Ghost

#1230: 101 Dumpsters: Top Five & 2025 In Review

RECORD STORE TALES #1230: 101 Dumpsters: 2025 In Review

Dear friends and strangers,

As we gather and recall the past year, it is important to remember the many times we have sat here together before.  Most years since 2018 have been years of change.  2025 is no exception.  Always setbacks, losses and triumphs!  Let’s have a look back the good, the bad, and the awesome!

Part the First

2025 represented a personal shift away from writing and more towards videos.  The reason for this is two-fold:

1. The Community changed from primarily writers, to YouTubers.  Whereas I used to do writing collaborations, now I am invited onto YouTube shows.  Collaborations abounded in 2025!  I became a regular on The Contrarians Live, with a total of 27 episodes in 2024-25 (Full list of 27 episodes can be found by clicking here).  Many of these included Martin Popoff – pinch my younger self!  I also did several episodes of Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr, My Music Corner with Johnny Metal, Tim’s Vinyl Confessions with Mr. Durling, Darcyska with D’Arcy Briggs, Grant’s Rock Warehaus with Mr. Arthur, Slogan’s Rock and Metal Extravaganza with Sidney and sometimes Logan, Rock Show Critique with Joey Suto, Off the Charts with Dan Chatrand, and of course, a couple amazing episodes on The Collection with Mr. John T. Snow (more on that later).   The biggest channel I appeared on in 2025 was Pete Pardo’s Sea of Tranquility.  I did two episodes with them, both hosted by Jamie Laszlo.  This has kept me well busy!

2. 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  We debuted on January 10, 2025 and are still rolling with the Maiden!  We’ll be done mid-2026.

It has been an incredible year creatively.  There is a lot to be proud of.  Videos appeal to a different audience than written articles, and so we’ve lost people along the way, but one must always follow their creative muse.  I have been making videos since 1989.  With the tools we have now, it is an old burning passion that is now easy to follow.  There were still written some reviews in 2025, and there will be in 2026, but I must go where the wind takes me.  I’m not fighting it or questioning it anymore.  I’m just doing what I want to do.  Music always finds its way into everything I do.

 

Part the Second

We can’t talk about 2025 without talking about our dive back into interviews!  Lacking confidence, I swore them off a while ago.  Not including people that I consider friends, such as Robert Lawson and Tim Durling, 2025 was primarily dominated by six interviews, in chronological order:

1. Blotto:  Early in the year, I reached out to Blotto about an interview for their new movie, Hello! My Name Is Blotto! The Movie.  To my surprise, I got the whole band and movie director Rob Lichter as well.  This went so well that it created lasting friendships, our own “Blotto” names (Kitchener and Blocko Blotto), and a second interview coming in 2026.  This gave me the confidence I needed to do more.

2. Alan Niven:  Thank you John T Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic for inviting me to co-host his interview with former Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven.  It was for his book Sound N’ Fury which has still not come out.  John and I were fortunate enough to read it before “someone” had the plug pulled…and you can certainly guess who is probably responsible.  What a great interview experience this was!  Alan puffed his cigar and answered our questions thoughtfully and with considered wit.  A formidable man who treated us with nothing but thanks and gratitude.

3. Next Up was Bob Cesca from Camp Chaos, though this did not air for a few months after we recorded it, as it was slotted in for 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode 25: Visions of the Beast.  Bob was responsible for those “NAPSTER BAD!” cartoons in the early 2000s, and his love of science fiction and Rush made him one of the easiest conversations we’ve ever had.  Talking to Bob gave us another confidence boost.  I said to Harrison, “We should get in touch with the Blaze Bayley camp…”

4. Blaze Bayley is our proudest achievement to date, collectively and personally.  With very little notice, we were given an early morning recording time on a Monday.  What resulted is an interview that Harrison and I felt no hyperbole in calling “The Best Blaze Bayley Interview You’ve Ever Seen”  From Iron Maiden to mental health to science fiction and punctuality, Blaze was everything we hoped he would be and more.  To say we have interviewed someone from Iron Maiden, is a bucket list item we can check off.  A lifetime of wishes come true.  They say “Don’t meet your heroes?”  Harrison and I both disagree.

5. Rick Hughes from Sword was another big one.  Here is a guy who I have been listening to since 1987; even longer than Blaze by a good margin.  Dan Chartrand and I were both offered Rick, but rather than duplicate each other, we decided to team up.  The subject was Rick’s new solo album Redemption, but we went everywhere with this interview.  Opening for Motorhead, reuniting the band, and writing with Aldo Nova:  we covered it all on this excellent interview with a Canadian metal legend.

6. Tom Harper, known professionally as Harper, was a fun way to end the year’s interviews.  The only thing that can compete with anyone from Iron Maiden is a guy who played on a Kiss record.  Harper played bass on “Shandi”, and had a million stories.  Check out the episode that my mom called the “best ever!”  Even Broadway Blotto agreed!

