It’s been ten years since Cold Was the Ground thundered through the rock landscape like a runaway freight train—and even today, this album still hits like a punch to the gut for anyone who thinks stoner rock is stuck in a rut. To mark the occasion, Majestic Mountain Records has released a worthy reissue of The Midnight Ghost Train’s third album—finally with the originally intended cover artwork. And what a release it is: a statement, a manifesto, a raw slab of 70s-rock-infused passion delivered with the fury of a southern storm.
Cold Was the Ground is not an album that tiptoes or wastes time with introspection. It kicks off with the smoldering opener “Along the Chasm” and barrels straight into tracks like “Gladstone,” “BC Trucker,” and “Straight to the North”—all anthems to dust, sweat, and the power of raw, honest rock. The riffs? Heavy as hell. Steve Moss’s vocals? A mix of whiskey, tar, and southern grit—roared with the conviction of a preacher at the end of the world. Every song pulses with groove, drive, and a kind of primal energy that’s hard to fake.
What makes Cold Was the Ground so special is its unapologetic minimalism. No unnecessary layering, no overblown bombast. Just guitar, bass, drums—and a voice that scrapes through your soul like sandpaper. This lack of overproduction leaves space for what really matters: energy, authenticity, and that unmistakable live vibe that seems to sweat through the speakers. You constantly feel like you’re in a sweaty dive bar in Kansas, watching the trio burn the stage down.
And yet, this is far more than just another stoner rock bludgeon. The band’s roots run deep into the Delta blues—hinted at not just by the album title (a nod to Blind Willie Johnson), but in the earthy structure of the songlls themselves. A track like “The Little Sparrow” breaks things up with spoken-word elements, showing there’s more here than just volume and riffage. The songs build and collapse, swinging between repetitive stomp and explosive catharsis—take the hypnotic “Arvonia,” which starts as a slow burn before suddenly erupting, only to settle back into its smoky depths.
Musically, the record lands somewhere between Clutch, Kyuss, and Black Label Society, with a splash of Sabbath doom and Southern rock flair. But what The Midnight Ghost Train makes of those influences is entirely their own: rougher, more unfiltered, more immediate. It’s like an unpolished diamond with a rusty edge—and all the more gripping because of it.
The fact that this album is now—ten years after its release—available again as a reissue, not only makes life easier for collectors, but offers a perfect entry point for a new generation of listeners. And it hasn’t aged a bit. Tracks like “One Last Shelter” or the closing “Mantis” show a band at the peak of their power—confident, but never arrogant. Cold Was the Ground may have been an insider tip in 2015, but in 2025, it’s a modern classic—and finally looks as powerful as it has always sounded.
In short: if you’ve never had The Midnight Ghost Train on your radar, now’s the time. This reissue is an open invitation to anyone who loves honest rock with soul, groove, and a healthy dose of grit. Not an album to casually put on in the background—but one to play loud, late, and with full attention.
Ten years old—but not one bit tired. On the contrary: hot, heavy, and more honest than ever.
-Helge Neumann
Comments