Released – April 25 2025
Label – Loma Vista Recordings
Genre – Devilish Arena Rock
Line Up:
Papa V Perpetua
The Nameless Ghouls
Tracklisting:
Peacefield
Lachryma
Satanized
Guiding Lights
De Profundis Borealis
Cenotaph
Missilia Amori
Marks of the Evil One
Umbra
Excelsis
There’s no doubting that the devil has the best tunes and in Ghost, the gradual global indoctrination of the population to accept him into our life continues as Ghost effortlessly create new music that cannot fail to impress. Steeped in a mixture of styles that saw US rock bands filling arenas around the world during the 70s and 80s, this, the 6th album from the Swedish outfit, sees them move comfortably into global festival headliner territory.
Opening with the 3rd single to be released, just days prior to the album launch, ‘Peacefield‘ tips its hat to that arena rock sound that did Journey no harm whatsoever in their heyday. It might not be dark and brooding like ‘Monstrance Clock’ or ‘Year Zero‘ but we are now some 4 albums on from that incarnation of Ghost and with yet another new Papa (yes I know… but I’m playing along) standing centre stage in the shape of Papa V Perpetua, the band are embracing their ‘accessible to all’ style of rock music.
The rituals are still ‘events’, the dedication from the fans remains unabated and if the recent ‘Skeletour‘ shows in the UK are anything to go by, then the band have managed to capture the imagination of mum, dad, the kids as well as granny and grandpa. Fun for all the family as we sing the praises of the red skinned, horned and pointy tailed one. It’s quite some achievement when you think about it.
How have they done it? Well the proof is in the music. Mention of Journey above, traces of Europe, a love of KISS and other glam-tastic bands of the 70s with a production flair that brings it all through the 80s and wonderfully up to date. There’s a reason the opening couple of tracks on the recent setlists mirror the opening tracks on the album. A strong conviction that the songs will sit alongside the older material and be lapped up by the crowds and they’re not wrong. In ‘Lachryma’ and ‘Satanized’ you have music (as well as the opening track) that fits perfectly with the musical progression of the band from ‘Prequelle’ through ‘Impera’.
The keyboard work on the album, especially on tracks like ‘Umbra’ send you back to the neon arcade days of the mid-80s with all of the flair of ‘Miami Vice’ mixed with more than a splash of ‘Stranger Things’ to keep it fresh.
There are too many bands out there today that feel like their vocal delivery needs to sound like they’re trying to unclog an industrial sized drain and whilst the ‘power’ within the song might well translate into some of the anger management that the fans are clearly looking for, there’s something to be said for an artist who can sing clearly and with passion, allowing the listener to latch on to each and every word uttered. It’s no surprise that the audiences at Ghost’s rituals recite the songs back to the band word-for-word regardless of whether it’s a deep-cut from an album or one of the singles that has elevated the band to where they are now.
So how does ‘Skeleta’ stack up against the previous five albums? I like to think of them as trilogies. ‘Opus Eponymous’, ‘Infintessimum’ and ‘Meliora’ feel very much like a complete package and with the subsequent releases, ‘Prequelle’, ‘Impera’ and now ‘Skeleta’ slot together perfectly as their own ‘Phase II’ for the band. As global stardom beckons, it will be interesting to see where Ghost goes next with their 7th album. A new era beckons as one closes.
Score 9/10
Reviewed by Adrian Hextall
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