The Swedish cult rock act known as Ghost released one of the stand out albums of 2010 with their brilliant debut release “Opus Eponymous”, a blend of heavy doom rock and psychedelic melodies combined with some catchy as hell grooves. It’s been a hit and miss affair ever since while trying to retain the mystique of the band which has in recent times been killed off with legal issues and lineup changes but despite all this, Ghost move forward with their latest album “Prequelle” which sees the band progress even further with their satanic pop rock sound.

After the welcome return of the more guitar oriented release of “Meliora” following the largely disappointing “Infestissumam” album, this latest release from the mysterious Swedish act sees the band bring back the more poppier aspects once again but this time with a somewhat medievel and cinematic style that incorporates many of their less rock infused influences. There are of course some mighty groove moments that capture the signature Ghost foot stompers, “Faith” is probably the strongest song that encapsulates that best while similarly, “Rats” does a similar job with more melodies as does “Dance Macabre” which despite it’s 70’s pop feel and a weird ABBA undertone to it all, is laden with big power chords and a surprisingly real catchiness to it all.

Alas those are the stronger tracks on the album however with most of the songs having a much more mellower and poppier sound overall. “Witch Images” does partly try to rock but other tracks like “See The Light” and the cinematic “Pro Memoria” are based purely on pop melodies although the dark lyrical matter referencing Lucifer numerous times gives a weird but interesting contrast to the songs. “Miasma” might be more intriguing given it’s an instrumental piece and features none other than a saxophone solo at the end for an 80’s inspired warmth but it doesn’t really grab your attention like some of the other tracks.

The album doesn’t really finish strong as one would hope either given the lighter material heard so far, “Helvetesfonster” has potential at the beginning as it teases a medieval doomy like quality but falls short as the song goes on, the guitar parts stripped back to give the melodies more attention again. It also comes across as more of an interlude piece despite it’s almost 6 minute length as there are no vocals again on this one so it works in that capacity but it simply doesn’t rock out like you would hope. The closer “Life Eternal” again is lighter in tone and pretty much sums up the whole sound of this album.

“Prequelle” is disappointing if you are looking for more of that signature Ghost stuff found on “Opus Eponymous” and “Meliora” but if you love the more atmospheric and poppier side of the band that is still catchy at the same time, then this album might just cut it for you.

TRACKLIST

Ashes

Rats

Faith

See The Light

Miasma

Dance Macabre

Pro Memoria

Witch Image

Helvetesfonster

Life Eternal