EP REVIEW: Popestar – Ghost

GHOST are already a pretty established act as it is, and last years triumphant Meliora cemented the group as one of the futures massive acts. Refusing to stay static the Swedish Ghouls have done another selection of top-notch covers and even thrown in one of the best originals they’ve written for good measure.

Popestar opens on Square Hammer and immediately the idea of GHOST in front of an arena sized crowd pops into mind. The track begs for a mob of rabid fans to be screaming the words right back at them as the pounding drums and epic guitar lead breaks into arguably the biggest chorus GHOST have penned. A legitimate anthem and one that eludes to some exciting prospects for the next full length.

The rest of the EP is made up of a further selection of covers in the same vein of 2013’s If You Have Ghosts but done with far better choice in regards to the covers. Nocturnal Me, originally done by ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, is a spooky and genuinely discomforting waltz before the far calmer version of SIMIAM MOBILE DISCO’s I Believe which furthers proves how diverse and able GHOST are at pulling out the slower and more deliberate tracks.

After the doomy and heavy rendition of EURYTHMICS’ Missionary Man picks the pace back up and also lets GHOST remind everyone that they can still bring riffs to the party if need be, the beautifully ironic Bible closes the whole EP is classy fashion. Obviously, understanding the Satanic and tongue in cheek lyrical content of their previous works, GHOST singing about the genesis of the world according to the bible is very entertaining. The song itself is as epic as anything the band have done and Papa Emeritus voice reaches some fantastic heights in the chorus.

Popestar works as a great a stepping-stone before the band move onto a more full time commitment. Square Hammer is a fantastic insight into where the band are moving creatively whilst the four covers are all tremendously well done in their own right. By this point in their career, its fair to question whether GHOST even know what a bad album is. The only thing that could’ve made this EP better would’ve been the addition of more original material.

Rating: 7/10

Popestar is out now via Spinefarm Records.

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