Prequelle

Prequelle
Studio album by Ghost
Released June 1, 2018 (2018-06-01)
Recorded 2017
Studio Artery Studios, Stockholm, Sweden
Psalm Studio, Bath, England
Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length 41:43
Label Loma Vista
Producer Tom Dalgety
Ghost chronology
Popestar
(2016)		 Prequelle
(2018)
Singles from Prequelle
  1. "Rats"
    Released: April 13, 2018
  2. "Dance Macabre"
    Released: May 18, 2018

Prequelle is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on June 1, 2018 and produced by Tom Dalgety. The album's first single, "Rats", was released ahead of the album on April 13, and as of July 28th, had peaked at number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The album marked the band's strongest selling debut to date, landing at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week, with 61,000 of those being "traditional" album sales.[1]

The album's theme focuses on Medieval times and the Black Death along with more modern themes.

Background

Prequelle is the fourth studio album by Ghost, and the first to be recorded since the band's leader was officially confirmed to be Tobias Forge. Produced by Tom Dalgety, recording sessions began in 2017 at Artery Studios in Stockholm, while mixing began at Westlake Studios in West Hollywood in January 2018.[2][3]

Forge stated that in contrast to the "very, very lavish, stupid sort of procedure" used to record the previous album Meliora, they "streamlined down a lot of things" for Prequelle. Most of the recording was done by only he and Dalgety, thanks in part to Dalgety being able to engineer the album in addition to producing it. When they needed a drummer or pianist they simply called in a session musician who left upon completing their part. This made the whole process "very relaxed" and "focused." However, the two did feel the pressure of living up to the success of the previous album; "I just try to find some sort of middle ground where you acknowledge it but try not to be blinded by it [...] but I was definitely not caving in because of that pressure. It was not an angst-filled recording. The recording was actually very nice. It was good — we felt that what we were doing was good."[4]

On March 31, 2018, a video titled "Ghost – Chapter One: New Blood" was released on the Ghost YouTube channel as an advertisement for the album and for the new character frontman Forge would play, Cardinal Copia.[5]

Two singles were released for the album, Rats on April 13, 2018, and Dance Macabre on May 18, 2018.[6][7]

Music and themes

Prequelle has been described as hard rock,[8][9] arena rock,[9][10] heavy metal,[11] doom metal,[8] progressive rock,[12] and pop rock.[13] The album includes 1970s and 80s influences such as, Blue Öyster Cult, Boston, ABBA, and hair metal.[14] Forge had the theme for Prequelle planned out for years, dating to even before Meliora.[4] He described the theme as "survival through a tumultuous time of your existence basically being threatened" and the concept of "death and doom".[4][2] He wanted to make a record about the Plague and the Black Death, which led to about half the population of Europe dying. But he said it also led to "mortality issues" such as memento mori and "seize the day" because the other half survived.[4]

Forge also said that it is themed around "medieval times, but it's definitely clinging onto a lot of very current things."[2] He remarked that in recent years many rock elders have died, such as Ronnie James Dio, David Bowie, Prince and especially Lemmy, which affected him much more that he thought they would; "It's made me want to be a little bit more attentive when it comes to trying to make sure that you're making the best of the opportunities that you have with your seniors. That is something that has affected me and this record a lot."[15]

The opening track "Ashes" features Minou Forge, Tobias’ daughter, singing "Ring a Ring o' Roses", a nursery rhyme said to have originated during the Plague.[16][17]

"Rats" is about something "spreading as wildfire and completely destroying things quicker than you know," like the Black Death.[2]

In another plague reference, "Dance Macabre" aims to capture a "joyous nocturnal sort of life in a disco song", such as people excessively partying because they know they are going to die.[2]

Forge wrote the string intro of "Pro Memoria" a few years earlier than this album. He and Meliora producer Klas Åhlund played with the idea of having a "sort of Brian May guitar symphony" with it on that album, but did not have the time. Feeling it would make a good start for a new song, Forge transcribed the notes from his demo, which was done with strings on a keyboard, and sent it to a conductor who recorded it in finality.[18]

The closing track "Life Eternal" asks if you were given the choice to live forever, "Would you want to do that?"[2] Forge wanted to explore the use of the piano on Prequelle, citing "Life Eternal" he said "I wanted it be very ambitious, almost classical, and the piano gives that song air and clarity..."[19]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Blabbermouth.net9/10[21]
Distorted Sound10/10[22]
Exclaim!7/10[23]
Hardwired[24]
Kerrang![25]
Metal Hammer9/10[26]
Metal Injection7.5/10[10]
PopMatters[11]
Rolling Stone[27]

Prequelle received positive reviews from critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 9 reviews.[20] Thom Jurek at AllMusic claimed that, "Ghost deliver fully on the promises of earlier records. Their strengths — including one for imitation — are fully assembled and focused in an exercise of irresistible arena rock excess without sounding like a pastiche."[9] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters wrote that Prequelle "subverts metal clichés; it has a strong sense of history, but at the same time it searches for new ideas within that framework" and called it "one of the cleverest heavy metal records in recent memory."[11]

