Album Review: GHOST - Prequelle

01. Ashes [Intro]
02. Rats
03. Faith
04. See the Light
05. Miasma [Instrumental]
06. Dance Macabre
07. Pro Memoria
08. Witch Image
09. Helvetesfonster [Instrumental]
10. Life Eternal
11. It's A Sin (Bonus Track / Pet Shop Boys cover)
12. Avalanche (Bonus Track / Leonard Cohen cover)

Anyone who's followed my blog for a while will know that I absolutely love Ghost. Naturally, I pre-ordered Prequelle at the earliest opportunity. Before its arrival, I had heard the first two singles, Rats and Dance Macabre. Both are unbelievably catchy songs, and have a distinct 80's feel about them, which is possibly why I love them so much. Rats has a melodic Heavy Metal vibe that reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne in the mid-eighties, particularly the Bark at the Moon and Ultimate Sin albums. It also boasts one of the most intricate and well put together music videos I've ever seen, bringing to mind various John Carpenter movies and a number of other post-apocalyptic films of that era. 

Dance Macabre is possibly the most commercial Ghost song to-date, and as its title suggests, is very danceable. Expect to hear it at Rock clubs throughout the summer! 

Now the full album has landed, I'm pleased to say that it lives up to the hype! Pro Memoria is a morbid masterpiece and a Gothic Power-Ballad about not losing sight of one's mortality. It is to Prequelle what He Is is to the Meliora album, and is just as majestic and over the top in its delivery.

Another highlight is the upbeat and insanely catchy Witch Image, which would make a fantastic single. Faith is a little heavier and darker, harking back to the style of the band's debut album. Even the two instrumental songs are beautifully crafted slices of Prog Rock, both epic and multi-layered.

Considering the drama and legal battles that have surrounded Ghost over the last year or so, main-man Tobias Forge has come back fighting with an absolute masterpiece which has cemented Ghost's place as one of the greatest Hard Rock/Metal bands of all time.