When did you first notice that Ghost are one of the best hard rock bands ever?
It’s not as if they’re subtle, but Ghost’s rise to the top of the heavy metal mountain has been a gradual one. With an irresistible combination of high theatrics and horror pomp, these Swedes have offered a truly larger-than-life rock proposition of the type that people just don’t see anymore.
At the centre of all the cod-occultism and area-rock stagecraft lies the real secret to their success: a huge catalogue of simply excellent tunes. Every album is filled with hooks and melodies that any band would kill for, all wrapped up in that spooky aesthetic that makes it all irresistible.
Now, given that we are - at time of writing - right in the middle of Halloween season, I thought it was high time I gathered together a ten-strong playlist of Ghost’s greatest moments. Given their hit rate, this hasn’t been an easy list to whittle down! I’d like to see this more as an introduction to the band for those who are, as yet, not obsessed with them. You have been missing out!
Here, then, are the Best Ghost Songs Ever!
The Songs at a Glance
Square Hammer
This is the definitive Ghost hard-rocker. Like all great songs, there’s something almost predictable in the songwriting, but it veers off into its own world and takes you with it.
Now, is the ‘square hammer’ one that is used to contact the devil in occult folklore? Is the lyric about being ‘on the level’ a reference to Freemasonry? You tell me, but you’ll find Ghost’s music littered with such references to the arcane and the diabolical. It’s all good, clean fun!
He Is
A ballad to Satan? On the surface of it, yeah! It’s also a pretty clever comment on televangelists, so it can be seen to be as sincere or as sardonic as you want it to be.
In reality, though, it’s actually neither. It’s an tribute to one of singer Tobias Forge’s friends, somebody who was deeply steeped in the occult, who led a troubled life of ill mental health and who ultimately died by suicide. This song takes his point of view for certain lines, and carefully changes certain other lyrics to sound almost like an ode to Lucifer, when it actually isn’t.
Occult appropriation is often used as a songwriting device in Ghost’s music in order to speak deeper, more personal truths. Fans debate these elements, and I think that’s how the band prefer it.
What’s not in debate though, is the quality of songwriting here: this beams in like a lost classic from some 1970s hard rock record, with one of the band’s best choruses. A live high point, for sure!
Kiss The Go-Goat
Coming on like a demented Austin Powers song, no amount of 60s psychedelia pastiching can mask this brilliantly written song. Yes, the goat referencing (and the Latin part in the chorus) have diabolical leanings, but I do think there is a tongue-in-cheek element to much of what Ghost do. That said, there’s a message here about looking for inspiration in the wrong places, and of temptation and unfulfillment, so there’s a bunch of things going on in this song if you have ears to hear them!
Cirice
This song from the Meliora album won a Grammy award for Best Metal Performance. It’s not hard to see why, given the blending of anthemic melody and mosh-friendly stomping rhythms. A creepy acoustic intro gives way to that patented ‘Ghost sound’, which is like a sort of acceptable doom sound for the arenas of the world.
That’s a good thing, by the way! The song is about the manipulation of the church as a world power, and the word Cirice (old English for ‘church’) is deliberately mispronounced in order to sound more like a woman’s name. Some fans think it’s a nod to Silence of the Lambs and its protagonist Clarice Starling, and I suppose that fits the lyric too. Open to interpretation, great to drive to, and openly confrontational, this is as ‘Ghost’ as it gets.
See The Light
Talk about melody? Songwriter Tobias Forge just seems to have the gift for it, ‘it’ being the ability to throw out endless melodic hooks. I’ve often called Ghost a ‘heavy Abba’ and songs like this certainly support that flippant remark!
See the Light has one of those timeless messages about triumphing through adversity, and succeeding in spite of the negativity of others. It is framed in quasi-biblical referencing, which of course fits in with Ghost’s ‘unholy church’ aesthetic.
Bible
Speaking of biblical, this enormous tune is a great example of Ghost covering a song (Imperiet originally wrote this one), and improving over the original. Ghost easily have enough of their own songs for inclusion on this list, but Bible is just so mighty and impressive that I wanted it included on here! Thematically, it fits well within the band’s oeuvre, with a huge chorus refrain of “Who will pray for Babylon?” Who indeed. This tune is the definition of Epic.
Spirit
An earlier one now, from Ghost’s third album Meliora. To me, this seems like it's taking a dual meaning to the title ‘spirit’ as being about losing your creativity to alcoholism. The song blends cheesy ‘B-movie’ sounds in the intro (including a theremin) before bringing the hard rock.
Another ultra-melodic song that seems custom made for the stadium, Spirit sounds like it’s celebrating Absinthe, but I get the feeling that Forge’s pronunciation of that word (he makes it sound like ‘absent’) reveals the real meaning of the song.
Lachryma
Trust Ghost to find a latin-based way to talk about a corrosive relationship. I enjoy that extra mile they travel for us, and the song itself offers a viewpoint of succumbing to a sort of energy vampire before finding the strength to pull away from such people.
It’s another huge banger, and guitar fans will note that Opeth’s lead guitarist Fredrik Akesson has handled all of the ridiculous solos on the last few albums. Best current lead guitarist? Seriously, who is better?
Mary On a Cross
This song and Kiss the Go-Goat were both on a 2-track EP called 6 Inches of Satanic Panic, which will hopefully help you understand the band’s sense of humour somewhat. Critics jumping to offence over implied blasphemy might want to look harder at the lyrics, though I’d concede that the implication is pretty obvious. If there’s one thing to take from this blog, it’s that Ghost are adroit at hiding their songs’ true intentions behind double meanings and imagery. This one’s a great example of that, and has a verse melody to die for.
Mummy Dust
No, not a literal song about the ground up particles of dead Egyptian pharaohs, but in fact a pretty wise comment about greed and materialism. The tune is a stomper indeed, with flashes of proggy keyboards, which have become an increasing element in Ghost’s sound. The destructive nature of a money-centric society is a pertinent message for today, and never has it sounded so headbangingly fun.
Today’s Rock Heroes
How did you get on with those ten songs? There’s a lot there if you feel like taking a deep dive, but there’s also just a stack of amazing rock songs to enjoy if that’s all you’re after. Like all of the best bands, you can dive down the rabbit holes and debate the finer points of the themes and references throughout their body of work.
It’s all part of the Ghost experience, just as seeing them in action is a big part of it. Ghost’s live gigs are effectively how you imagined huge, over-the-top rock shows could be when you were a kid. There is currently nothing like it touring the world.
If you liked what you heard today, make a point of seeing their show next time it’s in town. If you didn’t like what you heard, give them another listen. Nobody’s perfect!
