Ghost ‘Phantomime’
After last years blockbuster Imperium album, the ever continual evolution of Ghost, their stories and image is in full flow with this five track release Phantomime, a selection of cover versions given the Swede’s treatment.
Television’s See No Evil, Jesus He Knows Me from Genesis, Hanging Around by The Stranglers, Iron Maiden’s Phantom Of The Opera and We Don’t Need Another Hero by, that’s right, Tina Turner.
Ghost had been teasing the Jesus Is Coming campaign through their splendid mini series and this release is the ‘arrival’.
What of the music though? Well Phantom Of The Opera reminds you how technically gifted Maiden were on their first album with a slightly slower tempo which hits those riffs harder than the original in a song that all about the bands displaying their talents. Hell, there is even a choir in there.
We Don’t Need Another Hero will always have place in Australian culture due to its use in Mad Max Thunderdome. This version is less bombastic than Turners and more repressed in that expert way Tobias Forge does when in his more reflective mood.
The EP itself opens with See No Evil which is the perfect Ghost song. It’s punchy, bounces and has a swagger that comes from a position of rock star arrogance.
This leads into Jesus He Knows Me, Genesis take on TV Evangelism which you’d almost think was written with Ghost in mind while Hanging Around, the synth driven Stranglers classic, is prettied up and has lost none of the originals charm while being dragged into the 21st Century.
The EP’s songs are ultimately linked of course by the Jesus Is Coming promotion so they are not a throwaway collection of covers and the eagle eyed Ghost fans will pick up on the links with relative ease.
For those casual passer by it’s a great entry into a band that sprinkle their unique sound onto music you may already know, getting you searching deeper into their catalogue. You won’t be disappointed.
For Australian fans, it’s a great release to whet your appetite for the upcoming tour in October.
EP Review By Iain McCallum
On tour on the following dates, tickets from Destroy All Lines…