Part the Third:  Top Five Albums of 2025

The part everyone waits for every year!  There is also an accompanying Tim’s Vinyl Confessions episode to go with my list, but for those who prefer to read… read on!

My music list this year is a delightful mix of genres and bands.  I love that a band well over 50 years old can put out my #1 album of 2025.   On the opposite side of the age gap is a hot young band out of Toronto.  In the middle is a British band that debuted in the early 2000s.  All of these albums are worth checking out, but please note my #1 pick is particularly special.

Here’s to the best of 2025!

5. The Beaches – No Hard Feelings

The Toronto quartet rolls on with another hit-filled new album.  Cutting edge rock & pop from a feminine perspective.

4. Ghost – Skeletá

Another band that simply rolled on with another album full of memorable classics… it’s Ghost!

3. The Darkness – Dreams On Toast

Vying for Album of the Year, it easily could have been Dreams on Toast.  An exceptionally strong album, and easily their best since Last of Our Kind.

2. Harem Scarem – Chasing Euphoria

Another contender for Album of the Year.  Reaching highs not heard since the early 1990s, Harem Scarem have a sound that they have mastered, and they continue to find new ways of writing catchy hard rock.

1. Styx – Circling From Above

When I finally got my hands on the new Styx, I knew immediately that the Battle of 2025 was over – finished!!  New(er) members Terry Gowan and Will Evankovich have brought fresh sounds to the first rock band I ever liked.  That’s three incredible albums in a row from Styx!  Progressive rock and beyond.

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 754: Best Albums of 2025

 

Part the Fourth:  Personal Stuff

Another years of highs and lows on the personal front.   My Aunt is in a care facility; she has a hard time remembering us.  We also lost our beloved elder.  Losing Grandma shortly after her 101st birthday was surreal.  She’d had so many health scares and recoveries, that I mourned her multiple times in the last five years before she finally passed.  I was so happy to see her make 101 years.  We saw her on her birthday, and that was the last time we saw her.  I gave her eulogy, and some people say it’s the best public speech I ever gave.  Highs and lows!

There were a ton of big changes and challenges at home in 2025.  Renovations, which I’ve been talking about for years, have finally commenced!  New windows and doors are installed, and more purging of belongings we didn’t need.  I established a home office for working remotely.  That is probably the biggest change at home in 2025.  I haven’t commuted anywhere in a month now.  This has drastically altered my mental health, as I navigate new routines.  Fingers are crossed!

2025 also represented a new personal peace.  Trying to be a better person year after year, I endeavored to put the past behind me and reach out to some old friends.  To my surprised delight, one of them reconnected with me, and we are friends again.  The one that I once publicly said would never talk to me again, has been back in my life for a year.  Another declined my olive branch, but I’ll take this win.   Working towards a more peaceful life is a good goal to have, and it doesn’t mean you can’t still listen to angry heavy rock!  Though I certainly can’t rock physically as hard as I used to.

One thing that I am slowly learning is that years tend to get harder as you age.  We lose people, and you can never predict that the the next year will be a year without funerals.  The last part of 2025 has been dominated by physical pain and anxiety.  Painfully, I am forced to realize that the body breaks down as we abuse it, year after year.  Physically, though I am taking care of myself by trying to eat better, and practice better mental health, my body is betraying me.  New pains become familiar pains.  Some go away for months and surprise you with a return later on, always at inconvenient times.  This year was the year I dropped my cell phones into a dumpster, and took a dive for the worse.  I am still paying for that mis-step.  There are good and bad days for pain.  Today is a particularly bad one.  Healing must continue in 2026.

Part the Last

In these uncertain times, we can only hope things don’t get worse next year.  Nobody can say what the new year will bring, but I do know we’ll have plenty of new music to digest.  New tours, as Journey, Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses, and even Rush and Triumph roll into 2026.

I don’t want to end the year on a bummer.  I can’t promise that 2026 will be the “best year ever!” or that I will reach newer and higher accomplishments.  I can only promise that I will continue to follow my creative muses.  I have many creative hats.  I’m a videographer, a podcaster, a writer, a drone pilot, and a cook.  You’ve been with me as I’ve shared my journey, on these subjects and more.  Journey on, I will.  More adventures.  More food.  More new discoveries.  More MUSIC!  Even years ago, when I “quit” writing about music, it still found its way into my work.  Every drone video has a kick-ass soundtrack, and every fictional story I’ve ever written has a soundtrack to it (whether you can hear it or not).  Music has been my life since 1977, when John Williams first opened my ears with the bombastic sound of brass, percussion and strings.  It’ll never go away.

I end this year with a message of hope.

I have learned that nothing is permanent.  The present sometimes feels like it, but nothing lasts forever and soon our new “normal” will be quite different from today.  If I can reconcile with the most unlikely of old friends, then there is always hope.  Hope for the future.  Happy 2026, and let’s continue to break new ground…together.

REVIEW: Ghost Super 7 Ultimates Papa Emeritus IV figure

So close… but rite here right now, so far…

SUPER 7 – Ultimates Papa Emeritus IV figure

7″ of satanic panic?  Absolutely, for here is a Papa Emeritus IV “Ultimates” figure from Super 7.  These limited edition deluxe action figures offer supreme poseability, lots of accessories, and supreme packaging.  But is it worth the $70 that Amazon was asking for this evil doll?

Let’s take a close look at the figure, his accessories and packaging.

Photos and packaging can be seen in above video

The box is a cathedral-like window, which looks great as a backdrop for your figure.  Papa can be displayed in his cloaks and mitre, or more simply in a shiny blue suit.  He has options for interchangeable heads, and a selection of pop-off hands for either guise.  The plain Papa has hands in plain black gloves while the more decorative Papa has hands with skeleton-like designs on them.  He has two soft-goods pieces of clothing to dress him up:  A vest-like undercloak, and a poseable wire-blacked cloak.  Both are intricately decorated.  Take care to keep both in excellent condition.

While it is easy to swap out Papa’s parts and clothing for any display option, this is the point at which the figure loses some character.  Fully cloaked, his articulation is limited.  You can’t lift his arms very high, which makes the “devil horn” hand kind of pointless.  He has a hand that can hold his microphone, but it works best with the two-piece mic stand so Papa doesn’t have to lift it.   Without the cloak, he can pose much better, simulating his dance moves from the video for “Rats”.  His shiny shoes look perfect for this.

Unfortunately, Papa needs at least one head with an open mouth.  Otherwise he never looks like he’s singing, which makes the microphone somewhat useless.

Super 7 got a lot right on this figure.  The articulation is good enough on the base figure.  The paint and details are spectacular, which is important for a premium figure.  Not enough attention was paid when it comes to his accessories.  Extra hands with varying finger positions are a standard feature now, but keeps like a cheat to include all of them in an accessory count.  You can only use two at a time, after all.   Instead of so many hands, an alternate “singing head” and perhaps Papa’s staff would be more useful.  I’m also quite fond of miniature albums coming with action figures, but Super 7 didn’t ask for my opinion.

If you can get one of these with free shipping or on sale, go for it.  Imperfect figures get imperfect scores.

3/5 stars

 

#1119: The Olde Toys R Us Store Sure Has Changed…

RECORD STORE TALES #1119: The Olde Toys R Us Store Sure Has Changed…

Where Toys R Us stands today in Kitchener Ontario, there once was a drive-in movie theater.  That was torn down in the early 1980s, and the mighty Toys R Us was raised.  There it has loomed heavy over Fairview Mall across the street, for four decades, beckoning children with aisles and aisles of Star Wars toys, then replaced by GI Joe figures and Transformers.  It was impossible to enter Toys R Us without finding something you wanted.  It has ebbed and waned since then, now stuffed with unwanted and overpriced 6″ figures and Super 7 cards.

“At least we still have a Toys R Us,” we say.  “Mastermind Toys is closing, and Walmart sucks.  Now let’s go check out the vinyl at the Toys R Us store.”

Full stop.  What?  Vinyl at Toys R Us?

In another attempt to stay relevant as Hasbro drives their prices up and quality down, creating shelfwarming superheroes and Sith lords, Toys R Us is now stocking vinyl at their Kitchener location.

Last time I visited there, about a month ago, they were in the process of re-organizing.  Where the Lego and Hasbro products were, was becoming a book section.  Interesting!  Book stores haven’t done well in the area, with the short-lived Booksmarts closing a decade ago, across Wilson Ave from TRU.  Still, we must applaud any attempts to get kids reading books.  I didn’t have a look at the book section myself; nothing caught my eye.  What did catch my view was the familiar shape of white bins containing shrink-wrapped packages, 12″ by 12″.  Each one was different, boasting vibrant artwork.

They were not calendars.  They were records.  Vinyl had come to Toys R Us.

The first one I noticed was Prequelle by Ghost.  $25.  Not bad.  I picked it up in my eager hands.

I considered buying Ghost on vinyl at that price.  Oh, sure, I already own a CD copy with a lenticular cover and bonus tracks, but…vinyl, right?

I put it back.  Ghost are more of a car band for me.  I wouldn’t play the vinyl more than twice.  Decent price though.

Thinking of the bands aching to be collected on vinyl back at home, I looked for Kiss and Iron Maiden.  No Kiss; lots of The Killers though.  The albums were loosely organized.  Toys R Us doesn’t have a dedicated person for this section to keep things organized, and…ouch!!  What’s that?  A record was clumsily wedged between two rows, pulling the cover in two directions and creating an ugly crease.  I put the records back in rows, but this is why you need a dedicated person when you put a record store inside a toy store.

There were some interesting finds there.  Purple Rain on vinyl would be cool to have.  I chuckled when I saw a Linkin Park Meteora 2.0 box set.  Jen used to love Linkin Park.  I bought her the Linkin Park/Jay-Z album for Christmas when we were dating.

