my ranking based on first listen:

 

1. Marks of the evil one (immediately shot up to the top of my favorite ghost songs ever)

2. Peacefield

3. Lachryma

4. Umbra

5. Cenotaph

6. Satanized

7. Guiding Lights

8. Excelsis

9. De Profundis Borealis

10. Missilia Amori

 

I feel like this album will be pretty controversial within in the fandom. It's the least ghost sounding album.

 

10 minutes until it's out for me

Peacefield is such a solid opener omfg I am HYPED for the rest of this album let's GOOOOOOO 

Guiding Lights is beautiful omfg. It's the "He Is" of the 20s  

Okay De Profundis Borealis was also stunning that outro was otherworldly  

Cenotaph is a banger but I feel as though this one is the first where I feel like nothing new has been offered

Missilia Amori has me screaming this is really something… But I think I actually enjoy the mess of it all  

Marks of the Evil One is very classic Ghost I loved that so much

 

Its time for UMBRA

Umbra was HEAVENLY oh my  

 

And Excelisis was a relatively unremarkable closer but fine. All in all, very happy with this and I think definitely in the better half of their albums for me.

Okay.. Excelsis is lowkey a gay anthem on second listen. Tobias wrote that for the queers 

Okay it's getting better and better with more listens. I like every track at this point  

Cenotaph is incredible, wow. The three singles are so strong, it's such a nice album

Where did all the Little Ghosters go on here we need to DISCUSS  

5 hours ago, Queen V said:

Cenotaph is incredible, wow. The three singles are so strong, it's such a nice album

Cenotaph really didn't stand out to me on the first listen but I'm really warming to it now

i'm soooo obsessed with this album. initially i needed a few listens to vibe with the album but now i love it so deeply i would die without it

 

my original ranking is compeltely irrelevant too now, im obsessed with every single song

 

Peacefield: the beginning choir part is like a religious experience to me. literally goosebumps every time i listen to it. i love the positivity of this track and how it feels like after everything is over there is still a chance for peace and love. it literally makes me feel so alive and so emotional especially the part where he sings 'but its not over yet'. i've had a rough couple of years and really struggled with mental health. over the last year i have been able to adress and heal a lot of my problems, and this song feels so much like that raw feeling of having survived something very difficult and finally finding peace.

 

Lachryma: nothing much new to say, an absolute banger. continues on with the theme of healing and moving on and how freeing that is. chorus fucks so hard can't wait to hear it live.

 

Satanized: honestly probably the weakest song on the album now that we have the whole album. i still absolutely love it but i tend to skip it now because i listened to it a million times since it was released and i need to hear the other songs more.

 

Guiding Lights: Oh Tobias, this song is yet another emotional masterpiece to me. I think we've all walked on a wrong path with someone and wanting to save that someone (or even ourselves) and wishing for guiding lights. there is something he does with his voice on his track that sounds so desperate and raw, it rips my heart out every time. incredible, incredible song. in an interview he talked about potentially replacing 'he is' with this song and while i would be sad seeing he is go, this would be an absolutely worthy replacement.

De Profundis Borealis: idk what happened on my first listen but this didnt click with me then. second time i heard it it hit me so ******* hard. again going back to that theme of healing how we're sometimes the person that locks us away in our suffering. this resonates so. *******. deeply. with me. the theme of being in your own self made prison when you can escape and heal, if you just let yourself that frozen palace doesnt have to be forever
 

Cenotaph: INCREDIBLE SONG. makes me feel alive when i listen to it even though there is so much sadness woven throughout it. the people we love and lose will always be part of us, no matter what. i have a more personal interpration of thinking about the countless past versions of me who have suffered so much, i feel like i carry them with me all the time but we all made it together. makes me want to SOB.

Missilia Amori: we love a horny song. didnt click with me AT ALL during the first listen but after a bunch of listens it did but when it did, oh it did. shoot your love rockets at me papa

 

Marks of the evil one: the biggest bop on this album imo. i know its probably more inspired by the current climate of the world and meant to be negative but to me it harks back to earlier ghost, when satanism and the ending of the world were important themes. it's like we're back in the SATANIC church of ghost and we're celebrating the marks of the evil one appearing. this song would **** so hard live, i pray it gets added to the setlist.
 

Umbra: another horny song lmao the cowbell is great and totally makes me want to get bent over on an altar in a church very thrilling, totally killing me

 

Excelsis: very emotional ending to the album. i don't like the concept of things ending, wether it be through death or just lives going into different directions. this feels like tobias hugging me close and acknowleding how hard that is but that ultimately it's okay. it's part of life but you're alive NOW so LIVE. the album started on a hopeful note and ended on a hopefull, yet bittersweet note. the last line KILLS me though.

 

Overall, i feel skeleta is a departure of what we're used to with ghost but it turned out into such a beautiful, poignant album that deals with themes relatable to everyone and personally touches on so many things that are on my mind a lot atm.

