Review: Ghost B.C. – Infestissumam

“Infestissumam” Out Now

By Alle Royale

Don’t believe the hype, that’s a golden rule to live by! Sweden’s Ghost (now renamed Ghost B.C.) could be the exception to the rule; with fiery accolades from the likes of James Hetfield, in the last two years the Swedes have become the new favourite band of an ever increasing legion of fans, and rightly so, since the sinful union of Mercyful Fate’s sinister melodies and an almost pop approach to vocal and instrumental arrangements, are the real reasons behind the success of such dancefloor metal stormers like ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Ritual’. With these credentials, huge were the expectations for this new piece of work and, in my opinion, Ghost did great, maintaining all the elements that made them one of the more original bands emerging from the heavy metal cauldron, but, somehow, managing to make the many faces of their sonic diamond shining even brighter. Where ‘Opus Eponymous’  was pop, dark and deeply reverent to 70’s hard rock, ‘Infestissumam’ is even more pop, darker and with an huge amount of old progressive influences, presenting a  much more relevant use of keyboards and orchestrations.

Produced by Nick Rasculinecz, the man behind the desk with Foo Fighters and legendary Rush, the album’s grooves exhale sulphur and dusty plumes of distortion, sounding like a relic from the past and, at the same time, absolutely actual, in other words, timeless.

In virtue of these sharper edges of their sound, many turn up their noses to debut single ‘Secular Haze’, in truth a diabolical waltz, catchy and progressive at the same time, and to second single ‘Year Zero’, in truth a little too much on the dance side of things for my taste; but the best stuff is hidden in the grooves of melodic anthems like ‘Body And Blood’ and ‘Idolatrine’, and in the longer, epic numbers like ‘Ghuleh/Zombie Queen’ and the wonderful ‘Monstrance Clock’, where the Nameless Ghouls can display all their instrumental panache.

‘Infestissumam’ is the body of work of a band with great personality; you could love them or hate them, but you cannot remain indifferent, and an effort so courageous and strong is the proof that they are here to stay.

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