Over to Iron Maiden.  They had a decent selection – better than a lot of the local chain stores.  Several albums I needed on vinyl, and even the three-LP En Vivo set.  A-ha!  Number of the Beast.  I just got ripped off at The Beat Goes On with an overpriced copy a few weeks prior.  How does Toys R Us pricing compare?

Cheaper!  Four bucks cheaper!  Toys R Us had The Number of the Beast four bucks cheaper than the $40 copy I bought at The Beat Goes On across the street.  How can Toys R Us be beating The Beat Goes On, a dedicated music store, in prices?  According to friend Kevin, the record sections are actually little HMVs.  They also have one in St. Catharines.

“They really need to work on their merchandising,” said Chris Preston, who had copious notes on how to improve this situation.  “No genres whatsoever,” he added.  Chris also felt it was a big miss to not sell turntables or accessories with the records.

There was no signage, and the records were as much in order as you’d find at the local mall stores.  There were no letter groups – A, B, C, etc.  Many additional records were not displayed at all, and just shoved into a lower shelf.  That’s where I found Purple Rain.  They did have coloured vinyl and limited editions.  It wasn’t a bad little corporate record section, if it was properly cared for.

I questioned the wisdom of placing a record section in a store primarily occupied by running and screaming pairs of hands, right around record shelf height.  I dealt with this at a CD store, remember.  I think they’re gambling on the nerd factor.  Those people who are coming in for the newest Lego releases or collectible figures.  They’re hoping those people will also stop and buy a record.

“Nerds like records too now, right?”  You can imagine an executive asking that question in a boardroom, somewhere in a downtown metropolis where decisions such as these are made.

Considering three, briefly, I ended up not buying any.  I considered but dismissed Prequelle, and also Somewhere In Time and Powerslave by Iron Maiden.  The prices were a little high for Maiden albums that I remember being stocked at $10 or less at the downtown Sam the Record Man in 1989.  Incidentally, Toys R Us had Powerslave cheaper than Amazon at the exact same time, also by about four bucks.

What does it mean when Toys R Us stores are stocking vinyl in a makeshift music section, but no other formats like CD or cassette?

I think this means we have hit peak vinyl.  HMV is dumping their stock in these micro-locations, because they have too much.  I’ve seen it before.  We did similar things when we had too many CDs in our warehouse.  The Boss Man tried moving them in bulk to a micro-location.  That was one of many schemes that I remember.

I do look forward to buying at least one record at Toys R Us in the future.  I’ll keep the price tag on forever, just to prove it happened.

My overpriced Beast vinyl from The Beat Goes On.  I wonder how the old Boss Man feels about another chain inching in on his territory, with cheaper prices?

#1112: Comfort Albums (ft. Peter Kerr)

RECORD STORE TALES #1112: Comfort Albums (ft. Peter Kerr)

Pulling into the driveway, you breath a sigh of relief after a long day at the grind.  Walking in the front door, removing your shoes, you begin to feel human once again.  Nobody is home and the place is yours.  After a stressful day like today, no more TV or news would help you relax.  You set about preparing dinner, and select some new albums to listen to.  More recent music, relatively speaking  Comfort albums.  Albums that feel like an old slipper, that remind you of a past era.  Familiar sounding music that just isn’t made this way anymore.  What do you choose?

I have a few records that fit this bill for me.  The latest is Invincible Shield by Judas Priest.  It is remarkable that this band have had such highs and lows, but still manage to put out a career-high record 50 years after their debut.  There are throwbacks a-plenty, of very high quality.  Some riffs or choruses bring you back to the 80s and Defenders of the Faith.  Several sound of the Painkiller era, particularly because of Scott Travis’ double bass.  Others pulls back to the 70s and Hell Bent for Leather.  Though the modern production and vocals of Rob Halford keep the album in the present, it otherwise sounds akin to the records I love so much from my youth.  They are of the same blood.

It takes a lot for new music to get my blood pumping the way my old favourites do.  When I play Invincible Shield, I’m 15 or 16 years old again, excited for this new album and rooting for my heavy metal heroes on a job well done.  It’s a comfort album.  The warm air of nostalgia blows through my window as another amazing outro guitar solo fades into silence.  I half expect to have to get up and flip the tape soon, so far back am I taken.

Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation, who suggested this topic, had his own example.

“Black Ice,” he said.  “AC/DC did not put an album out for eight years.  “I bought it, and played the first track ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Train’.  It was like a comfort album…big smile on the face!”

Indeed, I remember hearing that song on the radio myself and just being happy to hear a new song that sounded like AC/DC.   Perhaps once upon a time, new AC/DC music was just expected regularly, like your tax bills.  Then there came a time when we had to cherish a new AC/DC album.  Black Ice was the first one where I felt like, “Let’s savour this one this time.”

