Album Review: Ghost BC - Infestissumam

Ghost, or as we should now call them (for reasons that remain unclear) Ghost BC, have gone from unlikely cult heroes to being on the verge of significant mainstream success. After their Elizabeth 7” was pimped out by black metal paragon Fenriz, the band of masked 'ghouls' were picked up by Lee Dorrian's Rise Above label. Their resulting debut LP Opus Eponymous, with its Blue Oyster Cult-meets-King Diamond retro vibes and ridiculously catchy hooks, earned plaudits across the metal world and led to the mysterious outfit being picked up by Universal for a reported $750,000 advance. So are the big boys going to make their money back with Infestissumam?

Well, first off, there is no indication that Papa Emeritus and his nameless Ghouls have felt the need to commercialise their sound. In fact, if you're looking for something as immediately hummable as, say, Ritual or Stand By Him, you're going to be disappointed. Instead, Infestissumam has a darker off-kilter feel thanks to a widely expanded sonic palette. From the vaudeville organ of Secular Haze through to the melancholy darkness of the epic Ghuleh/Zombie Queen – or even the '70s schlock rock of Monstrance Clock – Infestissumam offers up some surprising musical twists. Don't worry though, the great riffs are still there in spades, and the signature vocals of Papa Emeritus along with the straightforward hooks of Year Zero and Body And Blood offer comforting echoes of Opus Eponymous' familiar sound.

Ghost BC could well have been a one-shot wonder, but with Infestissumam they've managed to remain interesting and even enigmatic. All that remains to be seen is if they can reach an even wider audience.