Ghost - Opus Eponymous review
Band: | Ghost |
Album: | Opus Eponymous |
Style: | Hard rock, Heavy metal |
Release date: | October 2010 |
A review by: | BitterCOld |
01. Deus Culpa
02. Con Clavi Con Dio
03. Ritual
04. Elizabeth
05. Stand By Him
06. Satan Prayer
07. Death Knell
08. Prime Mover
09. Genesis
10. Here Comes The Sun [The Beatles cover] [Japanese bonus]
The album art to this release does a pretty decent job at grabbing your attention and teasing you with what is to come. The cover, featuring an evil, blue skeletal ghost necro-pope looming massively over a large, creepy mansion, is an homage to Salem's Lot.
Stylistically it could best be described as a homage to the late 60's proto-metal "evil" psychedelic rock bands crossbred with evil early 80's bands. Think Mercyful Oyster Sabbath. Largely catchy retro-psychedelic rock based with the occasional foray into post-Priest metal riffing patterns. Aside from the guitars, groovy bass, and drums there is also an organ that helps with intros and permeates the songs, providing the tracks with a cloaking, sinister fog. The vocals are clean and sung. No shouting, nor growling, or King Diamond falsetto? they're a bit iffy, but clean and catchy enough that they wouldn't seem out of place on your local classic rock station.
Well, you might hear these guys on your FM dial if not for the lyrics. This band is obsessed with the devil. If you were to take a swig of beer each time they reference Satam, you would likely go into full-blown liver failure before the album ends.
So circling back to the artwork, given what has been discussed, the first listen through the album made me think this would fit seamlessly as a soundtrack to a 40-year-old horror flick. The first proper song, "Con Clavi Con Dio" left me with Dario Argente-esque visions of the teen American female exchange student running through the halls of a centuries old coven-turned-ballet academy at night, during a thunderstorm, after having discovered the academy madam is plotting to kill her.
Specific? Sure. But that's the impression I got.
So these six strangers (like Spiderman, nobody knows who they are) can write catchy tunes, but have yet to figure out how to write an ending. Some of the songs use the old Bolt Thrower fade, whereas on others the band are jamming along and the track abruptly comes to an
Sounds trivial, but it is an annoyance.
So it is definitely worth checking out if you find yourself drawn to the cover art, or find yourself vaguely interested in Black Oyster Fate stylee tracks with 668 references to the devil (they couldn't stop themselves at 666?) that jam along before
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 8 |
Songwriting: | 8 |
Originality: | 8 |
Production: | 9 |
![]() | Written on 28.02.2011 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. |
Rating:
8.3
8.3
Rating: 8.3 |
Ghost are a young band from Stockholm, Sweden formed merely three years ago. I think it won't hurt their feelings to say that they are a part of the let's-go-back-to-the-70s-hard-rock movement. I'm sure that the vast majority of you have heard of these lads before and are wondering about what it is that makes Ghost different, or maybe even better, than The Devil's Blood, Graveyard or In Solitude? Read more ›› |
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