Another album that had that comforting effect, but not because it’s by a heritage band, is 2022’s Impera by Ghost.  Now here is a band that loves throwbacks, but are not content to stick to any particular style or direction.  Listening to the Ghost discography was like rapidly traveling forward in time, until Impera seemingly brought us to the year 1987.

Impera is one of my favourite albums to play on my way home from work.  With the sun sometimes right in my eyeline and impatient drivers zooming from lane to lane, the commute home is best assuaged by good music that helps me decompress.  “Spillways”, “Watcher in the Sky” and “Griftwood” are the three that specifically warm me like a favourite blanket on a cold day.  They simply don’t make music like this very often anymore.  Oh sure, lots of bands try to do that “80s thing” but few can really trick your brain into thinking you went back in time.  Ghost do it, and they do it frequently.  Not just Impera, but also on Prequelle with songs like “Danse Macabre”.  The single “Kiss the Go-Goat” sounds like something from 1970 and might have a similar effect on someone from that era.

You feel the strain leave your body as you tap your feet to the song.  Comfort music often gets you to move.  I can’t help but play air guitar or air drums to real comfort music.  That’s just good, healthy activity!  I’m speaking about a certain age group here, but as it gets continually more effortful to get up and rock a bit, music like this becomes more and and more precious.

Here I am, as my back aches and my right shoulder reminds me it’s healing from injury, and I’m playing vigorous air guitar to the lively “Fight of Your Life” by Judas Priest.  I cannot throw shapes like I did in my bedroom at age 15, but I do OK, and it feels alright.  Until my elbow says “no more” and my knees falter!

The music feels good.  You can use any number of words:  nostalgic, warm, energising, recapturing…there is something unique about a true comfort album that just makes you say “Thank God this exists.  I needed this, to make me feel this way.  Thank you for the music!”

#1084: Ghost’s No Cell-Phone Zone

RECORD STORE TALES #1084: Ghost’s No Cell-Phone Zone

Those of us over a certain age, don’t we all long for the old days?  Wouldn’t it be nice to see an arena full of cigarette lighters instead of cell phones for a change?  Ozzy used to scream to the audience:  “Let me see your cigarette lighters!”  Does anyone ever command an audience to raise their cell phones?

I kid, of course.  The real issue is that some bands today, such as Ghost, don’t want to see a show being filmed and uploaded to YouTube.  I get it.  Bootlegging is far more ubiquitous than it was when I was in my 20s.  Back then, if you had the balls, you could try to a record a show yourself, like my sister’s friend did with the Barenaked Ladies in the 90s with a mono microcassette recorder.  They were able to get a few unreleased BNL cult classics on tape that way.  It sounded like shit, but they had it.  It was easy to sneak in the tape recorder, but you had to flip the tape and make sure you had fresh batteries in there.  Not to mention, you had to actually own a small tape recorder, which not everyone did!  Today virtually everyone has a cell phone, and virtually every cell phone has a hi-def camera built in.  You can even record in stereo on some.

Presumably for this reason, Ghost have initiated a No Cell-Phone Zone at their concerts.

The comments on this news were predictable.  “I have no problem with this,” said one troll, “since I have no desire to see Ghost.”

What about someone like me?  I am a full-time caregiver.  My wife has uncontrolled epilepsy and would not be at a concert of any kind with me.  I get a call, I leave.  That’s it.  I need my phone.

Here’s how it works.

Upon entry, your phone will be placed in a Yondr pouch, and locked.  You take the pouch and phone with you, pocket it, and enjoy the show.  After the show, you can unlock the pouch at an unlocking station.  How many of these are available, and where they are exactly, is not clear from the Ghost press release.  As long as these are plentiful and easy to access, this situation is not too bad.

If I got an emergency call mid-show, I could feel the vibrations, but I would not be able to answer.  However I would be able to step out, unlock my phone, and call back.

If the call turned out to be another air-duct cleaning company, or another scam, I would be pissed off that I exited the show to check my phone.  I wouldn’t have a choice.  If it rings, it could be an emergency.  That’s just my life.  That’s just how my life works and has worked for 15 years.

Although this scheme is something that seems new and therefore scary and threatening, it does seem to be workable.  You can feel your phone vibrate through the pouch, and still know your phone is getting a call.  What happens after that is up to you.  In my case, I would need to know what it was, and chances are, I’ll miss a song because of some stupid scam call.  In most cases, people will not check their phones at all, and just keep enjoying the show.

No cell phones waving in the air in front of you.  It doesn’t seem so bad.

The main factors are two:  the unlocking stations must be numerous, and easy to access.  Otherwise I’d have problems with this plan.

I’m cautiously on Ghost’s side with this one.  It will be interesting to see which bands adopt this, and who are opposed.

Could be interesting!

REVIEW: Ghost – Phantomime (2023)

GHOST – Phantomime (2023 Loma Vista)

As they often do, Ghost have followed last year’s excellent Impera album with an underwhelming covers EP.  Fear not, there’s a deluxe version of Impera coming for those who needed more, but in the meantime, the five song EP Phantomime had better tide us over.

