Album Review: Ghost - Infestissumam

Ghost - Infestissumam

Loma Vista Recordings - 2013

8.5/10

Following a slight peak of interest within the three years after Opus Eponymous, Infestissumam would come in clutch and bring Ghost into the first steps of their mainstream fame. Even if only slightly, this would unfortunately also see the beginning of the hate train, and things only got more controversial as the years went by. Gone is the raw, freezing energy that made their debut such a haunting disc. In its place, we’re now given warmer tones and a slightly grander focus on the theatrics.

That being said, many call this the exit of the metal focus; that couldn’t be further from the truth. Injecting pop rock into the formula doesn’t mean forcing out doomy presence and traditional metal riffing. Sure, the former would take a higher precedence with each subsequent album, but I stand by the fact that Infestissumam is just a brighter variation of the same solid bottom we were given before. I’ll even admit that some of the “hits” on this album are some of the weaker songs, but this doesn’t make them un-heavy. 

Looking at “Year Zero” and “Secular Haze,” there’s an obvious anticlimactic drop in the choruses, which admittedly hurt both tracks. Despite this, both still boast heavy drum kicks, haunting basslines, and slow, burning riff progressions. Choruses aside, they’re beefy enough. Others like “Depth Of Satan’s Eyes” and “Per Aspera Ad Inferi” are overlooked classics that reach everything the former two tracks could have been. “Depth” hits levels of doom and gloom that are on par with the debut, leaving no light into the abyss.

Of course, overlooking the rock ‘n roll energy that focuses a bit more on the keyboard toppings and melodic leads would be a crime. “Jigolo Har Megiddo” is clean and concise with some of the best lyrical flow and poetic structural integrity. It pairs wonderfully with the piano balladry that makes up the first part of “Ghuleh/Zombie Queen.” This track in particular would see the beginning of the “Scooby Doo music” comparisons, which is executed wonderfully and works as a compliment. The back half of it invokes a dark-disco cadence that refuses to let go of the heavier patterns, topped off with a suspenseful guitar solo.

While it’s impossible to gloss over a few of the weaker moments, not one song really stands out as bad from beginning to end. Labeling something a transitional record this early in a band’s career seems a bit odd, but I can easily note the desire for what would come on the next three albums. The blend of a warmer climate and metal just had a few loose ends that needed to be cleaned up, nothing more. Picking that up at the time of release would have been pretty hard, but in hindsight I can dig most of it.