Review: Phantomimea arrives through Loma Vista Recordings and is a brilliant new five-track cover EP from Ghost. Each and every tune is epic in its own way with material by Television, Genesis, The Stranglers, Iron Maiden and Tina Turner all chewed up and sat out in their own inimitable way. Though some of these sources are rather unlikely given Ghost's style they are all reworked with great respect. Ghost is in a great run of form having just won Best Rock Album of the Year at the iHeart Radio Music Awards, which itself came off last year's international chart-topping success Impera.
Review: A fresh, rare EP by Swedish rock band Ghost; Phantomime is an impressive side-stint for the band, its gimmick being five covers of standards by other prominent groups throughout the rock continuum. Flaunting their impressive and eclectic tastes, the EP contains covers of Television's 'See No Evil', Genesis' 'Jesus He Knows Me', The Stranglers' 'Hanging Around', Maiden's 'Phantom Of The Opera' and, yes, Tina Turner's 'We Don't Need Another Hero'. A fan service for the band's devilishly cultish followers, we're sure this'll successfully function as both a history lesson and fan initiation ritual.
Review: Phoenix, Arizona based modern death metal brutalists Gatecreeper return with their highly anticipated third full-length Dark Superstition. The first album from the band since 2019's Deserted showcases an embracing of both the hyper-violent grindcore-indebted cuts from their 2021 mini-LP/EP An Unexpected Reality, as well as the brooding doom-metal opus 'Emptiness' that bookended the project. Recorded at God City Studios with Converge guitarist and iconic producer Kurt Ballou, while citing influences from melodic death and gothic metal acts such as In Flames, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema, the long gestation period has resulted in the band's most sonically sprawling work to date. Newly signed to Nuclear Blast, the decrepit stage appears to be set for Gatecreeper to finally seize all of their bubbling potential by the horns and throat. Mark our words when we say Dark Superstition will be one of the definitive extreme metal contributions of 2024.
Review: Serving as the follow up to 2022's critically acclaimed and super cheesy by design stadium-goth opus Impera, Swedish rock occultists Ghost make their grand return with sixth full-length Skeleta. The vision of Tobias Forge, renowned for his charismatic vocal cadence and immense range, but more so for his undertaking of different characters and monikers for each album cycle, the Papa Emeritus IV delving into empirical fallacies on their previous outing has been usurped by Papa V Perpetua, who promises to deliver his band of Nameless Ghouls' "most unflinchingly introspective work to date" while showcasing "distinct individual emotional vistas", touching on "demonic possessions" and the allure of succumbing to "dark forces". In other words, expect mammoth riffs, epic refrains, large doses of overt theatricality verging on camp, and on-the-nose song titles such as 'Satanized'.
Review: Filmed during GHOST's sold-out performances at Los Angeles' Kia Forum, "Rite Here Rite Now" offers a vivid immersion into the theatrical rock spectacle that propelled Sweden's iconic band to global acclaim. Beyond a mere concert film, the movie intertwines live footage from the band's RE-IMPERATOUR U.S.A. 2023 finale with a narrative storyline drawn from their webisode series. This unique album captured on the night features live renditions of favourites spanning GHOST's discography, alongside the silver screen debut of familiar faces. As Papa Emeritus IV's future hangs in the balance, viewers are transported into the mesmerising realm of GHOST, captivated by both the bombastic spectacle and intimate moments captured on screen.
Review: Skeleta marks the sixth full-length from Swedish theatrical goth rock entity Ghost, following on from 2022's retro stadium-goth swing for the fences Impera. Known for their high-concept aesthetic solely credited to mastermind Tobias Forge, who undertakes differing mantles and characters pertaining to each era and project, Papa Emeritus IV who fronted their preceding work has now been replaced by Papa V Perpetua, and while his predecessor was said to have been driven by ruminations on empirical reigns, the latest leader of the band of "Nameless Ghouls" is more concerned with "demonic possessions" and succumbing to "dark forces", with the album promised to be their "most unflinchingly introspective work to date" while showcasing "distinct individual emotional vistas". With big riffs, soaring hooks and a lead single as brazenly titled as 'Satanized', it's time for yet another era of overtly gothic and purposefully cheesy occult-rock.
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