Ghost presents its fourth opus, Prequelle. What is the following album worth the acclaimed Meliora of 2015?
In 2017, after a legal dispute over poorly distributed royalties, the musicians who participated in Meloria's success in 2015 left Ghost. The leader Tobias Forge (whose anonymity is then revealed) then continues the project of Ghost with other musicians, who then become the new Nameless Ghouls. Papa Emeritus (aka Tobias Forge) is no more. Make way for Cardinal Copia, and his new era.
A medieval theme on 80's sounds
Prequel revolves around the Black Death, a dark period of the Middle Ages when the plague epidemic simply eradicated half the population. Tobias Forge explains it in an interview for Revolver Magazine: "…The Black Death [plague] is a great example of a turning point for a whole civilization. Complete villages were annihilated. Most people knew very little, so all of it was God or the Devil — and about their faith being questioned (…) »
Rats, the first single from the album is about the speed at which the disease spread. The song is not technically about these animals, but rather about how the plague has affected so many people in such a short period of time. Rats with bubonic plague would have traveled in a boat docking in Sicily and would therefore have been the beginning of the spread of the disease throughout Europe.
Rats also refers to the beliefs of the time. People saw the Black Death as God's punishment for sinning.
"Beliefs contagious, spreading disease"
Danse Macabre then speaks of the population who, knowing they were doomed, were then… The party. Drinking all night and literally dancing on the corpses that littered the streets. This is where the mix of "awful theme" and disco makes sense. It's impossible not to at least move your head when you hear this:
Ghost has always leaned towards the 80s, whether in the grandiloquent aura that surrounds his songs, or in the instrumentations.The tracks Witch Image and It's a Sin s are alsostraight out of this aesthetic.
Although the 80's influence is ultra present, the addition of small melodies and instrumentations less obvious makes the result coherent and greatly catchy.
Not "metal" enough for Ghost?
We've seen a lot of critics saying that Ghost didn't deliver as heavy an album as they should. But truth be told, Ghost has never been in the cliché of metal songs par excellence. You wouldn't expect from a Ghost album what you would expect from a Lamb of God album.
When they started to have a lot of success in France late 2015, we couldn't hang on. Seeing their looks, and all the dark downright satanic imagery behind it we expected to listen to black metal. We couldn't make the connection with their songs but we changed our mind when we discovered them at Hellfest in June 2016 (It was really nice).
Their first two albums Opus Eponymous (2010) and Infestissumam (2013) are certainly more raw, but listening to Meloria, we could not not but sense the future of the group. Especially since Ghost doesn't fundamentally change their heavy identity. As for example in Faith, a title more than effective.
Yes, See the Light has more the vocation to be a power ride than to headbang but the inspiration is there. Again, one cannot be completely surprised. Miasma is a good mix of everything that makes Ghost. Epic riffs, a guitar solo and… A saxophone solo. Yes it's surprising, but that's why Prequel is a rich album.
Helvetesfönster is a very beautiful instrumental track, with Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth as a guest and passages almost inspired by Jethro Tull. Finally, Pro Memoria is for us one of the most emblematic pieces of Prequelle. It's a real favorite, the intro is sublime, the "Lucifer whispering silently into your mind" has us, and this every time.
Rating: 8.5/10
Prequel is a very good album, and not only metal. Ghost highlights all his knowledge, whether through the lyrics or the quality of the compositions. We remember each song, and the criticism made to Ghost for having become too pop is not consistent. Prequel is the right evolution of the previous albums and promises to be one of the best of 2018.
