GHOST — Meliora (review)

GHOST — Meliora album cover Album · 2015 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
dtguitarfan
The first time I heard this group, I was mildly amused. But when I heard Meliora, I found it so catchy that I had to listen again...and again...and again. This one slowly rose in my 2015 list. I'd describe the style as spooky sounding retro metal - really sounds like a blast from the past! It's like Black Sabbath mixed with Scooby Doo and church music! There are some really catchy songs on here too. And it's gotten better with successive listens.

On the surface, one might criticize the group for being antagonistic towards religion - but when you delve into the lyrics and consider the metaphors, you find that there are deeper meanings. For example, "Mummy Dust" has been introduced by the band at live gigs as being about a deity that every audience member knows - the lyrics go:

I was carried on a wolf's back To corrupt humanity I will pummel it with opulence With corpulence and greed In God you trust My mummy dust

The deity in question is money - so this song functions as a critique of society's chasing after more more more as a way to hide from our own emptiness. This striving is "mummy dust" - another way of saying "snake's oil", or a fake remedy for our problems. The genius of the band is that their metaphorical satire is often seen only at a surface level and misunderstood - just as fundamentalists do with their own religions. Brilliant stuff.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
dtguitarfan wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I was finding it harder and harder to write about music - like, I felt like I was using the same 100 words or so about every album. So I started writing about other things for a while. Now I am so busy with the wife and kids as well as work that I find very little time for writing at all, unfortunately.

But I'm still coming down from a concert high after seeing Ghost live about a week ago (REALLY GREAT stage presence), and so I felt a review was warranted.
adg211288 wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I've never really given Ghost a chance. Maybe I should.

Long time no see here on MMA by the way Geoff, welcome back.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed