One band that I always felt had a lot of potential, but then started to decline in the quality of their songwriting was GHOST. I still think Tobias Forge’s work on Meliora and Popestar reinvented the Rock and Metal genre and opened up a new generation to this unique genre. The sound of GHOST always left me in awe. Forge based the band around an older band from the 70s, who were trying to maneuver around the boom of 80s music. Playing on the Satanic panic and trends brought about by Hair Metal and bubble gum Pop, while also being equipped with a seasoned nature from the 70s Classic Rock era. But, by their fourth album, Prequelle, they instead go full-force into the 80s nostalgia, making their music nostalgia bait for 40-year-olds who miss the “good ole days.” I never gave some of their later work a chance, so I wanted to check out IMPERA to decide whether I am being overly elitist or if I still agree with my previous presumptions. 

“Imperium”: 3

   Starting the album, listeners step into the grandiose nature of GHOST with a short prelude. The instrumental perfectly establishes GHOST’s older approach to music. There may be hope that Forge has returned to what made him unique.

“Kaisarion”: 3

   Oh boy, I was wrong. “Kaisarion” feels and sounds like a sloppy rendition of a Prequelle B-side. Its hooks are basic and are jumbled into one boring song. Not to sound like an elitist, but this is the most hamfisted nostalgia-bait I have heard. Between the boring composition and the uninspired approach, Forge takes. All this song does is affirm my point about the poor quality it has taken. The song covers the murder of Hypatia by Christians. She was murdered inside the Caesarum, because of her pagan beliefs. This was in the beginning stages of Christianity, when it held a lot of occult views. 

“Spillways”: 4

    Thank thee for the absolute genius of Tobias Forge. Just when I thought this album was a dud, Forge reels me in. “Spillways” takes a lot of the flourishes from the earlier career of GHOST and applies them differently. Whereas Meliora uses 80s songwriting and instrumentation with the melodicism and flair of later 70s bands, this song swaps it altogether. I love the drumwork on this song with the energetic technique of the early genius of John Bonham and Keith Moon.  It has an old soul that meshes with me. The guitars are produced with the same process that Brian May of Queen used, by stacking different melodies on top of a solo, making the leads more dynamic.

“Calle Me Little Sunshine”: 5

   Moving on, the next track takes the pre-established nature of “Spillways” and takes it to a whole other level. Unlike the previous song, “Call Me Little Sunshine” combines the bluesier side of Classic Rock (Hendrix, Petty, and some Fleetwood Mac) with the bombastic energy of 80s hair bands. The combination is unique and gives off a stylized flair. The song portrays the Devil offering seductive, seemingly comforting salvation to someone in despair, hinting at addiction and loneliness through references to Aleister Crowley and Mephistopheles.

“Hunter’s Moon”: 5

   Following the previous masterpiece is another. Let me preface this: the only bad thing about this song is that it is tied to the Halloween Kills soundtrack. A horrible movie and a fallacy against negligible senescence. However, this track is the closest to Meliroa. The horror aesthetic and the Classic Rock composition make it an easy listen and a truly unforgettable track. “Hunter’s Moon” is a nostalgic, haunted longing for a lost loved one, set within the context of the Halloween Kills film (which is an overstatement), blending themes of memory, friendship, loss, and the predatory nature of obsession, framed by the symbolic Hunter’s Moon, a time for hunting and reflection before winter.

“Watchers In the Sky”: 4

   The next track cements the masterful instrumentation of the late 70s approach. It’s definitely radio-bait, but I adore this to the utmost. The lighter guitarwork easily lies down on the years, a stark contrast to the dark feeling of the previous tracks. “Watchers in the Sky” is an explanation of how we can utilize science to make the world smaller and to reverse scientific things.

“Dominion”: 3

   Even though it’s an interlude, it shows the type of ear Forge has, not just for music but life in general. According to his interview with Metal Hammer, “A segue, where we go outside the city to this vast landscape – meadows and all that, so you see another part of the empire. It’s meant to sound majestic – like some of those space movies like ‘Dune’.”

“Twenties”-”Griftwood”: 3

   Instead of boring readers with the same argument, I am grouping the next three songs in one rating. Unfortunately, the trio of tracks is redundant and overly 80s aesthetic. One of the reasons I dislike the approach to songwriting from Forge (aside from the work on Meliora) is how uninspired it feels. The past six or seven years have shown an uptick in the use of 80s synths. However, few bands and/or musicians have used it as an effective tool. For instance, Trent Reznor’s work on the Tron: Ares soundtrack showed how engulfing these aspects can be. Between the soundscapes, the overall music has its own identity. Whereas Forge uses these as a crutch. He practically parodies a Hair Metal ballad in “Darkness at the Heart of Love.”

“Bite of Passage”: 3

   The last interlude of the album reestablishes the feeling and songwriting I always drew away from GHOST. Its haunting simplicity reminds me a lot of early Prog from bands like Rush and Crimson King. It weighs down your ears in an odd way. It is not heavy in the way of Death Metal, but somehow fuller of malevolence than Black Metal. 

“Respite in Spitalfields”: 5

   Usually, I would critique this song harder since it doesn’t fulfill what an ending should. But because of how much the lower half of the album struggled, what listeners got was well deserved. It is one of the most dynamic in nature and memorable. This is also the first time I noticed how great the drumwork its theatrical nature and darker undertone reminds of their earlier work. It’s experimental in all the good ways. Despite its failure as an ending, it makes up for it with the technical prowess on display. 

   Overall, I teeter on the line of whether Foge and Co. are back at the peak of Meliora. However, what listeners got was a near-perfect comeback to the lackluster Prequelle. Maybe their later discography will affirm GHOST as the best in recent history.