Album Review:
Ghost
Meliora
August 2015

After spending the better part of a year in the shadows, Ghost B.C. has returned with their third album, Meliora, featuring their third singer, Papa Emeritus III. With each album, and subsequently each new Papa, Ghost has brought a different style to their sound. How does Papa III’s entry compare to his predecessors?

“You are cast out from the heavens to the ground.”

Unlike Ghost’s prior albums, which both had dedicated intro tracks, within 30 seconds, Meliora’s first track, “Spirit” is past the intro and the Nameless Ghouls are chugging away. We immediately get an idea of how heavy and riff-based this album is. Overall, the album feels much heavier than 2013’s Infestissumam, while still retaining the vintage sound that Ghost is known for.

Papa Emeritus III, the “three-month younger brother” of Papa Emeritus II, has a great performance on the album, showcasing the wide range of his vocal talents. I find many of the songs have a more grand feeling to them, due to the increased presence of choirs backing up Papa in choruses.

Produced by Klas Åhlund of Swedish rock band Teddybears, Meliora features strong performances by all of the Nameless Ghouls. Ghost’s bass tone has always been one of my favorite things about them, and it’s strong as ever on here, with a notable track being “From the Pinnacle to the Pit,” where the growling bass is what starts the song off, and holds it all together. Whoever the drummer is, (could it be Dave Grohl?) is solid as ever, driving songs like “Absolution.” This rhythm section really holds it down on the first single, “Cirice,” which has such a heavy groove, that it is hard to not bob your head along to the song.

One stand out surprise track was “He Is,” which was an acoustic ballad. Despite the light sound of the guitars, Papa III sings in a very low register, and this balance makes the song very heavy for a ballad. There are some wonderfully melodic guitar solos on the track as well.

Despite being such a guitar riff-oriented album, the keyboards still shine through, with clean piano, church organ and synth sounds all over the album. There’s a great synth-keyboard solo on “Mummy Dust,” and the keys and guitars work together on “Majesty” to give off a great Deep Purple vibe.

If I was to make a complaint about the album, it would be that it’s too short. The ten tracks come in at under 45 minutes, and two of those tracks are actually only one-minute long interludes, that easily could have been intros to other songs.

“The world is on fire, and you are here to stay and burn with me.”

Ghost know that they are a novelty act, and their choice to “change singers’ and style with each record pays off. Meliora stands as a great album, and should prove to strengthen the longevity of Ghost’s career.

Ghost B.C. will be performing at the House of Blues in Boston on September 28, 2015, and I am looking forward to hearing some of this material in a live setting.

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Ghost B.C. – Meloria
1) Spirit
2) From the Pinnacle to the Pit
3) Cirice
4) Spoksonat
5) He Is
6) Mummy Dust
7) Majesty
8) Devil Church
9) Absolution
10) Deus in Absentia

 

ALBUM RATING: 9/10

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