy taverns and despite aspiring to an epic cinematic sound, the album actually feels quite claustrophobic, you get none of the magic and wonder; no airships to steal you away, and it feels very much more rooted in the past than the past-meets-future ideas that pervade Steampunk novels.
In essentials the album is folk-punk, a smattering of classic British rock mixed with bits of rock and roll and goth in equal measure; the gruff vocal delivery and sea shanty style beats make for a very bawdy, down-to-earth feel and make this a great party record should this kind of punky-folk be up your street. You can imagine that live they really shine and put on a great show.