Swedish theatrical rock outfit Ghost unleashed their fifth studio album entitled Impera at the beginning of March this year and for a little while the rock/metal community was saturated with interviews from Tobias Forge not to mention everyone and their dog were posting reviews of this new album. Sorry to be the one that prolongs this but I'm here to add my ten pence to the mix. Whichever way you look at it all this publicity can only mean good things for the band and one more review can't hurt ... can it?
Impera is their first release since 2018's Prequelle which I absolutely adored so I was very much looking forward to hearing this new one. Some well placed hype from Ghosts PR team were whipping us into a bit of a frenzy. The first single from Impera was "Hunters Moon" released in Sept' 21 and featured on the soundtrack to HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021). Now, I was not on board with this single when I first heard it. The only thing that kept going through my head was "this sounds like europop (specifically Abba) on crack" and I still cannot shake this from my mind yet the more I listen to it the more I like it and as a general rule I have nothing against Abba. Tobias Forge and his wonderful band of Nameless Ghouls are the ultimate professionals and deliberately create music that is familiar in certain ways, then give it their added magic touch to truly make it their own and that is what I find so addictive about Ghost. The second single "Call Me Little Sunshine" totally hit me in the feels, one of those slower ballady numbers that they do so well. Again this is a ridiculously catchy ear worm that will stay with you long after the first listen. The last single brought out just before the albums release was the totally different track "Twenties". This track is absolutely bonkers compared to the previous singles which had almost made you think that Ghost had gone and got a bit more serious. Of course, we never really believed that was going to be the case and we were secretly hoping for that quirk to emerge so we knew we wouldn't have to completely grow up for this. "Twenties" is fun, addictive and rhymes the word "Chulas" with "hoo hahs" without so much as a nod or a sideways glance. Bolder than the previous singles, "Twenties" and the rest of Impera carries messages that are more up to date with current affairs than previous albums. Prequelle, for example, was set in 14th century Europe whereas Impera is more about the rise and fall of modern day empires. A promotional quote goes on to add that Impera is "all in all, the most current and topical Ghost subject matter to date. Set against a hypnotic and darkly colourful melodic backdrop making Impera a listen like no other yet unmistakably, quintessentailly Ghost!"
The rest of the album is a cleverly thought out playlist of Ghost at their most playful and accomplished. "Kaisarion" is a big opener. I think I heard Tobias Forge say in an interview that he would have liked it to have been a single but was overruled by the record company who preferred "Call Me Little Sunshine". "Kaisarion" is not one of my favourites and I completely side with the record company in this instance but it sure is a majestic opener! Impera has a great combination of ballards and more up beat heavier rock. Stand out tracks for me are most definitely the three singles already mentioned plus the anthemic shout along hair metal-esque "Watcher In The Sky". "Spillways" and "Griftwood" are phenomenally catchy and "Darkness At The Heart Of My Love" and "Respite on the Spitalfields" are so beautifully haunting. To be honest with you, for me, the stand out tracks are pretty much the rest of the album apart from "Kaisarion" and the little incidental tracks.
I have always appreciated Ghost for the theatre they bring to the genre which I feel had been a little lack lustre before they came along. I am not saying I have loved everything Ghost have done to date... I haven't, but the more I hear of them the more I am coming round to their appeal. Impera has made a big impression on me, much like Opus Eponymous (2010) and Prequelle (2018) and I commend Ghost for this fantastic album. Of course it has already done well, it was only ever going to be a success. It has topped the charts in the UK, US, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Austria but as always there are going to be people that don't like it. This is fine and I'm sure Ghost don't care either way. I read a review of Impera recently by someone that said they didn't really like Ghost and yet despite calling them "decaf metal" which I found hilarious (and will steal again) they ended up really enjoying it. This to me is what it is all about. You don't have to love everything about Ghost, you don't even have to admit to yourself that there is some kind of draw towards them that you can't quite put your finger on but I can tell you now there is one Ghost song out there that will get stuck in your head! This will no doubt lead you onto more and more of their stuff and before you know it you're slapping on some black and white face paint and dressing up in a cassock to attend your first epic Ghost show! Admit it... this will happen!
Impera is available to buy in various formats online. I have so far found it on standard CD and some great special editions. You can get it on a really cool blue cassette format or a very attractive dark magenta vinyl edition. Ghost will also soon be embarking on a UK and European tour to support Impera this April and May.
