Ghost are already on top of the heavy metal/hard rock world. They’re in the midst of their Skeletour World Tour in Europe right now, and they’ve dropped their sixth album, SKELETÁ. The new album already has three singles out, “Peacefield”, “Lachryma”, and “Satanized”. The three new singles have also been played live for their world tour, so Ghost fans at those lucky shows have heard them live, plus the track ‘Umbra’ off SKELETÁ. Here’s what Ghost has to say about the new album.
The lead up to SKELETÁ’s full release has been punctuated by a cavalcade of world-spanning events that have only elevated the fervor of the album’s exuberant welcome. This week alone witnessed the unveiling of the recorded version of “Peacefield,” the monolithic anthem opening both the new record and the sold-out arena performances comprising the first leg of the SKELETOUR WORLD TOUR 2025. The faithful also assembled in full regalia for SKELETÁ-Eve Midnight Sales celebrating the arrival of the band’s sixth psalm at close to 150 record stores around the globe. With demand for the midnight mass events far exceeding the number of suitable physical locations, GHOST’s added live-streamed SKELETÁ Rockin’ Eve event took the invocation of the new offering to devotees in all corners of the world, ensuring that not a single fan was left out of the festivities.
First Impressions Of SKELETÁ
After those first three songs, the album is very much a different experience than previous Ghost albums. SKELETÁ feels like it’s much more arena-rock oriented than other albums. That sort of Blue Öyster Cult sound with heavy metal vibes is still very much there. But even comparing it to Impera, that album had prog-rock inspirations mixed with heavier songs like “Watcher In The Sky” and “Twenties”.
On this album, tracks like “Cenotaph” and “Missila Amori” give off Def Leppard Hysteria vibes. Obviously there’s still a layer of what we know and love from Ghost here with all the imagery and hidden elements or in the case of “Missila” not so hidden double entendres.
It all builds to the final two tracks in “Umbra” and “Excelsis”. “Umbra” has a traditional feeling but “Excelsis” takes up the spot for a true album-ending ballad. It talks about death, what’s beyond for all of us, and really hits quite hard. For some fans this album might be too much of a departure, but for me, it feels just like the next evolution. We can all want them to make Opus Eponymous over and over again, but that’s not a band evolving.
Like Impera, it might take a couple of listen-throughs, SKELETÁ feels like something similar. It’s multi-layered and really puts the onus on the audience to get the most out of it.
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