Ghostvivor: Results

Are you satisfied?

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    9
  • Poll closed .
First impression of the second album is that it’s certainly more polished and more varied than the debut, but the songs aren’t quite there. Also not a fan of Nick Rasculinecz’s production style.
 
Ghost - Infestissumam

1. Infestissumam - A choir opens up Ghost's second album with some rather sinister lyrics before the instruments come in and goddammit I'm getting fucking chills from this song. Everything here is literally perfect. I wish it was longer but holy hell does it do a good job at opening the album. "Deus Culpa" was bland, but they upped the fucking ante with this one. It may just be an intro, but it's also the best song on the album and on par with "Ritual" from the first album. Man, I love it. I know it's just an intro, but that doesn't stop me from giving it full-on top marks. 10/10

2. Per Aspera Ad Inferi - A pretty cool riff opens up the first actual song on the album. The verse comes in and... what the hell did they do to the vocals here? It melds weirdly with the keyboards and makes the whole verse feel really... bland. The chorus is repetitive but I actually do like it. The "all your dreams will come true" bit is a bit too sickeningly sweet for my taste, as is the keyboard solo bit following it. I really don't like the production on this album. It's not as raw, but the instruments aren't as clear, the guitar doesn't sound as good, and overall it makes the album more boring than it could have been otherwise. I mean, it's still a boring album production or not. The good chorus isn't enough to save this song, but I'll give it an above average rating because most of the other songs are worse. 6/10

3. Secular Haze - Some bands can write carnival music (Beatles, anyone?), but Ghost can't. I hate the opening. This isn't a fucking circus, this is Satan pop and I don't wanna hear that shit. The verse still has that weird stuff going on with the vocals and it's just... eugh. The chorus is a little better but has stupid lyrics and the way Forge pronounces "fog weaver" and "unfathomable" with the vocal fuckery they did on this album just doesn't work. The second verse is still boring. Yeah, this song is boring as fuck and is a terrible lead single. Easily worse than every song on the previous album (bar the intro) and is one of the worst on here, too. 3/10

4. Jigolo Har Megiddo - The keyboard opening here is actually pretty cool and the ensuing verse is better than everything on the previous two songs. The vocals actually work here and while Forge can't really hit the low notes, I'll overlook that because the rest of the verses are awesome. My issue with this song actually is that it never does have a proper chorus. The bit following the verse is pretty great but it's just a single line and goes nowhere. After a cool guitar solo we enter a weird bridge which I don't like at all. Thankfully we return to that great verse again shortly thereafter, but the faux chorus just doesn't knock it out of the park at all. The ending is decent but not the best. Anyway, this is easily one of the better songs on the album, and with a real chorus and a different bridge it could've gotten an even higher score. Alas, I've gotta knock it a point or two for that. But I do like a lot of this song and that's enough to set it apart from some of Ghost's other songs on here. 7/10

5. Ghuleh / Zombie Queen - A decent but not outstanding piano intro opens this song before Forge starts whispering "Ghuleh" a few times... meh. A really sleepy verse enters and I can't say I'm a fan (the way he says "succubus" makes me cringe, and not because he's pronouncing it wrong or anything, just because of the way these damn vocals were recorded). Then there's a really weird bit that feels like it comes straight out of an '80s or '90s pop song. It's completely out of place on a Ghost song and I hate it. The verse comes around again and the piece comes and goes again before the song starts to pick up momentum... thank god. This new verse is a bit better but I really don't like the keyboards here. The chorus is pretty cool but every time Forge says "Ghuleh" it makes me cringe. It's just... eugh. Verse comes throw before we have a little keyboard breakdown before a choir leads us back into the chorus before we exit. I've heard this song three times now and I still don't know what to think of it. I get that they were going for something completely different but I don't think it works. It's also the longest Ghost song up to this point and that hurts it a bit, too. Overall, I think the bad outweighs the good enough to drag the score down below average. 4/10

6. Year Zero - A choir repeat six different names of Satan before the music comes in and it's awesome. I really love this opening. The verse is actually pretty strong here and the way the vocals were recorded finally work again. It leads into a "hail Satan" sort of chorus which took a few listens to get, but I've definitely got it now. We return throw a repeat of the Satanic names and the verse which is still great, and then that chorus comes again and it's still just as strong as it was the first time. It's shorter this time though, because the guitar solo cuts in now. It isn't an outstanding solo but it works well. The bridge is fine but again, the chorus is the highlight. This song did take a little bit to grow on me but I think it's easily one of the best songs on the first two albums, and the lyrics are quite good to boot! Maybe not exactly a perfect song, but it's pretty close. 9/10

