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.
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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.

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