{"id":69947,"date":"2018-06-01T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=69947"},"modified":"2018-06-12T20:12:53","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T20:12:53","slug":"album-review-ghost-prequelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-ghost-prequelle\/","title":{"rendered":"GHOST – Prequelle (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

GHOST
Prequelle<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSpinefarm \/ Loma Vista Recordings (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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And here we are again; back at the altar of Ghost, although still not quite prompted into kneeling in adoration. <\/p>\n

Prequelle<\/em> comes, as expected, with the usual spooky sparks and fizzes of melodic rock as Papa (who\u2019s now morphed into Cardinal Copia) and his clan of ghouls continue to bewitch in rather watery fashion by way of the spellbinding \u2018Rats\u2019. \u2018Rats\u2019 brings extra vim to the Ghost brigade\u2019s familiar churn; timely passages of Euro-pop gloom are furnished with esoteric rumbles, Tobias Forge still hell-bent on creating those sinister hints and engaging occult flirtations. All the while, Forge incorporates them into one big accessible coven, even if I still remain that seemingly sole outsider nonplussed by the entity before me which attempts to flap its wings with demonic vigour. <\/p>\n

Ghost click, crack, and jerk like an antique doll that refuses to be fixed, and indeed, why fix something that continues to work? \u2018Faith\u2019 emerges from marble halls on a doomy trudge and some cool, nifty lead work that worms towards that sinister vocal smirk. Nice on the ears, \u2018Faith\u2019 is clever, hard, dark rock with so many paler tones embedded. <\/p>\n

\u2018See The Light\u2019 is just (im)pure piano pop leaking towards rocky chugs. \u201cAnd of all of the demons I\u2019ve known… nothing can compare to you\u201d<\/em> bemoans our master of ceremonies through those haunting melodies, Ghost continuing to display their varying shades of grey. Ghost entice new members through the likes of \u2018See The Light\u2019 on a weekly basis, some of whom must surely be blind to the darker aspects of this intriguing yet flawed posse of the perverse. <\/p>\n

\u2018Miasma\u2019 is bony in its drum work and flighty with its guitar weaves, the track building into a lofty stable groove bereft of vocal presence before the stern stab of \u2018Danse Macabre\u2019 comes nodding in. Again, we\u2019re treated to that not quite summery swagger. \u201cYou\u2019ll soon be hearing the chime close to midnight…\u201d<\/em> Forge sings, the vocals caressed by a stark piano key as Ghost creates an ethereal love song to dance to. \u201cIt keeps on giving me chills but I know now…\u201d<\/em> kind\u2019ve sums up my feelings on Ghost on the whole; a band I appreciate, I get, but then don\u2019t get what all the fuss is about. <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the beautiful strokes of \u2018Pro Memoria\u2019 showcase the talent of the band as they effortlessly construct morbid poetry and hymns of disharmony. The sweeping piano threads are a joy to behold (\u201cDon\u2019t you forget about dying… don\u2019t you forget about your friend death\u201d<\/em>), and genius at times with their ghoulish black comedy traces.<\/p>\n

Then the hip-shaking saunter of \u2018Witch Image\u2019 comes swaggering in until a sudden drop in temperature means again that Ghost embarks on less stony, less rocky pathways. That swagger re-emerges, however, the shroud of Ghost encompassed within \u2018Witch Image\u2019 as we\u2019re treated to both ends of the spooky spectrum before we\u2019re lead into the dark fairytale forest of instrumental \u2018Helvetesf\u00f6nster\u2019 with its cavorting wisps and mystical prowess. All the while, a foreboding atmosphere lurks just beyond the trees of a will-o\u2019-the-wisp piano prior to the build-up into even stranger, cosmic territory \u2013 the nameless ghouls creating a rather extravagant glam rock flirtation.<\/p>\n

Finally, \u2018Life Eternal\u2019 sweeps us up as a mournful ballad. \u201cThis is the moment of just letting go…\u201d<\/em> the vocals swirl, haunting the ears as Ghost pretty much bids farewell to any \u201cheavy metal\u201d connotations which may of course disappoint the headbangers, but will no doubt please the worshippers who\u2019ve followed this outfit from day one. <\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s all still very much Ghost. Prequelle<\/em> does provide more class than previous outings, and by eradicating the metal musings, we\u2019ve been rewarded by a rather sparkling beacon of an opus sure to light up the very darkest corners of Hades. Ghost is a theatrical rock act with darker flourishes, so why it ought to be anything more? Oh, and nice touch with the nod to Sepultura\u2019s Bestial Devastation<\/em> with the cover art.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GHOSTPrequelle Spinefarm \/ Loma Vista Recordings (2018)Rating: 8\/10 And here we are again; back at the altar of Ghost, although still not quite prompted into kneeling in adoration. Prequelle comes, as expected, with the usual spooky sparks and fizzes of melodic rock as Papa (who\u2019s now morphed into Cardinal Copia) and his clan of ghouls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-ghost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69947"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69949,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69947\/revisions\/69949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}