Ghost - Impera (Album Review In English)

"Let The players play, Let the haters hate and let the karma handle their fate"

Ghost ladies and gentlemen, what to say for one of the most controversial bands in the field of rock music, since 2010 when they released their first demo and their first official album the historic "Opus Eponymous", they have heard everything from dithyrambic reviews , to ruthless burial and hatred by people who never liked the band. If you ask me the truth is that I am somewhere in the middle. I had never bothered to search in depth for their discography but I always carried around their name. Let me take a trip to the past, I learned about this group in 2013 when they released their great album called "Infestissumam" my 11 year old mind saw for the a band with such an extreme look and waited to hear something like death or black metal, but the essence of Ghost was not their cover and from what was seen along the way, they "fooled" many, I have loved the track "Secular Haze" ever since and this 70s aesthetic of the video clip was very familiar and I liked that. 

I grew my taste in metal now it was and it is more in the extreme subgenres, but I never hated bands like Ghost, they just passed me by indifferent, after several years we happily reach 2018 and the album that made me press the play button again on Spotify, of course I'm referring to "Prequelle", now Ghost do not want to scare anyone and do not want to provoke they have an appetite for a party and yes Papa Emeritus and Nameless Ghouls always enjoys  a good party , with this album Ghost gave us great tracks like "See The Light" & "Dance Macabre" that made them even better known to the general public.

But the parties ended abruptly since in 2019, 2020 and 2021 the pandemic forced an entire planet to suddenly brake, so the Ghost did not stay with folded arms and wrote their new album and so on March 11, 2022 they generously gave us their new work called “IMPERA”.

12 songs

Almost 40 minutes of music with different genres perfectly combined all under the roof of 80s Rock.

Fasten your seatbelts and go analyze the new work of the Swedes who already count 1 Grammy Award.

The album welcomes us with "Imperium" , a rather melancholy melody I would say is played on a clean guitar, the drums play a marching rhythm and the electric guitar we hear inside the track just takes it off.

The track from the first listen reminded me a lot of Iron Maiden, also the epic element is scattered everywhere in this 1 minute and 40 seconds that the song lasts, in general it brings out an intense pain for which the Swedish Occult Rockers show you the healing and show you that hope will always be there somewhere no matter how difficult things are.

"Kaiserion", based on my own tastes is one of the weakest tracks on the album, if someone reads the lyrics will see that Hypatia is also mentioned. Hypatia (Alexandrian) was a Greek Neoplatonic philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, who brutally murdered in March 415 AD by a mob of Christians who accused her of being a priestess and a witch, stripped her naked, dragged her to the cathedral and they killed her by skinning  and dismembering her with sharp shells.

After this historical review we return to the piece in general the Swedish Mastermind and his company moved on several Progressive paths in this composition, I do not want to hide that it reminded me very modern pieces of Dream Theater and especially the voice of Tobias in some places . But this strong presence of DM influences I believe begins to become apparent from 3:17 onwards where an excellent guitar solo with keys begins. But here I must mention that the song tired me a bit and after a while there was nothing to pull me back to it even though progressive is one of my favorite genres.

Number 3 and "Spillways", everyone has missed a good party as mentioned above, so Ghost thought of us and we are all invited, the song shouts 80's, I think it is no coincidence that at the first hearing the first thing I thought was Bon Jovi (who was probably the main source of inspiration for the song) and drinks with good company of course. With this piece the true pope and his faithful followers showed us that we do not always have to be so serious, so this piece with the carefree rhythm is what we need for such escapes.

Drawing a general conclusion the song is perfect especially in the solo parts, as well as in this bridge they create with the help of the keys which brought me some vibes from their compatriots ABBA, also a friendly tip before moving on to the next track the chorus will stick to your head for quite some time, I warned you.

"Call Me Little Sunshine", we all know Papa Emeritus's special love for the fallen angel, so through a piece with a very catchy rhythm he reminds us that he has him with him and whenever he feels lonely he can call him. This particular track was one that was released as a single and in fact with an excellent video clip that shows us this special relationship mentioned above, so taking into account all this is not unfairly one of the hits of the album.

We continue with "Hunter's Moon", the second hit of the album and in fact the first one that was released by Ghost a month before Halloween and not unjustly you will understand immediately after your first listen, we continue here in the same pattern in which we have get used to the Swedes . Very catchy chorus and a beautiful riff like which I really had a long time to listen to.

If they gave you 1 euro  every time someone said that Ghost could not play metal, I think you would have solved several of your obligations. But the song listens to the name "Watcher In The Sky", not only is it Heavy but it is also very dignified without copying and always keeping the special sound of Ghost.

"Dominion", is not a whole song but a bridge that will take us to the next song.

"Twenties", could be a soundtrack in a Disney movie when the villain makes his appearance, it has a metal base which will be understanded immediately after overcoming the first shock because we are talking about a very special piece and maybe Ghost achieved something that has not happened before, I was very impressed by the latin rhythm used on the drums by a Nameless Ghoul (rοumba) because at least for the Greek data this rhythm is found mainly in folk songs.

Track number 9, "Darkness At The Heart Of My Love", the track is clearly Pop based but the Rock elements are there with great solo and Tobias Forge's voice taking whatever form it wants. So Ghost composed a love Pop / Rock ballad based on their own recipe. I loved the song and it will be on my list for quite some time.

And let's face it - most of us like songs in that style , openly or as a guilty pleasure!

Then we have "Griftwood", a piece I think goes unnoticed having heard the previous two, but once again the Swedish rockers are following  the footsteps of Bon Jovi, but also they have influences  from  the good old Glam Metal/Rock

“Bite Of Passage ", a creepy and mysterious melody of 30 seconds that acts as a connecting link to reach the last track

And the curtain falls with "Respite On The Spitalfields", a purebred hard rock track with flawless vocals and many epic elements , it is worth noting that as the first track begins, so does the end last, the cycle is now complete!

It's time for the general conclusions, the album is worth it and with the above it has so many different genres and a polished production that I believe will cover a large number of listeners even those who are more demanding.

The negative points of the album that I can definitely mention are the "slacken parts" which will definitely annoy listeners  who are not familiar with both the sound of Ghost and the this type of progressive rock. 

Here I want to mention that this particular album made me interested in Ghost again and really look for them in depth, there is no reason for hatred ,the music is an invaluable gift and in this case I think we should accept it!

Rating: 85%

For Rock Da Vinci,

Michael - Angelo Diakogeorgiou (Rhodian)