Music Review- Our Infernal Majesty: A Quick Guide to Ghost

The flowing robes, the masked faces, the dark imagery, the driving guitar chords, and the sinister lyrics. This is what you think of when you think of Swedish metal band Ghost. Led by Papa Emeritus (I through III depending on which album you are listening to) and a group of Nameless Ghouls, Ghost plays music that would have fit right into the soundtrack of an old Hammer horror movie. Beena and I have tickets to one of their upcoming shows so, in light of that, here's a quick primer to their discography:

                                                      Opus Eponymous
The first official album for Ghost in the US. At this point, they went by the name "Ghost B.C." in America due to legal issues. Those have been resolved since then. However, this is a strong opening for the band. It gets to the point of what Ghost is all about: a tongue in cheek religious cult for the devil. Taking many of their stage costumes and other ques from Catholic rites, Ghost wants you to think of them as this clandestine and ancient religion. In this album, they are led by Papa Emeritus I, a dark priest in the garb of a pope in zombie makeup. The best song on this album is "Ritual." It gets right to the point as to what Ghost is as it tells of a night of sacrifices and incantations to bring forth the dark lord. All of this being sung to a fun and catchy beat that is very easy to sing along to.

                                                      Infestissumam
Where Opus Eponymous was somewhat bare bones, Infestissumam is filled with synth lines, choir choruses, and other heavily produced sounds. They really upped the ante with this one. Here, Papa Emeritus II, clad in skull makeup, is a bit more dour yet theatrical than his brother. Three singles came off of this album. "Secular Haze" definitely goes for the old horror movie soundtrack. It almost sounds like a mad circus or a sinister waltz. "Monstrance Clock" ends with a church choir and pipe organ singing the chorus to close the album. Finally, the strongest song on the album, "Year Zero" has Papa singing to the rafters for that chorus. If Opus Eponymous was an introduction to Ghost, Infestissumam was like diving in head first into their world. Its also the only album I ever owned where the parental advisory label was more for the album artwork on the inside than the lyrical content.


If You Have Ghost
Still with Papa II, Ghost released an EP that included a few cover songs and a live version of "Secular Haze." The interesting thing about this album was that Dave Grohl did the percussion. It led to rumors that he was touring with Ghost as one of the Nameless Ghouls but of course this can't be verified. The best song on the EP s actually a cover of a song by Abba, oddly enough. Their rendition of "I'm a Marionette" added a sinister feeling to the song not present before.




Meliora
This is where Ghost hits all the right spots. With a new album, we have a new Papa. Papa Emeritus III is much more of a flashy showman than his older brothers He knows how to get the crowd riled up with stage banter and antics. Meliora took the catchy choruses of Infestissumam and cranked them up to eleven. Each song on this album is extremely catchy and a good food for the old ear worm. You'll be humming this album for days after listening to it. "From the Pinnacle to the Pit" is my favorite song on the album, followed closely by "Cirice" and "Absolution." The album has a lot of energy from the beginning of "Spirit" to the end of "Deus in Absentia." This was my gateway album to Ghost and it is pretty evident why it won them a Grammy.


Popestar
Another EP followed up. This one again included several cover songs and one original single. The single is the most catchy song ever created by man. I really believe that they sold their souls to the devil to write a song like "Square Hammer." It gets your pulse pounding and makes you want to sing along when it comes on no matter what is going on around you. That is some true evil, right there. The beat drives this song and it has a really fun and singable course. It is the quintessential Ghost song and should be the one you choose if you want to introduce someone to the band. This was the song that made Beena start liking them.



Ceremony and Devotion
This one is their live album. It also can just be seen as a best of for all the previous albums and it captures the fun of their live shows pretty well, especially Papa III's antics onstage.








So that's my take on Ghost's discography. Their new album Prequelle will be released soon and the first single, "Rats," is already out. Its just as catchy as "Square Hammer" so I'm very optimistic and looking forward to the full album's release. However, the Papa's a no more. They've been replaced by Cardinal Copia, who now leads the band under the tutelage of Papa Nil, a Papa who predates all Papas. That's what I like about this band, they completely immerse themselves in the sheer zaniness of their premise and don't take themselves too seriously. Sometimes, the main goal of music is to just have fun. To have that anthem to sing your heart out to. Who knows what this band will do next. Only the devil knows, and he's not telling.

-Toad