Ghost have diverse taste in covers, as past EPs have demonstrated.  This time, they’re taking on 80’s New Wave, 80’s Metal, 70’s Rock, and 90’s Prog.  Let’s see how it shapes up.  The band are still sounding very much like an 80’s hard rock band on this EP, much as they did on Impera.

Television’s “See No Evil” strikes as an appropriate title to cover.  Ghost do a fine job of it, turning it into a Ghost-like hard rock anthem.  The opening bassline really jumps out, and strikes as something Duff McKagan may have been inspired by early in his career.  Smokin’ guitar solo here.  It’ll sound great blasting from the car this summer.  But something about Ghost doing covers…why are they never as great as their originals?  Papa Emeritus just sounds better singing about Satan, perhaps?

A sped-up “Jesus He Knows Me” is another great title to see on a Ghost record.  There’s nothing of Genesis here, really!  If you played this for anyone who didn’t know the original song, you’d assume it was a metal original.  Lyrically perfect for Ghost, though!

The Strangler’s “Hanging Around” is centred on a big fat organ part that sounds great and beefy on this CD.  Very different from the original, but like the previous songs, it’s Ghost-ified by Papa and the Nameless Ghouls.  For better or for worse!  It is not especially memorable as a cover.

The controversial “Phantom of the Opera” by Iron Maiden is fourth.  Why controversial?  Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno didn’t particular care for it.  I disagree with Paul and think it’s the best thing here.  If Maiden wrote the song today, with their current affectation towards keyboards, it might sound a little bit more polished like Ghost’s version.  Ghost maintain the speed, the riffs, the solos, and all the essential ingredients.  It’s just Maiden, but covered by Ghost, and as such it seems to work better than the other tunes.

Finally we have the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome theme song “We Don’t Need Another Hero” by the late great Tina Turner.  An interesting and surprising choice even for Ghost.  Jury’s still out on this one.  Nerves might still be a little too raw after Tina’s unfortunate passing.  The Ghost version was released just before, but now…let’s just say jury’s still out and leave it at that.

Casual fans, stick to Ghost’s original albums.

3/5 stars

REVIEW: Ghost – “Spillways” featuring Joe Elliott (2023)

GHOST – “Spillways” featuring Joe Elliott (2023 Loma Vista)

One of the best songs of 2022 gets a new life courtesy of Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott, who comes in on the second verse.  Ghost have evolved into quite the arena rock band, and Joe’s touch cements this even further.  The Leppard frontman chose Ghost’s Impera as his #1 album of 2022, so maybe you should check out what the man was so excited about?

5/5 stars

#987: The Summer Awakens

RECORD STORE TALES #987: The Summer Awakens

It’s official:  the earliest swim on record for any summer at the lake is May 13!  If you don’t believe in global warming, then I can tell you that past weekends in early May, we were snuggled up in jackets and long pants.  This year, early May was as warm as early July used to be.  What an incredible weekend.  Clear and sunny until late Saturday.  By then we were indoors waiting for the Toronto Maple Leafs to once again exit the playoffs in the first round.  But I’m jumping head of myself!

Traffic was light but the music was heavy.  Albums for the drive up:

As expected, both were awesome on the road.  There was no clear winner.  Interestingly, Jennifer liked “Roots In My Boots” by Scorpions, which I considered a bit of a throwaway.  Regardless, both albums did well on the highway and rocked us safely to the cottage in two hours.

First music on the porch:

  • Kathryn Ladano – Open

Not a new release, but since the good Doctor was next door, it felt right to serenade her with some of her best music!

From there we settled in with the first hot dogs of the year, and I began to prep for my show that night (Top 11 Star Wars movies) by watching The Phantom Menace.  10 years ago, the only way to do that would be to bring a DVD and watch it on the laptop.  If we wanted to watch a Star Wars movie 30 years ago, we needed to bring the tape and a VCR!  Everything is so easy now, but dependent on a good internet connection.  That connection enabled me to do the first cottage show of the year, and a success it was.  I experimented with some new lighting and it worked way better than last year after sundown.  A successful show — and one of the best we’ve ever done.   Certainly one of my favourites.

It’s always hard to sleep after a caffeinated show like that.  I got four or five hours, and was up and at ’em early Saturday.  It was so quiet.  Most cottagers have not opened yet — their loss!  They were not able to listen when I rocked Kiss on the front porch on Saturday.  Kiss albums this weekend included Dynasty, Kiss, Hotter Than Hell, Peter Criss, and Rock and Roll Over.

I made fish for breakfast (trout) and went to go pick up my new bass from neighbor Donna.  Her brother was Don Simmons of Helix, and this bass used to belong to him.  It is my honour to play it on the porch in his memory.  Although I use the word “play” very loosely.  I have never played bass before and can only “barely” play guitar as it is.  It took some time to get used to the size of the body.  Even the neck felt huge.  But it sounded great and really rumbled the porch.

I made chicken and steaks on the barbecue and burned up a bunch of old wood — without losing my glasses this time.  After being on my feet all day Saturday, I took it easy in the evening, missing the bright orange sunset.  I had been on my feet all day and it felt good to rest up in the evening.

We departed for home early Sunday.  Albums for the road home:

These albums, Priest especially, gave me some serious retro vibes, as if I had stepped into a time machine and was 16 again.  I had this happen numerous times last year, and I wrote about that feeling in multiple previous chapters.  It’s a very intense feeling, as if I was no longer living in the year 2022, but had stepped into 1987 again.  It felt as real as the steering wheel in my hands.  Looks like this summer will be no different.  Lots of flashbacks in store!

An excellent start to what I hope will be an amazing year.

REVIEW: Ghost – Impera (2022)

GHOST – Impera (2022 Loma Vista)

Ghost have been pretty consistent over the years.  In all honesty the only album of theirs that I seldom spin is their second Infestissumam.  Everything else has been pretty solid to me so hopes were high for the new Impera.  Tobias Forge and Ghost have steadily evolved since Opus Eponymous in 2010.  From their melodic gothic metal origins, Ghost have gradually shed metal elements and replaced them with pop sensibilities.  Impera is most similar to their last album, Prequelle.  Let’s take a deep dive and analyse what Forge and his Nameless Ghouls have come up with this time.

Inspired by the real life rise and fall of empires, but through the lens of 2020, Ghost seem less interested in Satan while remaining fascinated by the dark side.  The idea had been long-simmering in Forge’s skull:  empires, repeating patterns in history, followed by annihilation.  The opening instrumental “Imperium” sets the stage with acoustic and electric guitars, layered in a way that recalls classic 80s Leatherwolf but far more lush.  Then we are suddenly engulfed not in darkness but in Darkness — the opening guitars sound like the British band, and Forge’s opening scream is a dead ringer for Justin Hawkins!  “Kaisarion” could easily have been a Darkness song.  High speed and instantly memorable, it’s the only song that will have you singing words like “Far away from the stench of the heavens,” this summer.  An immediate triumph, “Kaisarion” has it all from wickedly melodic guitars, deep backing vocals and clever instrumental prowess in all corners.  Can’t wait to road test this on a warm day in the car with the windows down.

“Spillways” might recall Trash-era Alice Cooper, with a tremendous amount of attention paid to the incessant melodies.  One after the other, the hooks keep coming.  Be it the vocals, the guitars or hell even the goddamn drums, “Spillways” is nothing but hard catchy rock they way you remember it from ages past.

The dark single “Call Me Little Sunshine” takes a different turn.  A simple spare guitar lick makes up the backbone of the song, with quiet verses and explosive choruses.  “Call me little sunshine, call me Mephistopheles,” sings Forge going full-Faust.  I’ll call it a song that takes a couple listens but will eventually bore its way into your permanent memory.

The second single, “Hunter’s Moon” follows, an upbeat prowl through dark woods.  (This is the single mix, with a more elaborate version included in the film Halloween Kills.)  While an impressive enough song on its own, “Hunter’s Moon” is over quickly, and overshadowed by the awesome “Watcher in the Sky”, a possible contender for album highlight.  Relentless bass and drums set up the biggest boldest chorus on the album.  The lyrics are hard to pin down, speaking of Machiavelli, bloodlines, and the rot of empires.  Possibly about looking to God for salvation but getting no reply.  Regardless of the dark theme, it’s one of the most party-ready tracks on the album.

The horns that blow on “Dominion”, an instrumental interlude, lead to a shocking transition.  “Twenties” is the strangest song on the album and contender for one of Ghost’s most bizarre tunes overall.  Beginning with a dark Metallica “Through the Never”-ish riff, “Twenties” soon transforms into something completely different.  Indescribable and simultaneously existing in the 1920s and 2020s alike.  Not sure if I like ir or not.

“Darkness at the Heart of My Love” is a pretty epic ballad, with suitably epic accompaniment from harpsichord type keys to angelic sonic backdrops.  Choirs of vocals join by the end, heaped on top of guitar harmonies in decadent fashion.  Brightening the mood, the poppy “Griftwood” returns us to a classic hard rock sound circa 1987.  The lyrics offer a critique of organized religion, but in the brightest musical frame.  Forge has leaned heavily into a specific kind of 80s hook of late, and “Griftwood” is soaked in them like cold gin.

A brief instrumental called “Bite of Passage” precedes the final song, “Respite on the Spatialfields”.  The empire has fallen, and Forge asks “I wonder, did no one hear the distant thunder?”  (We did, but we chose to ignore it.)  This complex track might be called a metal ballad, but it’s more progressive than that.  It has elements of Ozzy, Queensryche, Savatage, Whitesnake and Europe’s “The Final Countdown” all rolled into one.  An epic way to close the album.  “Nothing ever lasts forever.”

