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Ghost is the name of a devil-worshipping ministry that, in order to spread its unholy gospels and, furthermore, trick mankind into believing the end is ultimately a good thing, has decided to use the ever-popular rock-music medium as a way to achieve its ends. Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes their sect demands, the six nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating music and lyrics which glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious, with the simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find: entertainment.

This is black metal at its most original and deceiving; compositions such as “Ritual” and “Death Knell” majestically weave their melodic spell of evil through the senses until listeners find themselves utterly possessed and open to any diabolical suggestion. Last May, Ghost were contracted to UK-based recording company Rise Above Ltd., which swore an oath stating that it would assist the group in the task of spreading their musical blasphemies through CDs, vinyl albums and digital downloading. The first full-length Ghost album OPUS EPONYMOUS, a daringly beautiful combination of satanic rock and an almost unthinkable pop sensibility, has already dropped in Europe and arrives this Tuesday, January 18 in North America from Metal Blade Records, exposing the band’s music to an even wider public.

In particular, they will be targeting people (most likely adolescents) with a void in their life, perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset, that can be alluringly filled by the music and philosophies of Ghost. In time, these easily manipulated children will come to share the views and goals of the Ghost ministry and can prepare their own plans for the downfall of humanity; from the hymn-like instrumental intro “Deus Culpa” to the opening mantra of “Con Clavi Con Dio” in which Ghost clearly proclaims, “Lucifer, we are here for Your praise, Evil One!” the message in OPUS EPONYMOUS, is as clear as unholy water: The devil is Lord, and the only way to glory is through Him. Hail Satanas!

This mysterious entity, slithering out from the shadows of Sweden, has very quickly become the heir to the throne of true Satanic rock. Ghost is an unholy mixture of old-school metal like Arthur Brown and Blue Öyster Cult, stoner gods Pentagram and clear key influences such as the legendary King Diamond-fronted Mercyful Fate. Like the venerable Diamond, GHOST’s scare-prayer leader is another of the devil’s costumed ministers of anti-faith, Lord Emeritus. Garbed as a mockery of God, Lord Emeritus is a black pope in flowing crimson robes, blasphemously adorned with inverted crosses, his face a skeletal death mask from which albino eyes burn with hatred and misanthropy.

Yet Ghost’s message is not delivered with the usual guttural beastlike growl and down-tuned, lightning-fast sonic pummeling that is par for course with bands sharing its belief system and espousing the same manifesto. Ghost’s evil decree, like its name, is a spectral whisper in the ear, lulling the listener into compliance. Hypnotic and relaxed are two strange words to describe a metal band, but if the horns fit… Evoking the same type of atmosphere as classic Gothic Hammer films or the creeping conspiratorial dread of the satanic panic subgenre that so proliferated in the ’70s, GHOST would be the perfect band for Regan MacNeil and Damien Thorn’s graduation dance.

True Satanism on display.