First full listen - I LOVE it. Both halves feel good, but I think I prefer the back. Very into the 80's balladry; they have enough ragers and pure rockers (as much as even something as theatrical as "Rats" can be considered that) with their earlier catalog. And if you want rippers or a little more pace, "Lachryma," "Marks of the Evil One," and "Cenotaph" are your Huckleberry.
Hell yeah. Forgot about this coming out. This should be fun. Can't wait for all the usual Ghost arnt metal posts anytime I see this band get mentioned on social media lol.
Debating if I want to wait to listen to this on vinyl for the first time later or dive in now at work. Excited after hearing people loving it.
From my ears, it feels super by the numbers, I was really hoping for more creative swings. Completely understand people loving it though, and that's awesome!
I must add that I am a fan who started at Prequelle and I am a big, BIG fan of the “Scooby Doom” sound vs the actual occult feeling of earlier records. If that’s what kind of fan you are, I could absolutely see being disappointed by the record.
Par for the course, but love how pissed off this album seems to be making a certain contingent. The same people that supposedly left the boat years ago, can’t help with their hate listening. Honestly loving every bit of this.
2 listens in, loving this as well. If the setlist for the US run is the same as the Euro run they are on now I can't wait to hear Umbra live.
Just got my record in from Target, excited to give it a spin in a couple hours once I'm done with meetings. The last 10 or so new records I bought missed the release date so it's nice to actually have something in on time for a first listen.
This is my first full-length release as a fan but I got onboard HARD during the Impera cycle to the point where I now consider them one of my all time favorite bands. On first listen, this probably falls in the bottom couple on my ranking but I understand it's way too soon to be saying that, a lot of their songs have a way of really growing on you after not catching on with you at first. It starts STRONG with the three singles but it kind of lost me a little from Guiding Lights to Cenotaph. Marks of the Evil One is fantastic though and not only is Umbra by far the best song on the album (and kind of what I wanted more of), it's one of their best songs ever. I can't wait to hear that song live I really like all of the sounds they go for over the course of their discography but I do still think Meliora was the sweet spot in its combo of dark/satanic metal with cheesy poppy hard rock
Absolutely LOVING this. Cenotaph absolutely rips. Had it blasting in the car today with the windows down. I love all eras of this band - Impera was my first release as a proper fan, so maybe that’s why I love this latest stuff as well. But Peacefield totally sounds like Journey right?
I regret not buying the splatter from their site, so I opted for the Target exclusive. Still very nice and came with a slip mat
New setlist is almost perfect. Wish they would still do Kaiserion and Hunters Moon, but will gladly take Darkness at the Heart of my Love in trade. The only for sure “oh fuck you have to play this” song I don’t see on there is Jesus He Knows Me. That’s a top 3 song I want to hear them play live.
They must be kicking themselves they didn't get this out a week earlier to coincide with Good Friday and presage the death of the Pope.
I’m fine without hearing the covers live, but I do agree no Kaisarion or Hunters is crazy. I also genuinely thought Respite was a perfect closer, so I wish that was still included. Curious and excited to see if the set changes at all.
So after enjoying a solid 7-8 songs through this band’s discog (basically a lot of the singles) after finding them via Mary on a Cross, I was out yesterday and decided to grab the album. Through one listen, I’d say very meh in that I think the two lead singles are the best on here, and that I kinda like the opening and closing tracks, and everything else kinda blends together into that 80s arena rock sound and nothing catches me stands out. Thougu I could see Marks of the Evil One and Umbra growing on me as well. I think I have to give Cenotaph another listen too.
I re-read the last 5 set lists to make sure I didn’t miss it. Can’t believe it isn’t on there. Hope that changes for the US tour.
My 36 hour hypothesis (loving this more with every listen) Cenotaph is the lynchpin track. If you don’t like that song, you won’t like the album. It’s proggy and major and 80’s cheese. It’s nu-Ghost in the extreme. But if you like that song, the rest of the record sets up super well for you.
This makes total sense. As soon as I got to Cenotaph I was like fuck yeah this rips! After a bunch of listens I find more on this album that blends the various eras. A riff or intro here and there that sounds like the scooby-doom era. A callback or two to Meliora, etc.