0:36 AM Ghost; Swedish Occult Rock at its most progressive - wonderful |
 I've always been a fan of the band Ghost since their debut album Opus Eponymous. I find that the version of melodic rock and theatre they excrete creates an incredible ambience that is almost on a par with visualising a film. For some reason it reminds me of David Bowies Ziggy Stardust days. That enigma that is wrapped within pure rock...and heavy rock at that. A great deal has been made about who is behind the masks and cloaks, some would say it is irrelevant. In my opinion it it is far from irrelevant, it is one of the reasons their live shows are incredible. Most fans know the brilliant songwriter Tobias Forge is the driving force of the band. His background is extremely eclectic and that can be heard in the music that Ghost produce. I always return to their output when I feel like a dose of something very different. They have become like the preverbal Marmite, some people hate them and some love them. It is another draw for me as any band that divides so much opinion is always going to be interesting in my eyes.
When the band brought out their second album it was a true departure and a show of strength that only the most confident can release. Infestissumam was, for me, an album that brought all Tobias Forges' previous exploits into a monolith of evocative soundscapes. Yes, they are theatrically standing close to their occult status, but it is in the great tradition of the clockwork Turks and sideshows that Rob Zombie should learn from.
To me they take me to early Black Sabbath and Pentagram. They also bring in that progressive late 60's rock with psychedelic boarders. The mix is perfect for my tastes.
Now recently they joined forces with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) to produce an EP. Now I am not a massive fan of this release but have seen the tracks performed live and see them transformed. I understand why bands join forces with big names, after all its about making as much money as possible, but it can sometimes dilute the original elements that make the music great. I must admit though that they deserve as much success as possible.
I have including 3 great recent live studio recordings that have recently been filmed. I shows their wonderful style, their diversity and above all for me that classic guitar riffing that takes me from any stress to a place of heavenly (or should that be devilish) retreat.
First is Ritual from their Opus Eponymous album, second is Year Zero from Infestissumam and then a cover from Roky Erikson called If you Have Ghosts from the recent EP
BTW that EP has varied covers from Abba, Depeche Mode and Army of Lovers. The videos were recorded live at Music Feeds Studio in Australia.
You can buy their music here
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