Metal Injection's Cody Davis cited "Dance Macabre" as the album's best track, but found the songs that follow it to be hit or miss. He completed his review by saying "While Prequelle has its misses, there is more good than bad with this album — and those good moments are excellent and damn catchy. This is a band coming into global domination so the process is bound to have its hitches at times."[10] Joe Smith-Engelhardt of Exclaim! wrote that the album "expertly builds momentum, only to be bogged down by uninspiring tracks" and suggested that "With a bit better pacing and fewer drawn-out moments between songs, the record could have been the best of their career."[23]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Ashes"1:21
2."Rats"4:21
3."Faith"4:29
4."See the Light"4:05
5."Miasma" (Instrumental)5:17
6."Dance Macabre"3:39
7."Pro Memoria"5:39
8."Witch Image"3:30
9."Helvetesfönster" (Instrumental)5:55
10."Life Eternal"3:27
Total length:41:43

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[28]

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 5
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33] 6
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[34] 18
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] 22
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[36] 14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[37] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38] 2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[39] 26
Irish Albums (IRMA)[40] 33
Italian Albums (FIMI)[41] 36
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[42] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43] 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[44] 33
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[45] 10
Scottish Albums (OCC)[46] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[47] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[50] 10
US Billboard 200[51] 3

References

  1. ↑ "GHOST's New Album Lands at #3 on Billboard Charts, Announce Massive Fall North American Tour". Metal Injection. June 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ghost Mastermind Tobias Forge Reports From Studio in First "Unmasked" U.S. Interview". Revolver. February 2, 2018. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ "GHOST To Release 'Prequelle' Album In June; Video For 'Rats' Single Available". blabbermouth.net. April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "GHOST's TOBIAS FORGE Reflects On Recording 'Meliora': 'It Was Very Lavish And Stupid'". Blabbermouth.net. 2018-06-07. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  5. ↑ "Ghost Teases New Papa Emeritus With 'Chapter One: New Blood' Video". Blabbermouth. March 31, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ "GHOST Unveil Cinematic "Rats" Music Video, Announce New Album Prequelle". metalinjection.net. April 13, 2018. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ "GHOST Unveil Catchy New Song "Dance Macabre" in a Unique Way". metalinjection.net. May 15, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "With 'Prequelle', Ghost is Coming for Your Soul (Album Review)". pophorror. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018. Prequelle finds the band fusing their theatrical, doom metal and hard rock sound with an ’80s aesthetic
  9. 1 2 3 4 Jurek, Thom. "Prequelle – Ghost | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Davis, Cody. "Album Review: Ghost Prequelle". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Begrand, Adrien (June 4, 2018). "Ghost: Prequelle (album review)". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018. Underneath the catchy melodies and snazzy artwork, Forge and his band have created one of the cleverest heavy metal records in recent memory.
  12. ↑ Burns, Scott (June 1, 2018). "Ghost Releases New Album: Prequelle". The Rock Source Magazine. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Album Review: Ghost – Prequelle". Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018. Ghost move forward with their latest album “Prequelle” which sees the band progress even further with their satanic pop rock sound.
  14. ↑ Epstein, Dan (May 31, 2018). "Review: Ghost's 'Prequelle' Is Fiendishly Fun and Brilliantly". Revolver Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  15. ↑ "New Ghost album motivated by death of Motorhead icon Lemmy". Louder Sound. 2018-04-30. Archived from the original on 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  16. ↑ "Ghost's Wild 'Prequelle' Mixes Metal, Disco and Saxophones". Loudwire. 2018-06-01. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  17. ↑ "Ghost, Prequelle Album Review". June 4, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ "An interview with Tobias Forge of Ghost". Stack.com. 2018-05-31. Archived from the original on 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  19. ↑ "Ghost interview: the masked metal band on their new "positive" record about The Plague". NME. 2018-05-23. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  20. 1 2 "Prequelle by Ghost Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  21. ↑ Roche, Jason. "CD Reviews - Prequelle Ghost". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  22. ↑ McHugh, Dan. "Album Review: Prequelle – Ghost". Distorted Sound. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  23. 1 2 Smith-Engelhardt, Joe. "Ghost - Prequelle". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  24. ↑ Ristić, Jovan. "Ghost – "Prequelle" (2018)". Hardwired. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Ghost – Prequelle Review". Kerrang! (July 2018): 111. June 1, 2018.
  26. ↑ Goodman, Eleanor (July 2018). "Ghost Prequelle Spinefarm". Metal Hammer. London: Future Publishing (310): 80. ISSN 0955-1190.
  27. ↑ Grow, Kory. "Review: Ghost Are Hard-Rock's Most Interesting Novelty on 'Prequelle'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  28. ↑ Prequelle (CD liner notes). Loma Vista Recordings. 2018. LVR00383. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  29. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 11, 2018. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Ghost – Prequelle" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Ghost – Prequelle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Ghost – Prequelle" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Ghost Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201823 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40 Uge 23, 2018". Hitlisten. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ghost – Prequelle" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Ghost: Prequelle" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ghost – Prequelle" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2018. 23. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Irish Albums Chart: 8 June 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 23 (dal 2018-06-01 al 2018-06-07)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  42. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  43. ↑ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 23, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  45. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Ghost – Prequelle". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  46. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  47. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 23: del 1.6.2018 al 7.6.2018" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2018. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  49. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Ghost – Prequelle". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  50. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  51. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (June 10, 2018). "Kanye West Earns Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Ye'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
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