7. Body And Blood - I swear to god, this opening sounds like an ad kicked in for a moment. The guitar kicks in to dispel that thought, though. The verse feels like some sort of... swing song? Pop? Something. Anyway... it doesn't quite work, yet I don't dislike it outright at the same time. The chorus is worse though, just too poppy for my taste. It could easily be chopped in half and it would be better. It's an interesting way to tackle Communion but it's just not for me. The bridge is decent, the solo is bleh, and the outro chorus is actually half of the actual chorus... but it still doesn't really work. It's not quite terrible, but there's enough that drives me bonkers to warrant a below average score. 4/10

8. Idolatrine - Pros: I kinda like the idea of stitching the words "idol" and "latrine" together. That's basically it. The song opens with a drumbeat and moves into something out of fucking Disney. Ghost don't do well with Disney, apparently, because this song sucks. The verse is just way too sweet that it's sickening. The chorus is even worse. This feels like some sort of fucking circus song and it does it even worse than "Secular Haze" did. The "suffer little children" piece is really shit. Thank god for the solo though, because it's actually pretty strong. Alas, it doesn't last, and we're back at that stupid fucking chorus. The second "suffer little children" bit as actually worse than the worst one. This song makes me wanna throw up, it just doesn't work. The only thing keeping it from hitting rock bottom is that solo, but everything else here is just an absolute abortion of a song. 2/10

9. Depth of Satan's Eyes - A pretty solid riff opens this song, and we enter a pretty solid verse. If nothing else, this song is far better than the previous one. The chorus is also pretty solid if a little sleepy. Okay, this bridge is pretty stupid, but the "aaah" piece that ends it is actually kinda cool and feels like something off of a Beatles track. The second verse is still solid, but the chorus that follows doesn't knock it out of the park. The outro chorus is far too long, though, and could've ended three times earlier than it did. My issue with this song is that it smacks of filler. It's solid but the performance feels a little like the band is growing as tired of this album as I am. As such, I think it's just an average song, better than some of the shit on here, but not as good as some other Ghost tracks. 5/10

10. Monstrance Clock - A quiet vocal intro opens this song but it's not the best thing I've ever heard by any means. It feels like a lullaby and unfortunately almost does the trick of putting you to sleep. It's slow, it's quiet... Anyway, the verse is kinda decent and the chorus isn't bad. Some guitar and keyboard before we return to the verse. The music falls out for a moment and leaves only a quiet Forge and keyboard (or maybe that's a real organ, IDK). It starts to build up a little though before returning to its previous incarnation. I actually think this is pretty decent, and if the song ended right here it would be fine. But no, there's still two minutes left. That time is filled with a bland keyboard solo that goes nowhere and another chorus repeat from our beloved choir, apparently known as St. Trident Tenors of Tinseltown. It's pretty boring and makes the song and album end on a low note. If those last two minutes had just been eliminated I may have gone higher in score, but since they're there I'm keeping things at an average level. So close, but not good enough for Diesel work. 5/10

Bonus: La Mantra Mori - A pretty interesting 40 second opening before we enter the actual song which has a tranquil but kinda neat body. The vocals come in at last after about a minute and a half. Apparently the idea was to create a mantra here, so the song just repeats the same lines over and over and over again. This is the kinda thing that would otherwise piss me off, but I actually think this song is kinda cool. The mantra itself is pretty cool and the way it's executed... works. It doesn't fit the album at all though (and I'm not considering it a part of the whole body here), so I'm glad it was left off. That said, it's way better than most of the actual album, and as a curio - which is what I consider it - it's actually a success. Not the best song ever, but it's pretty strong. 8/10

Infestissumam is definitely a step down from the debut. I didn't think it was possible, but Ghost managed to do it anyway. It has two great songs, but one of them's the fucking intro for Christ's sake, and the bonus track is better than everything except "Infestissumam" and "Year Zero". It has to get better with the next two albums. If it doesn't I'll be severely disappointed. Bland production is just one problem here. Ghost managed to iron out their songwriting a little bit, but that doesn't help much, if at all, because a lot of this album is just boring. Sorry, this is definitely the reason the term "sophomore slump" was invented.

Rating: 5.50/10

Going by my ratings, I'm voting for "Deus Culpa", "Secular Haze", "Ghuleh / Zombie Queen", "Body and Blood", and "Idolatrine". There were a couple 4's on the debut, but they're better than the ones on Infestissumam.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Ghost - Infestissumam

1. Infestissumam - A choir opens up Ghost's second album with some rather sinister lyrics before the instruments come in and goddammit I'm getting fucking chills from this song. