Papa Emeritus

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 – 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