Ghost - "Meliora"

Ghost's 3rd release, Meliora, finally dropped today! And after a full day of listening to it, I must say that I'm quite impressed.

Definitely a step above their previous release, Infestissumam, Meliora delivers the logical progression of style with their "new singer," Papa Emeritus III. 

Darker and heavier, I did have to give it a few listens before I really got into it. Overall, I do enjoy this more than Infestissumam, but the clean and polished sound is still there, a fact that keeps their first release, Opus Eponymous, as my favorite release, due to the rougher sound. Also, with the band releasing 3 singles before today's full release, I found that the 3 singles were 3 of the best tracks. But really, those are minor dings on a fantastic record...

I was hooked from the start of the first track, Spirit, with its great "Halloween-y" organ intro. And as mentioned, 2 of the 3 pre-released singles, From The Pinnacle to the Pit and Majesty are absolutely incredible songs, ranking near the top with Ritual (from Opus Eponymous). I also found the tracks Absolution and Mummy Dust as two standouts. Heavy guitars, demonic keyboards and soaring, melodic vocals abound on a release that should be in everyone's metal collection.

And be sure to catch Ghost on their new U.S. tour, starting September 22. And be sure to have a beer with me at the September 25th show over in Pittsburgh at Stage AE! Hopefully no bouncers threaten me for taking photos this time around...