Translation of Sweden Rock Magazines review of Prequelle.
The Middle Ages was one of the darkest epochs that Europe has gone through. For a thousand years (400-1400) it was quite extinguished at all latitudes. Growth had been enormous for a long time, people increasingly left the countryside to move to towns and after a time of weak ruling, attempts from the popes, priests, cardinals and monks were to regain church power. Influential monasteries were seen as the holy places of the New Age, while witches were burned to death for the slightest suspicion of using dark magic.
The social setting was not in any way better. The cities' infrastructure consisted of dangerous bays and roads that could be likened to open sewers. But above all, death was on everyones doorstep. Humanity literally crawled in shit. The classic scene when Eric Idle collects the corpses, while chanting *"Bring out your dead!"* in the movie *"Monty Python and the holy grail"* is certainly excessive, yet leaves a nice description of an urban environment in the Middle Ages. Life was anything but a feast and scientists estimates the human decline due to plague and the black death to about 25 percent. Rodents in general and black rats in particular were the primary contaminants when entire communities were wiped out by the extremely fatal diseases. If you got infected, you were most certainly going to die.
Ghost's fourth studio album *"Prequelle"* takes off in the midst of that misery. On the cover of *"Prequelle"*, Cardinal Copia rides on a throne of turrets and towers driven by three huge rats with wide open jaws. The vehicle can be resembled a continental shredder who leaves death and misery behind him. If you are in its wake it is close to the fact that your obituary is published within the next few days. But although the setting is based on the spirit of the Middle Ages, there is a modern common thread in Ghost 2018. First of all, *"Prequelle"* is a cavalcade of hits of rarely heard kind. In principle all songs have enough adhesive to attach to any cortex. Its teeming out of chorus hooks, wavy guitars and solos. In short, *"Prequelle"* is Ghost's hottest moment to date. Not because the album is light years ahead of its predecessor, but I like the fact that there is more focus on easier tricks this time. See the album as a lesson in how a musical creation can go from being good to becoming such an infectious memorial that can not be shaken off.
The first single *"Rats"* is a rocket that gets stuck in your head right away. *"Dance Macabre"* walk in the same footsteps. In tremendous heavy *"Faith"*, *"Square Hammer"* (2016) and the Roky Erickson cover *"If You Have Ghosts"* (2013) are shredded in the same abuzzing bath of rock, pop and embracing arena production. There you have three classics without even bending the bow properly.
But the power measurements are available. Muscles can be flexed even more. Even though Ghost can deliver straight pipes, it's even greater magnitude to make heavenly music about the dark sides of life. And it's in those moments Cardinal Copia really get to show his strenghts freely in his choir dress and directs his musical dreams to perfection. *"Life Eternal"*, *"Pro Memoria"* and *"Witch image"* all three shines extra strong with a sense of air and space in perfect symbiosis. It is divine, satanic, macabre and adorably beautiful at the same time. Bewildering was the word.
The ongoing conflict around Ghost does not seem to have broken the old cardinal. Rather, he seems to be textually reinforced by being pushed into a corner. In *"See the Light"*, the album's absolutely hottest track, Copia pushes all the feel-buttons and sings *"Every day that you feed me with hate, I grow stronger"* and then rolls on to his chariot of continental death. Stronger than ever, but even with bare sensitivity. Do not forget that there is a real person behind all mask and musical crafts. A creature of flesh and blood and with real feelings.
Are there any weak moments on *"Prequelle"*? Well, they are few, but one can question two instrumental songs. *"Helvetesfönster"* is certainly a beautiful passage, but it would probably have been even stronger with a grotesque text about sudden death and downfall of humanity. And when the saxophone pops up in *"Miasma"* I just want to hug King Diamond in a comforting gesture and agree with the instrument's inappropriate being. The song is otherwise an incomparable trip straight into the 80's sticky world. But now I'm down to absolute molecular analysis. The red ticks are minimal in the fourth studio album from the *"band"* which, in an interesting and communicative way, successfully relieves the mystery of the rock industry. *"Prequelle"* does exactly what an album should and should do. It warns inward emotional storms that then swell around in all directions to ultimately leave imprint for all future.
Review score:
9 out of 10