As Maniacal As Ever
It’s rare these days for a band to come along and be a genuinely unique enigma in comparison to everyone else on the scene. There have been plenty who have tried, and we’re probably guilty ourselves of posting articles promising as such with some acts, but really and truly since Ghost arrived on the Heavy music scene with their debut in 2010, we have seen the rise of one of the most remarkable bands in recent memory. We now sit here five years later with their third album blasting out of our speakers, and as ever they’ve delivered a spell-bindingly addictive record.
Whilst the band seemed to veer more into the wackier territory on second release Infestissumam with Meliora they’ve gone back to a more similar sound showcased on their debut. The weird and eccentric is still here of course, in abundance, but that is all sitting alongside the crunchy, simple yet catchy, heavy riffs which people fell in love with when they first broke through. Lyrically we’re still of course very much in the midst of all things Satanic, as the band continue to push their cult dark edge, whether they’re talking about ”Blackened feathers falling down” or opening tracks by telling you that ”Ever since you were born you’ve been dying”, it’s all here. Understandably there are wide sections of those who consider themselves fans of Heavy Music who struggle to get on with all of this, but one thing is for sure Ghost are the only band who are delivering the outlandish side of Heavy Metal to any great effect at the moment. Perhaps one of the easier criticisms to fling their way by album three, it is becoming difficult for Ghost to offer anything different. They’ve got a formula which now means that at times it feels like their natural desire for freedom in their artistic expression is under attack. Evidently from this album, they’re clearly very adept at writing high quality Heavy Metal tunes, but if the main positive point is the fact that they’ve returned to a sound more similar to the brilliant debut album, one has to question it slightly.
Overall then, Ghost are back, and whether you buy into the incredibly bonkers back story surrounding Papa Emeritus or not, you’ll give this a spin and find yourself engulfed in addictive and spectacularly catchy Heavy music. With each album their fan base grows, despite the restricted scope for expanding their sound, and their rise through the ranks now has them headlining The Pit stage at Reading & Leeds this year. The cult is strong with this one.