Ghost's 'Skeletá' - Album Review

I think that it is fair to say that Sweden's Ghost are currently one of the biggest rock and metal bands in the world. In an era which is slowly seeing the old guard fade away, and those less in the know decrying the lack of festival headliners of the future, Ghost stand out as one the premier acts to take over from those which have been treading the boards for decades at this point - following an organic rise from occult obscurity when they released Opus Eponymous in 2010 to being genuine world-beaters 15 years later. Bands that burst onto the scene with a lot of hype often lack the staying power of the genuine greats, but Ghost's profile grew gradually and sustainably with each album and tour - and a recent sell-out arena tour of the UK shows that it cannot be all that long before stadiums and some of the most prestigious festival headline slots follow. Ghost have been arena fillers here in the UK for a while - with 2018's Prequelle (which I reviewed here) transitioning the band sound-wise into the arena rock juggernauts that they are now. Some decry the lack of 'metal' in their current sound, but Ghost were never especially heavy - with even their early occult rock feeling more 1970s in tone thanks to the prolific use of dense, retro keyboards and fuzzy guitar effects. They started to sleek-up prior to Prequelle, too, but the band's fourth album certainly introduced some strong 1980s stadium rock vibes - something which 2022's Impera (which I reviewed here) doubled down on. It is no secret that songs from Prequelle and Impera have tended to dominate the band's setlists in more recent times - although it should be noted that Ghost have always loved a big hook, with some of the cuts from prior to Prequelle being just as anthemic and hooky. I will probably lose metal points for this, but I have generally thought that Ghost have improved over time - and, for me, the best Ghost is the most stadium-ready. This is my love of 1980s stadium rock and AOR talking - and Ghost main-man Tobias Forge knows how to channel this energy, wrap it up in a slightly spooky blanket, and throw in some old-school Kiss-style theatrics. Three years on from Impera, then, Ghost are back with their sixth album Skeletá. I was assuming that Forge would come up with more material in the vein of Impera, and keep the gravy train rolling down the tracks - which is essentially what he has done, although there is perhaps a little more looking to the band's past here than was present on the last couple of albums. Skeletá is still very much an album which sounds very 1980s in tone - and there are plenty of AOR hooks and big choruses here to satisfy those who, like me, have enjoyed Ghost's transition. There are a few moments, though, which feel a little darker and less flashy - and these somewhat hark back to what came before. Essentially the album is the natural continuation from Impera, but there is also a respect of the band's origins - which I was perhaps not expecting in quite the same way. As always, it is hard to know exactly who contributed to this album besides Forge - but, as was the case with the last album, Fredrik Åkesson (Talisman; Krux; Opeth) is credited with supplying the lead guitar on a number of tracks.

Whilst most Ghost albums open with a short instrumental, Skeletá decides instead to just crack on - although the opening moments of Peacefield do somewhat replicate the feeling of a scene-setter. Choirboy vocals and gentle synths create a pseudo-religious feel as the song opens up - with the synths transitioning into organ as the vocal layers increase, which soon climax as a melodic guitar line takes over. This guitar lead later forms the basis of the song's main riff, but Forge sings over this initial simplified version as a drum beat kicks in - and the first verse and chorus rendition are more stripped back. This allows the vocal melodies to really shine. Forge might not be the best singer, but his voice is perfect for Ghost - and I do think that he has grown into a stronger vocalist over the years. He feels a bit more 'bodied' here - and he ramps up the power following the first chorus which is when the rest of the band kick in a big way and the song morphs into a powerful mid-paced rocker. I like the way the later verses and chorus renditions build on their initial, sparser siblings - and the overall arrangement of the song, from the choral intro to a soaring, melodic guitar solo, showcases Forge's clever songwriting tricks. The guitar riffing is tough, but retains plenty of melodic qualities, and the use of synths throughout enhances everything - with spacey sounds used as the song progresses. It helps that every melody is well-tuned to lodge in the brain, too, and the song opens the album perfectly. Single Lachryma is somewhat similar in that it is a mid-paced rocker, with the opening synth melody being a real 1980s throwback, but the riffing here feels a little heavier - and there is a strong bass presence throughout the verses which is quite a classic Ghost trope at this point. Whilst the opening synth melody and the sugary chorus, which is one of the hookiest on the album, certainly follow the vibes of the last couple of albums - the slightly heavier verses and the overall production hark back to the sound of 2015's Meliora somewhat for me. The guitar tones are a bit crunchier and the way that the drums really snap through the mix give the song that old-school feel - but the chorus, with its hypnotic synth line and gorgeous vocal harmonies, returns to the new-school, as does the fluid guitar solo which could have sat on Whitesnake's 1987. Lead single Satanized is another which channels some older vibes - and when I first heard it I did wonder if this latest Ghost record would look to the past somewhat. Again, the bass is very prominent in the mix - and it drives everything from the off, whilst mournful harmony guitar leads set a spooky early tone. The bass forms the basis of the verses, too, with buzzing rhythm guitars dropping in and out whilst the punchy drumming locks in perfectly. The synths are less flashy here, too, and instead retreat into the background - creating a dense and spooky tone. There are also strong Meliora vibes throughout this whole song - with even the chorus feeling like the overall style of that album. It is full of hooks, but they are not as blatant and AOR-esque this time - which means that it is a chorus which sinks in after a couple of listens. There is quite a bit of restraint throughout the whole song arrangement-wise, then, with even the guitar solo being a slow-burner - but it is another winner due to a plethora of hooks and a great overall atmosphere.