Musically invigorating and lyrically thought-provoking, Forge has created another memorable Ghost album for the masses.  While we hope the world doesn’t end too soon, and Forge can continue making albums, Ghost have harnessed the musical and apocalyptic themes of the 80s and brought them forth to the present day.  Job well done.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Ghost – Opus Eponymous (2010 Japanese import)

GHOST – Opus Eponymous (2010 Rise Above Japanese import)

They could have gone down as a novelty, if the music wasn’t so genuine.  An expert mix of metal, Satan and Abba.  From the gloom of the north came Ghost, led by Papa Emeritus and his Nameless Ghouls.  We knew little about the band then, except that they were just too good to have come out nowhere like that.

As Ghost have grown and evolved, the shadow of their first album grows even longer.  Opus Eponymous consisted of an intro, eight gothic keyboard-drenched metal anthems from hell, and one bonus cover track for the Japanese market.  With “Papa’s” true identity wisely obscured at the time, the focus was off the extensive pre-Ghost discography of leader Tobias Forge.  Though elements of his glam and death metal pasts remained, Ghost was truly unique right from their debut.  Forge conjured a fictional backstory for the band in his mind.  He imagined Ghost were a group of older guys.  Active in the 70s, but started playing together in the late 60s.  Very experienced and maybe a little bitter.  Opus Eponymous was not meant to sound like a debut, and it does not.

Like entering a church on a cloudy day, “Deus Culpa” greets you as the light organ drifts through.  But this is no ordinary mass, and the sermon is quite devilish.  Foreboding dissonance and flat chords warn you against entering, but still you go.  Then suddenly the rolling electric bass of “Con Clavi Con Dio” is followed by a blast of guitar and evil organ!

“Lucifer!  We are here for your praise, evil one!” sings Forge with a provocative calm.  What really made Ghost stand out was the juxtaposition of evil metal, with the keyboards and otherworldly, ethereal lead vocals of “Papa Emeritus”.  Choir-like backing vocals and the persistent howl of organ add to the classic horror scene.  Listening to the lyrics, it is clear that Forge knows his subject matter convincingly enough.  But he also knows how to write a song and every second of “Con Clavi Con Dio” delivers some sort of hook, thrill, or chill.  The production is also outstanding in its bare simplicity, compared to later Ghost.

The plinking intro of “Ritual” disguises its true heaviness, at first.  Forge deftly merged a plutonium-heavy riff with light and delicate vocal harmonies.  While you’re being caressed by the sweetest Satanic prayers, you’re also enduring the assault of guitars and bass.  “Ritual” sounds, somehow, like a song that could have emerged from the year 1985, but with the wisdom of future knowledge.  Quite possibly the pinnacle of this album.

Galloping in the dark, “Elizabeth” (long “i”, not short “i”) is among the heaviest tracks despite its melodic chorus.  As a song about a suspected 16th century Hungarian serial killer, it could be one of the less evil songs on the record!  It is followed by the dastardly catchy “Stand By Him”, featuring a very traditional metal guitar solo section.  ”Tis the night of the witch, tonight,” beckons Forge, and you cannot resist his call to this tale of revenge.  (Or justice?)  Then comes in the chopper-like opening guitars of “Satan Prayer”, the most blunt of all the songs.   Yet like the others, impossible to resist, because of impeccable construction from melody and riff.  The clever keyboards and dual guitar solo are a confectionery topping over the robust chug of distortion.

A crack of thunder, the crash of drums, and “Death Knell” is here.  Forge sells the creepy vocal easily, though not difficult given the words as he sings of evil rebirth.  One of the most straight metal of the tracks, and the outro is pure Ozzy.  “Prime Mover” then enters like a warning siren.  Once the smoke has cleared, the bass does its work to level the stragglers.  Forge floats over the waste, ethereal and haunting.

All that’s left on the domestic album is the brilliant instrumental closer “Genesis”.  Apparently it’s a sped-up waltz; I think it’s a piece of hammering progressive brilliance.  The repetitive keyboards provide the melodic hook, and ghostly guitars add to the story.  Not to be left out, the bassline is delicious to listen to.  There’s also a very Sabbath-y acoustic outro.  The rituals are complete and a new evil is born.  An outstanding album closer!

The Japanese CD contains a dark rendition of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun”, mournful and sad.  It’s the opposite of the George Harrison original.  Some like it; some feel it’s the worst track on the album.  It does work as a sort of coda, but is probably experienced best separately.

With Opus Eponymous, Ghost arrived.  To their credit they’ve never tried to repeat this exact album.  Instead Ghost continued to explore, a growth personified by adopting the guise of a new singer on every album (Papa II, Papa III etc.), even though they were all played by Tobias Forge!  This remarkable debut is just as valuable as the later more diverse records, perhaps simply because of its more focused singular vision.

5/5 stars