Returning to the 70s hard rock that informed so much of their early sound, the Swedish devil-worshipers deliver a tightly written collection of supremely catchy Occult-themed arena rock
Ghost have been walking the tightrope between "gimmick poser" and "trve retro" status for some time now since their previous record left a mixed impression. Whatever you thought of Infesstisumam, the anonymous members of this bizarre Satanic rock group present their latest offering: Meliora, which hilariously translates to "better".
Right from the insanely cheesy keyboard of opener "Spirit" you get a good idea of what Ghost seems to be aiming for here, and hook-laden follow-ups "From the Pendulum to the Pit" and "Cirice" only confirm their intention to return to the taut dark-pop of 2010's Opus Eponymous", and it speaks to their ability to produce this kind of stuff with such consistency that Meliora doesn't feel like as much of a retread as it truly is. "He is" sounds frighteningly similar to Fleetwood Mac during the chorus and the heaviest material seems to be cribbed from Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult at times, but they still manage to rock good and hard, with late-track sleeper "Absolution" stealing the show (check out that Journey-style outro and keyboard break!).
Meliora isn't shy about it's pop leanings (it's longer than Opus by nearly seven minutes but feels much shorter somehow and the instrumental interludes have been cut down almost entirely), and while there may be a bit of long-term replay-ability that it sacrifices to achieve this level of consistency and ear candy that doesn't diminish the level of Ghost's accomplishment here: an occult-themed rock record drawing heavily from the ancient aquifers of hard rock and metal pioneers that practically gleams with songwriting and production polish.
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