Ghost is an anomaly. A wealth of talented bands have come out of Sweden in the last quarter century, Bands that if given the proper platform and push would be HUGE and yet over here in America the majority of these bands are known only by the rock n roll die hards like myself. The fact that Ghost has managed to become a big draw here and crack a more mainstream market is incredible, Even more incredible when you think about how they built their fame on subverting Catholic pageantry and incorporating themes usually associated with black metal bands.
To look at Ghost you would definitely assume they would have a far heavier sound than what they actually do, So against the odds it begs the question of how did they become so successful? I can only answer that by saying that Tobias Forge is a gifted artist with a vivid vision.
Over the course of 15 years, if I have the timeline of releases correct, Ghost has gradually built a media empire, not far removed from how KISS built their career. Each album has a theme and a new Papa Emeritus, Their version of a succession of popes which become the conduit through which Tobias expresses his artistry. They’ve had a live album/theatrical movie, Been featured in a video game, they even currently have a comic book mini series surrounding the character of Sister Imperator. They have story videos on YouTube that weave the mythology of their characters together which connect to albums and music videos, they are a music junkies dream come true. But all that would be utterly meaningless without great songs and make no mistake about it, Ghost have GREAT songs!
They have just released their sixth full length album Skeletá and Tobias never disappoints, every album they’ve done to date stands on its own and they have creatively outdone themselves with each release and this album is no different.
The voice of a child singing over a choir as an organ plays in the background begins “Peacefield” before riffs that recall Def Leppard kick off the actual song, The chorus slightly recalls “Seperate Ways” by Journey, Def Leppard and Journey through the style of Ghost is how I would describe this song. The arrangements on this song are intricate and grand, This is arena worthy rock n roll glory.
Next up is the albums second single “Lachryma” which for my money is the best song on the album, glistening 80’s keys and a great bass line begin the album with a searing lead guitar slicing through before the heavier riffs come crashing down on you, the verses section of this song wouldn’t have been out of place on their third album Meliora. But this song possesses you with an irresistible sense of melody and raises you back up with a seductive chorus. Nobody writes songs like Ghost, Tobias does things in his songs that I don’t really see other bands doing with the way his melodies are sequenced and this song is a prime example of that. After the second chorus there’s an incredible melodic guitar solo and for me a great solo is not how fast you can play, it’s the emotion you inject it with and how well you execute it. Top marks, This song is perfection.
I’m going to be honest here, I personally would not have picked “Satanized” as the first single, The prior song should’ve been it. That’s not a knock on this song at all, it’s really good. Just not as good as “Lachryma” but back to the track at hand. “Satanized” slows the pace a bit, the rhythm section provides the pulse to the verses of the song before the bridge gives it a bit more lift and then really takes off at the chorus. Allegedly this song is about love and you can hear a sort of desperation conveyed in Tobias’s vocals at the chorus, An addictive song despite my minor critique of it.
“Guiding Lights” start out with some beautiful piano and humming bass before adding in some beautiful acoustic guitar, The drums don’t kick in until the second set of verses. The arrangements of the instruments on this song are beautiful and breathtaking, The progression flawless and deeply layered providing a stunning canvas for Tobias to perform probably the best vocals he’s done on a song yet. This might not be a single but it will absolutely stun the audience live.
“De Profundis Borealis” starts out with some beautiful and melancholic piano before hitting you with some heavy riffs, The pace of it is energetic and charges with a great sense of melody. Tobias singing mostly in a lower register, This is something different than you’ve heard from them before in their faster paced songs and it really gets the adrenaline pumping.
“Cenotaph” follows it with another energetic rocker, jubilant in its composition and execution.
“Missilia Amori” comes roaring out of the speakers with a sense of restrained venom but by no means in an aggressive way, This is stadium rock by way of a lover scorned and a sense of revenge. It’s amazing how this song hits so hard while not being what you would associate with really heavy, something about this reminds me of the music in the chorus of their song “Dance Macabre”
“Marks Of The Evil One” follows up the energy of the last one, a thundering and melodic thrill ride that continues throughout the song and builds to a great guitar and keyboard dual.
“Umbra” is epic. The song begins with synths both ominous and celebratory before the guitar kicks things in gear with a great drum and cowbell backbeat, This is highly energetic and brims with the urgency of reaching a crescendo before we’ve even seen the twists and turns this song takes. This is an epic instrumental built into a song, the drums take off like a tornado, the guitars play like they were orchestrated by Mozart, the keys adding to the atmosphere. Absolutely MINDBLOWING musicianship and song writing, My second favorite song on the album overall but musically this lays every other track on the album to waste.
The album ends with “Excelsis” a beautiful song not far removed from their song “Life Eternal” from their album Prequelle, But I would say a lot more grand, Almost prog rock at times. This song is a rumination on the finality of life and mortality, Tobias has said in interviews that unlike the other Ghost albums he wanted to go more introspective with this album and you really see it and feel it in songs like this. Lush arrangements and bittersweet melodies dominate the finale of the album and it’s a gorgeous way to go out.
There’s been some amazing albums this year but none that touch the grandeur and scale of the music on this album, I might even say from a composition standpoint this could be their best album.
The majestic scope of Skeletá further illustrates why Ghost is the powerhouse that they are, They deserve all the success they have achieved and more. Skeletá is an incredible album and Ghost is one of those rare in a generation bands. Do not miss this album.
10/10