Please be seated. You are about to receive the fourth sermon from our honourable Swedish clergymen Ghost. But first, some background for the heathens: after every album, the band ‘change’ singer. Papa Emeritus III was removed last year by the mysterious holy order, and a new emissary called Cardinal Copia was installed in his place to lead the congregation to new highs. He has carried on Emeritus’ creative vision in grand style, making sure that “Prequelle” is a dizzying, all-consuming rock opera delivered with convincing evangelical zeal.
Swedish gothic yet poppy hard rockers Ghost are easily recognizable due to their eccentric on-stage presence. Seven of their eight members – the ‘Nameless Ghouls’ – wear virtually identical, face-concealing costumes. Lead singer Tobias Forge stands out alone as an (ever-changing) lead character. There are quite a few character background stories to explore, as well as a lot of drama both on and off stage surrounding it all (including lawsuits, change of personnel, feuds with ex-members, etc), but exploring all of that goes far beyond the scope of a simple album review.
Their Satanic appearance has proven problematic for the group, primarily – drumroll, please – in the United States. This goes a long way to prove that bands are often judged on their looks rather than their actual messages and/or musical contents. It will only take five seconds of genuine study to determine that we are talking about cartoon spookiness here. What Ghost basically do is play catchy pop songs dressed up in gothic metal theatrics.
Plainly speaking: This is ABBA meets Black Sabbath, with the music having more in common with the former, the image more with the latter. Just like the Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy’s classification of Earth, Ghost are truly “mostly harmless.”
Prequelle is their fourth album. The band continues to offer a set of subversive, contrary, frequently excellent songs that push against the boundaries of metal’s self-imposed limits. The album offers moments of arena-rock ambition, sly transgressions and winking blasphemies, but very much sugared by the kind of pop nous that rock seems to have misplaced years ago. Whether you appreciate that or not will ultimately decide how you end up rating Ghost.
The intro Ashes is a reworking of the classic plague rhyme Ring A Ring O’ Roses, and sounds like it comes straight out of a classic horror movie. It leads into the very catchy first single Rats. Despite its medieval theme, the music is a pure homage to the 1980s, as with much of this record.
The band have long enjoyed a love affair with the 1980s (most obviously on their If You Have Ghosts and Popestar EPs, featuring covers of Roky Erickson, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode and others – even ABBA), with major chords, catchy rocked-up pop moments and warm production bumping up against seemingly grotesque, devilish lyrics.
The religious rapture of third track Faith is offset by insidious whispers and an almost subliminal horror-movie laugh, nailing that schlocky vibe Ghost do so well, walking a line between parody and thrills. Organ-augmented ballad See The Light combines gentle worship with Holy Communion metaphors about rotting flesh.
If Paul Stanley (KISS) had worked with Ulvaeus/Andersson (ABBA) on a song for his 1978 solo album, I am sure it would sound a lot like the second single Dance Macabre, and that is about as big a compliment as I am able to give. A perfect combination of the pop sensibilities of this band combined with a rock backbone, all the while displaying their retro mindset. “I wanna be with you, wanna bewitch you in the moonlight” sings Forge on what might be their catchiest song so far.
But the most perfect culmination on this record is in Pro Memoria; its sweet string, piano and choral melodies rain down like beautiful blessings, while the catchy vocal refrain bears the message: ‘Don’t you forget about dying, don’t you forget about your friend death’. Cheers, Cardinal Copia.
Prequelle takes some surprising turns, including two proggy instrumentals. The none-more-retro Miasma sounds like an extended action sequence, climaxing in an enthusiastic saxophone solo. Meanwhile, Helvetesfonster (Hell Window) is like a reprise of Pro Memoria combined with the theme tune from a movie. Though disarming on first listen, they do make the record feel like a grand musical. I find it lovely, but wonder if this is what fans of the band want. How much is too much? I can easily imagine these interludes as perfect for set changes when played on stage, as Ghost is a very theatrical band. Broadway next?
Final track Life Eternal is a grand finale of truly huge proportions. Tobias Forge sings “This is a moment of just letting go,” the track brimming with a nostalgic yet timeless affection. It ends up being one of the mighty high points on the album (along with Dance Macabre).
It could be held against Prequelle (and some people do) that the album has too many intros and instrumentals. Leaving those aside, the album contains seven tracks with lyrics. Do I agree with this potential criticism? No. This might have been a more valid point if the instrumentals weren’t of such high quality. But, they are. I have hummed them and been as much into some of them as any other track on offer.
The album has a huge sense of fun to it, and contains many memorable melodies designed to stick in your brain. The escapism it offers is also quite needed in these turbulent times. It’s a faith-healing session run by a perverse preacher. And so, in the year of our lord 2018, Ghost have delivered Prequelle. And lo, it is good.
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