 

I feel exactly the same way @velocity

 

Get ready to read my essay review tomorrow  

5 hours ago, Wonderland said:

I feel exactly the same way @velocity

 

Get ready to read my essay review tomorrow  

i literally cannot wait 

 

 

new MV dropped. honestly not feeling it, it's edited too weirdly and theres not enough papa content. there is some sort of lore implications here but we'll probably need to wait and see.

79 on Metacritic can some magazine just boost it to 80 please  

 

#1 debut on the BB200 will be legendary though  

5 hours ago, Wonderland said:

79 on Metacritic can some magazine just boost it to 80 please  

 

#1 debut on the BB200 will be legendary though  

it'll be their first #1 predicted with about 85k sales

 

where's my essay though

18 hours ago, velocity said:

it'll be their first #1 predicted with about 85k sales

 

where's my essay though

It's coming in about 12 hours I got slightly delayed  

#1 on Billboard 200 with 86,000 units

I just wanted to say that this album is 10/10  

Peacefield might be one of the best songs they've ever done - classic Ghost

Guiding Lights is so beautiful and haunting

De Profundis Borealis is great and I was hooked on the first listen 

Lachryma is a bop

They're back with a bang serving AOTY and a well deserved #1 album

 

Such a good performance  

So I know this is a VERY late track by track review ()  but I thought I'd finally put my opinions up on the album:

 

PEACEFIELD - fantastic and possibly one of their best album openers. Love the dramatic choral start and probably one of the stronger arena-rock Ghost songs of recent. I could have heard this on Impera or even Meliora and that's a good thing in my book.

 

LACHRYMA - standout on the album for me and ever since it first came out. Sonically, it's fascinating how it switches between that synth filled chorus and then some of the heaviest metal backing in the verses. I'm still not over the guitar solos in that bridge and the key change for the last chorus - it's so transcendent. I understand the criticisms surrounding the lyrics and think it might have benefited from just a couple of classic Ghost references to balance out how soft some of the lyrics come across ("sweet gone sour", the whole chorus, etc.). But it's such a strong track and it's firmly going to be my track of the year at this point.

 

SATANIZED - I think this song did what it was designed to do on release and perfectly ushered in Papa V Perpetua. I also think it's a deliberate high-dose injection of the band's identity; as a lot of what's to come steps away from that. I'm sure it goes off live and the post-chorus Latin chant was excellent.

 

GUIDING LIGHTS - This one is often compared to "He Is" but I think that's an unfair comparison as it gets blown out of the water by "He is". I enjoy the verses and would love to hear more spoken verses like that over that almost medieval-sounding synth backing. I'm sure it resonates with some people but this isn't one I rush back to put on.

 

DE PROFUNDIS BOREALIS - I'm usually in a rush to get to this one when "Guiding Lights" comes on. Fantastic build up, another strong arena-rock style song. Love the interspersed chanting. Top tier of the album for me for sure.

 

CENOTAPH - This one unlocked for me quite late. I didn't think much of it for the longest time but it's definitely a grower. I think this track is the best example of the switch in writing style that happened with this album. Tobias is writing much less in satanic/biblical metaphor and much more matter-of-fact. You can directly hear the longing he has for his brother in this one and that's quite special considering how most of his personal feelings are hidden most of the time.

 

MISSILIA AMORI - Now I know this is a divisive one but I find it genius. It's cheesy, it's over the top, it's cringe. However it just feels very reflective of the state of the world right now. It captures that sense of impending doom everyone is feeling as well as the bravado that so many countries are putting on as they jostle for the upper hand.

 

MARKS OF THE EVIL ONE - This one feels like it's for the long-term fans. I love the theme of the riders of the apocalypse (and tbh not as bothered about the "cool" lyric as much as others are). It plays well with structure (how the chorus is cut short the first time it is sung) and the instructive chorus is going to be a huge hit with crowds when it finally gets sung live. It also has one of the strongest guitar solos - truly excellent. I sense this is likely to be one of the songs still performed off the album years down the line. Classic Ghost and done so well.

 

UMBRA - Aside from Missilia, the majority of the tracks up to this point have quite a serious tone. I love how Umbra disarms that with the cowbell and it almost has this absurd, Boy George "Karma Chameleon" feel to it in the verses. Similar to Lachryma I think the contrast works well on this song and I adore the harmonies in that pre-chorus. The Organ vs. Guitar segment is hilarious on first listen and must be so fun to watch live. This is also going to be played years later and I'm not sad about that at all. 
 

EXCELSIS - Probably my least played but I've really come round on this song to be fair. I think the rainbow reference makes it hit different for the gays and I really adore the lyrics about everybody leaving one day and just the simple "you will too. I will too." and it cuts deep when you think about how personal this album was for Tobias and the people in his life he meant that line for. It reminds me of his cover of "Bible" in a way where the song takes on an almost pro-religious tone and it leaves you wondering where he'll take Ghost next.

 

All in all, I'm incredibly happy with the album and thrilled this was my first Ghost release I got to enjoy in real time as a fan. Now I just have to pray they come down under on their tour so I can experience my first Ritual