Now that Christmas has passed, I feel it’s safe to review psychedelic-throw-back-Satan-obsessed-metal-band Ghost’s debut album Opus Eponymous. Ghost, a five-piece based out of Sweden, has put together one of my favorite albums of the year (I rated it 2nd, after Agalloch’s Marrow of the Spirit, on my best of 2010 list) with their blend of catchy riffs, creepy organ, and intoxicating choruses. This is metal from the era of early Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Mercyful Fate, and though the band has a retro feel, the music is fresh and bold in 2010.
That Ghost is overtly Satanic both lyrically and in appearance—and I mean black mass Satanic, not the highbrow Anton Lavey stuff—makes Ghost a polarizing band for those who are not already fans of extreme heavy metal, a genre in which Satanism is frequently in play. Ghost, however, is different from your average metal band obsessed with the Evil One; Ghost does not ram obscene or violent imagery down your throat à la Watain or Dimmu Borgir. Instead, Ghost lures in listeners with insanely catchy, near-power-pop heavy metal with a strong rock and roll influence that, if it weren’t for the lyrics, would pass for something much less sinister. This approach to their subject matter reminds me much of the infectious dark electro-pop of The Electric Hellfire Club. What I’m trying to say is that tell mom to ignore the lyrics and she might enjoy it.
I’m no expert, but Satanism often revolves around the inversion and perversion of Christianity in terms of practice and symbolism. It is no surprise, then, that the overtly satanic Opus Eponymous begins with a soft church organ intro that one might hear on Sunday morning as a sort of sacrilegious wink. The song’s title gives away the undermining underway: “Deus Culpa” (roughly translated from Latin to The error/crime of God). A retro-metal bass groove brings in the second track, “Con Clavi Con Dio”, where Ghost assumes their usual sound. It is a rollicking bass driven song replete with organ, eerie vocal harmonies reminiscent of King Diamond and Ozzy, and creepy and menacing chants. The lyrical content is as you would expect, praising Satan with lyrics so overtly blasphemous that one might imagine the writer to be a rebellious youth trying to do everything in his power to offend his Catholic parents, albeit a rebellious youth with a robust knowledge of scripture.
The third song, ”Ritual”, would serve as a great single. It is riff-driven and memorable, with a chorus that is the sort of thing you might find yourself humming along and nodding your head to. “Elizabeth”, named for the infamous Elizabeth Báthory, follows and is equally catchy, as is “Stand by Him,” perhaps my favorite track on the album. There is not a bad song on the whole thing, a rarity, and at the conclusion of the album after the psychedelic instrumental “Genesis”, one feels the impulse to start over from the beginning.
Ghost has turned heads not just for their impressive debut, but also for the mystery that surrounds the band. The band performs live wearing monks’ robes that conceal their faces, standing motionless as they play their set. The front man dresses as a sort of anti-pope, complete with papal garb, hat, and corpse paint (see the album artwork above). The result is very creepy, made even creepier by the fact that the band members are nameless, refusing to reveal their identities. Some have speculated that the band may have been an engineered project put together by their record label, but I tend to think it was simply a great concept that has been executed expertly. Either way, the band’s identity and music create a mysterious aura that makes the band that much, well, cooler, for lack of a better word.
Overall, Opus Eponymous is an excellent, memorable, and fresh debut. I expect great things from Ghost in the future and hope that their release generates enough buzz in the US to warrant a North American tour. Not officially released in a physical form until 2011 in America, Opus Eponymous is currently available for download through ITunes and Amazon’s MP3 store and I strongly recommend that anyone remotely interested in heavy metal or retro rock and roll check it out.