Whilst I like this album a lot, I am not sure that it is quite as strong as the last two - and perhaps one of the reasons why is Guiding Lights, a ballad which drops in following the opening three excellent songs and never really seems to get going. I am not sure that ballads have ever really been Forge's forte, and quite a few of his previous efforts do not do a huge amount for me, and this one is no different. It feels quite bland overall, despite a decent chorus, and in a way it surprises me that Forge has never really managed to nail ballads. He has been able to include most other arena rock trope in his songwriting successfully - but the perfect power ballad seems to elude him, and the sluggish Guiding Lights certainly is not it. I do like the chorus, but the rest of the song does not have much going for it. De Profundis Borealis gets the album back on track, though, despite it opening slowly with some distant piano melodies, and, of all the tracks so far, this is the biggest hark back to the band's older albums. There are strong Meliora and even 2013's Infestissumam vibes throughout - with the track having a darker feel that lacks many of the stadium rock tropes of the band's last two albums. Forge's vocal delivery has a darker edge to it, returning to a style he used to utilise more, and the keyboards throughout are less synth-heavy and instead make use of retro sounds. Hammond organ can often be heard throughout the track, whilst other 1970s progressive rock keyboard textures are thrown in elsewhere - all while faster, crunchier guitar riffs recreate some of those garage rock-esque vibes of the band's past. Iron Maiden-esque guitar melodies are thrown in occasionally, too, and there are some particularly potent ones during the chorus - which is a bit more off-kilter than is typical for modern Ghost, returning to some of the quirks of their past with hooks that take a few listens to fully appreciate. Cenotaph also opens with a synth melody, over which some restrained rhythm guitar chugs soon start to play over - which then becomes the bed for Forge's vocals. It is a song which builds slowly and the overall vibe it creates is something a bit different for the band. It is a song which is quite hard to describe. Whilst it does have a chorus, it is not a booming stadium rock-ready chorus. There are hooks throughout, but it never seems to climax with its chorus as the best Ghost songs do - although there are some fun guitar riffs throughout the chorus which do help it to stand out somewhat. It is one of those songs which never really changes its groove or rhythm throughout - so it has a hypnotic effect rather than an anthemic one. A strong guitar and keyboard solo section allows for a bit of a change, though, and I like the song for its different vibe. Missilia Amori is therefore the first song since Satanized to have a massive chorus - and it returns to the feel of Peacefield in my opinion, with a similar overall groove and the main riff feels like a heavier version of that song's effort. Arrangement-wise, the song feels perhaps less interesting than some of the others here - but it is clearly a song written to showcase its chorus. The staccato and soaring nature of the chorus reminds me somewhat of Watcher in the Sky from the last album - and the overall pace and arrangement is somewhat similar. Each time the chorus rolls around it demands to be shouted to the sky - whilst the guitar solo is more high-octane than is typical for Ghost, which helps the song have a stronger heavy metal feel.

Marks of the Evil One ups the pace somewhat and retains that heavy metal feel thanks to its driving bassline, crunchy guitar rhythms, and a darker tone thanks to some dense keyboard arrangements. Forge once again uses that slightly gruffer vocal delivery which he used more in the past here - and it gives the song a bit of a old-school feel, but overall this track does not feel like it could have sat on one of the older albums like some of the others here. Sound-wise the sound is more akin to the heavier moments on the last couple of albums - but perhaps taken a little further to allow for a more urgent feel. The guitar tone here reminds me of bands like Ratt and Dokken quite a bit - and the overall vibe of the song is not that far away from the latter, particularly when a stratospheric guitar solo takes over which is full of some neo-classical melodies and lots of fluid legato runs. The chorus is quite different to anything the band have done before and the use of subtle gang vocals at times is what helps to set the song apart. The song has grown on me a lot since I first heard it - and it has become a real favourite here thanks to its urgency. Umbra is pretty typical of the band's most recent work - so it should come as no surprise that it is an upbeat hook-fest which is one of the best songs here. It starts slowly with some synths, but once the crunchy guitar riff kicks in, with its cowbell backing, the track starts to build. The use of cowbell throughout, alongside some more percussive drumming during the verses, gives the song a unique groove - and I really like how it builds towards the chorus. The chorus is typical modern Ghost, with explosive melodies, snappy riffing, and tight harmonies; but the verses are a bit darker, with Forge using different vocal styles throughout - and they shift over the course of their run, with keyboards playing a bigger part as the chorus approaches. The arrangements are tight and interesting, then, but perhaps the best part of the song is the instrumental mid-section. I saw the band play this song live before the album came out - and this instrumental section was one of the highlights of the night. It is a proper progressive rock wig out with effects-heavy guitar soloing and old-school keyboard melodies - with the culminating guitar and keyboard unison runs full of character. The album then comes to a close with the slower Excelsis. I have already said that I do not feel that Forge is at his best when writing ballads, but this one goes for a more atmospheric vibe - which I think tends to work more effectively. There are shades of Life Eternal here, and Excelsis does a similar job on this album that Life Eternal did on Prequelle. Closing an album with a slower track does not always work that well in my opinion, but Excelsis has grown on me somewhat - and I think it works much better to showcase the slower side of Ghost than Guiding Lights does. It helps that the atmospheric keyboards are as varied as they are - and Forge actually delivers a pretty emotional vocal performance. Emotional is not really a word I would generally use to describe his singing - but this track does feel somewhat heartfelt, and a similarly emotional guitar solo helps to add further textures. Having lived with the album for a month or so now, I do feel that this ending note is stronger than I did at first - and overall I think it is a strong release. There is only one song that does not really do that much for me - and I like that there are some different vibes here that hark back to the older albums and showcase something new. It is not as immediate as the previous two, which is why I currently do not feel that it is as strong, but something tells me my opinion might change as the songs continue to grow - and Ghost continue to impress with their strong songwriting and tight arrangements.

The album was released on 25th April 2025 via Loma Vista Recordings. Below is the band's promotional video for Lachryma.