Ghost has released their highly anticipated sixth studio album, Skeletá (Loma Vista Recordings). Following the release of their 2022 record Impera, Ghost’s latest full-length record arrives at a turbulent time for the band, one where a new supreme leader, Papa V Perpetua, reigns.

Confirmed news of Skeletá arrived with the release of the album’s lead single and music video, “Satanized.” With this cinematic release, Ghost conveyed a return to their roots with a heavier composition and darker lyricality, exuding itself as something of a lovechild between Opus Eponymous and Impera. The album’s second single and video, “Lachryma,” dances in the shadow of Ghost’s hit song “Cirice,” displaying a haunting and heavy sonic landscape.

The third album single, “Peacefield,” finds its place at the top of the album, opening with operatic vocals and the same anthemic, arena rock resonance that gave Impera its signature identity and legacy.

However, contrary to what this trio of singles alluded to, Skeletá is not the heaviest album within Ghost’s catalogue. Yet, a demonic doomsday record is not what Tobias Forge was going for with this body of work. Rather, Skeletá serves as perhaps the most vulnerable and visceral album we have seen from Ghost to date.

Overall, the album maintains the same glittering, arena rock sound that listeners may find within Impera, traveling further down this direction rather than going back to the darker personalities of Opus Eponymous, or Infestissumam. However, it is this new approach to songwriting that Forge has taken on that makes this album so raw and powerful. While Impera had the overall message to listeners that something big is out there, Skeletá is drenched in “you” and “I” statements. Essentially, while Impera speaks to you (plural), Skeletá speaks directly to you (singular).

On Skeletá, Papa V Perpetua is establishing a softer, yet more straightforward, dialogue between him and the listener with Perpetua – or Forge, rather – open up lyrically in a way not previously seen. “Lachyrma” at its core is a breakup redemption song. Comparing a toxic relationship to that of a vampyric figure, the song is spoken from the point of view of somebody who is done crying over the one who wronged them, and now maintains a new level of strength and power. For a band that thrives on allusion, symbolism, and metaphor, “Lachryma” is relatively straightforward – yet still empowering.

Alternatively, “Satanized” seems like a lamenting tale of demonic possession on the surface, but Forge later revealed that the song is a story about how falling in love can often feel like battling an evil force fighting to overtake your soul. Vulnerable emotions such as love and heartbreak are found within the depths of Skeletá.

Throughout the album, it doesn’t get much heavier than the sounds found at its introduction until the punchy, eighties glam metal-esque “Missilia Amori” found towards the latter end of the album. Songs like “Guiding Lights” and “Cenotaph” serve as radiant beacons of hope aimed directly at the listener, and it is evident that Skeletá is not an album to rage to; listeners might not be able to tap much into their inner darkness. However, it is equally evident that this is not what Skeletá was ever supposed to be.

The record soon closes with the enigmatic “Excelsis,” where Papa V Perpetua croons to listeners that, “Everybody goes away. You will too. I will, too.” Guiding fans towards the rainbow’s end, “Excelsis” might be the estranged twin brother of “Life Eternal” (get it?). Despite the melancholy message, Ghost has never held back from telling listeners the truth throughout their nearly two-decade-long career. Devoted followers simply had to listen for it.

Impera arrived at a time of social uncertainty. Ghost delivered that album amid a global pandemic and political turmoil. Throughout Impera, there was the prominent message that something larger than life was awaiting us, with songs like “Watcher In The Sky” and “Twenties” serving as ethereal yet hard-hitting anthems of rage and anticipation. Now, Skeletá arrives at a time when global fear, hopelessness, and anger are stronger than before. However, while Impera ignited excitement and action, Skeletá advises listeners to look within for the answers. One might argue that this is what Forge did to create this record.

While Skeletá is not Ghost’s heaviest or most fast-paced body of work, it is their most personal, shining a light on a side of Tobias Forge that listeners have not yet seen – but have been anticipating for a long time.

Buy the album here:
https://ghost-official.com/skeleta/ 

7 / 10
JUSTICE PETERSEN
Follow her work here: