Everyone’s favorite “occult” band, Ghost is back this weekend with a new album: Impera. This is obviously the big new release of the weekend, and I thought the first two singles from it, Hunter’s Moon1 and Call Me Little Sunshine were both fabulous. However, I don’t really like most recent single, Twenties. Read on for my thoughts on Impera.
I’ve been a fan of Ghost since first hearing Cirice around the time they won the grammy for Best Metal Performance back in 2016. That entire album, Melioria, is great, with it’s creepy music and chugging guitars. The follow-up from 2018, Prequelle, has been my favorite Ghost album. It was a perfect mix of creepy, catchy, pop-oriented rock.
Now almost four years later, Impera is out and it was worth the wait.
I’m not sure how it is possible, but these songs are even catchier than the ones on Prequelle, although I’d say that there is an overall less creepy vibe than you get on all their previous albums.
This album is even more pop-oriented rock than the prior ones and wears its influences proudly. From the obvious Iron Maiden influence of Kaisarion, to the opening piano notes of ABBA’s Money, Money, Money on Spillways, the resemblance of the Enter Sandman chorus on Watcher in the Sky2, the In the Still of the Night riff on Respite On the Spitalfields (check it out at 2:30) and the guitar lick on Griftwood that is so similar to Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love by Van Halen, everything about this album seems both new and familiar at the same time.
Closer Respite On the Spitalfields is probably the closest to old-school Ghost and is a great choice to close the album. I’m sure old-school Ghost fans miss the more creepy, “occult”-style sounds of the first three albums, but the changes on this album are going to open up Ghost to a much bigger audience.
Personally, I don’t mind all the references on this album, but I’m not sure it elevates Impera to being better than Prequelle, at least for me. My only real complaint with Impera is that the album overall is too short. It is only 46 minutes, of which there are 3 interlude songs totalling 3.5 minutes. Remove these interludes (I don’t want to call them instrumentals as that would be an insult to Miasma and Helvetesfonster on Prequelle) and you’re left with 42 minutes and change of music on 9 songs, one of which (Hunter’s Moon) was on a movie soundtrack last year. And another being Twenties, which I can appreciate, but just don’t like. After a 4-year wait, I would have preferred a couple more songs, even if they were a couple more covers.
But don’t let that minor criticsm matter much. This is an amazing album and I can’t stop listening to it. The songs are all earworms and will be stuck with you for a while.
First heard on the soundtrack for the movie Halloween Kills in fall 2021.
I don’t see this one too much myself, but when I was playing this song earlier, my wife said she recognized it as Enter Sandman. Probably, just the “searchlight” part reminded her of “exit light”, but she’s not a metal fan so I was really surprised she picked up on this.