Fresh off winning Best Rock Album of the Year at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, Ghost announces the coming of PHANTOMIME, a five-song covers EP intended from the start to follow last year’s international chart-topping opus IMPERA. A diverse and spellbinding sampling of the GRAMMY Award-winning band’s musical DNA, PHANTOMIME is comprised of covers of classics and deep cuts by Television, Genesis, The Stranglers, Iron Maiden and Tina Turner. PHANTOMIME pays tribute in equal measure to every one of these unlikely bedfellow, influences while stamping them all with Ghost’s undeniable sonic signature.
The announcement of PHANTOMIME’s impending release also solves the mystery of Ghost’s recent “Jesus Is Coming” campaign, as referenced in the Good Friday premiere of the newest instalment of the band’s long-running webisode series, Chapter 17: Nap Time. PHANTOMIME’s May 18 release via Loma Vista Recordings is heralded by Ghost’s interpretation of Genesis’ 1992 satirical stab at televangelists “Jesus He Knows Me,” available now to stream and download, and as an instant grat track with pre-orders of the EP.
This second coming of “Jesus He Knows Me” is accompanied by an Alex Ross Perry-directed video that will surely make the case that one person’s beauty is another’s blasphemy. Culminating in a climactic ritual that must be seen to be believed, Ghost’s visual interpretation of “Jesus He Knows Me” rises to the occasion in unholy fashion — and then some. Viewer discretion is advised; & can only be seen here
The Easter Sunday release of the “Jesus He Knows Me” track and video continues two established Ghost traditions: 1) Following up the release of a full length studio album with uniquely Ghost-ified cover versions, past efforts having included reinterpretations of favorites by Abba, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, Roky Erickson, Eurythmics, Metallica, Pet Shop Boys and many more; and 2) Challenging, confronting and upending societal conventions and authority figures, often taking on specific antagonists — in this case, Father Jim DeFroque, host of the evangelical radio show Jesus Talk with Father Jim DeFroque on KLAQ in El Paso TX — and also star of the “Jesus He Knows Me” video.
The complete track listing for PHANTOMIME is as follows:
“See No Evil” (Television)
“Jesus He Knows Me” (Genesis)
“Hanging Around” (The Stranglers)
“Phantom of the Opera” (Iron Maiden)
“We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” (Tina Turner)
PHANTOMIME’s release will coincide with Ghost’s first live dates of 2023, beginning with a May/June European run of festival and headline dates including appearances at Primavera Sound 2023 where the band will share a bill with Blur, Depeche Mode, Halsey and Kendrick Lamar, among others, and Sweden Rock Festival 2023, where Ghost will be one of four headliners alongside Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. Ghost will then make its triumphant return to North America, for its RE-IMPERATOUR U.S.A. 2023 summer tour with special guest Amon Amarth. RE-IMPERATOUR U.S.A. 2023 kicks off August 2nd in Concord, CA, with stops in more than two dozen cities before its two-night finale the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on September 11th and — recently added by popular demand — September 12th.
