Smiling Metal

"We get all types at Ghost shows,” says a surprisingly well mannered and upbeat 'Nameless Ghoul'. “Our crowds are generally smiling and we even get a lot of women at the shows – both of which is odd for metal.”

Ghost BC are musically more Jethro Tull than Deicide. But as this 'Nameless Ghoul' is quick to point out, this is a band full of metal OGs. “I know my metal and I know I have my metal cred and there's not an 18-year-old downloading kid that can take that away from me. The people that I know from the scene – you know, the true protectors of puritan metal, the black metal guys, the death metal guys – they really enjoy what we're trying to do. I think a lot of people who live and breathe metal are still open-minded – and it's great to see them at our shows alongside people who wouldn't usually catch a metal gig.”

Their debut album, Opus Eponymous, effortlessly blended a seriously catchy brand of Blue Oyster Cult-cum-Mercyful Fate-styled rock with a theatrical sensibility that would make KISS blush. It's somewhat surprising then that 2013's follow-up, Infestissumam, was a more difficult listen that introduced elements of prog rock, pop and psychedelia to the mix.

“We were never even tempted to just copy the first record. Remember, we didn't write the first album expecting huge success – and we wanted to retain the same purity of our songwriting process for Infestissumam. One factor in how the songs came out was the live element – we realised we needed more depth to our live show and the longer Infestissumam songs really allow us to beef up our set.

“The same goes for our third record, which we've started writing. The songs are turning out really interesting – this one will be more of a guitarist's album than Infestissumam, which was a very vocal album. The next one is more instrumental and we'll be recording it in October this year.”

The band's upcoming Big Day Out appearances have Australian fans excited, as has a recent Dave Grohl-produced EP, If You Have Ghost. “Festival shows are cool because you get to reach a whole new audience that know nothing about us. That said, we're also hoping we can set up some sideshows this time around so we can give people the extended set and full stage show we do when we headline our own shows. A Ghost show is a real experience and we're hoping to see a lot of people there.”