Sunday, 24 October 2010

Con Clavi Con Dio

This week I have been listening quite a bit to the eagerly awaited debut full length by mysterious, secretive, Satanic Swedes Ghost, Opus Eponymous. After much spinning of their demo and the Elisabeth 7" from Iron Pegasus, hopes were high for this release.

Here we have the three songs from the demo and 7" re-recorded, plus new material.
Ghost seem to inhabit that strange ground between metal and occult rock, using similar mise en scene to The Devil's Blood, etherial organs, genuine feel of occultism and the distance from everyday lifecreated by the old sound favoured by these bands.
However, I feel that the demo and single had more of a warm, 70s feel to them whereas the album feels a bit more modern.  Gone is the Mercyful Fate-style promise of the demos and instead the band sound a bit more clinical and produced.

But that's just a small gripe.  What the cult have produced here stands apart from all other releases I've heard for a long time due to the complete Hammer horror style atmosphere that pervades the entire album.
Top notch, well worth the wait.

2 comments:

The Thing That Should Not Be said...

I see a lot of folks sniping at this record, and this band, undeservedly. So they're hyped, so what? It's not THEIR fault is it?
Personally, I like 'em, and I like the album - more so than The Devils Blood, who were similarly hyped not so long ago, and to whom I have seen Ghost compared. I totally get what you mean with regards to the production of the album in comaprison to the demo and 7", but it doesn't stop me diggin' it.
On an unrelated note, I had a dream last night that I was in a band that had to fill in for teh instrumentalists in Heaven & Hell, backing Dio up. I didn't know all the songs, so i busked it. I was ace. So ace, in fact, that Dio bought me an iPod as a present. My solos were superb.

Patchie said...

Hahaha amazing!
Like I say, I like it, just not as much as I thought I would...