If you have… ghouls, you have everything! “Meliora” marks the third studio album of the mighty GHOST and it has really everything you looking for, but, let me get you deeper into the record explaining what exactly I mean by “everything”.
Let’s start with the visual part of the “product” which in case of GHOST is much important. We have once again a colossal artwork designed by the Polish artist Zbigniew Bialek who has also made the cover of the band’s previous album “Infestissumam”. The artwork shows a gigantic cathedral dedicated to Papa Emeritus III who grandly stands in the middle of the painting with his hands open ready to welcomes you to his kingdom. On the other side, the Nameless Ghouls are launching their new magnificent masks which boost their evil image for good. If you also take into consideration the video clip of “Cirice”, you will definitely agree that GHOST takes excellent mark on everything related with what meets the eye.
Musically, “Meliora” is probably the best album of the band to date. Theatrical, heavy and melodic, the whole album flows smoothly with the band sounding more mature and solid than ever. The production has considerably improved in comparison with its predecessor, the sound is really sharp and well-balanced and that’s something that was lacking a bit on “Infestissumam”. It’s also remarkable the fact that, on that record, GHOST put more emphasis on the heaviness of the guitars and that’s something I personally loved. On the other hand, the use of keyboards along with Papa’s chants creates this cinematic horror feeling that grips the listener during entire the album. That’s exactly how the record kicks off with the intro of the opener “Spirit” leaving the impression that a horror movie is about to begin. The song-writing remains on high levels once again with catchy tracks that you’ll find yourself singing at the end of the day. That happened to me especially with “From The Pinnacle To The Pit”; a song that kicks off with a bombastic bass which is followed by a mind-blown riff and a sticky refrain making it my personal favorite and maybe the hit of “Meliora”.
Next is “Cirice” which has already been loved since the release of its amazing video clip. “Spoksonat” is a brief instrumental song which lead us to “He Is”; an awesome mellodic ballad with a worth-telling story behind it. According to GHOST, “He Is” is the final version of a rough demo song called “Lei è” (she is) which written in 2007 and originally not intended for GHOST. One evening of 2010, the band was in company with musicians from IN SOLITUDE and THE DEVIL’S BLOOD playing demo songs for each other. Selim from THE DEVIL’S BLOOD was really insistent that the song should be recorded as a GHOST song. The band tried to make a demo of it for “Infestissumam”, but it never really got to a state where they felt
comfortable with it and decided to put it aside. However, a few years later, the loss of Selim inspired GHOST even further to realize the song for “Meliora”….end of the story.
“Mummy Dust” follows up and is probably the heaviest song ever written by the band. “Majesty” is a classic GHOST song while “Devil Church” is yet another brief instrumental, played on a church style organ. Next is “Absolution”, which, along with “From The Pinnacle To The Pit”, are maybe the catchiest songs of the record. The curtain of “Meliora” falls with “Deus In Absentia”, a haunting song written on piano and, once again, the theatrical feeling is very strong on here.
Last but not least of what is included on “everything you looking for” that I mentioned above, is of course, the theme of the record concerning the title and lyrics. “Meliora” means “the pursuit of something better” in Latin. With this record, GHOST definitely achieved something better, but the title is basically a reference to a very cool theme of the record which, according to a Nameless Ghoul, is a reflection of the state of mind and the state of our souls in a modern world. The modern world is pursuing something better but…are we really getting better? The title is obviously ironic with the lyrics talking about the mindset of the human being in the brave new world where mankind is given like a free card, without a god without guidance. It’s about ambition and greed and independence.
Every single part from the artwork to the music and the lyrics completes the puzzle of a piece of art which named “Meliora”. GHOST goes one step forward with a record which is going to turn out to a milestone in band’s history. It is this theatrical, satanic atmosphere during the listening that blows your mind away. The fans are gonna worship this record. Everything you are expecting is here…if you have ghouls, you have everything!
[page_title text=”FEATURED SONG”]