Few bands will have known a rise as meteoric as Ghost. Born in the late 2000s around the theatrical character of Tobias Forge — successively Papa Emeritus then Cardinal Copia — the masked Swedish collective transformed a niche occult-rock project into a worldwide phenomenon. Impera, a fifth album, consecrates this transformation by fully embracing the influence of stadium hard rock and 1980s melodic pop.
The critics, favourable (a 78 average across eleven reviews), hail a fearsomely effective hit-writing. Forge, a peerless melodist, piles up catchy choruses, gleaming guitars, glittering keyboards. Praise goes to a consummate sense of theatricality and a polished production that hoists the band to the rank of the great anthem machines of contemporary rock.
Musically, Impera embraces its mainstream turn. The operetta Satanism of the early days gives way to a solar, almost radio-friendly pop-metal, where nods to Blue Öyster Cult rub shoulders with soars worthy of the greatest FM bands. The record is brilliant, immediate, built to fill arenas.
That is also where the shoe pinches. By polishing its angles to such a degree, Ghost lose a little of the strangeness and mystery that made their savour. The purists of the first hour will regret this race for efficiency, this avowed pop that dilutes the darkness in favour of the rallying chorus. The talent is intact, the singularity a little less so.
Verdict: 7.5/10. A brilliant, calibrated record confirming Ghost as one of the great spectacles of current rock. Seductive if not profound.
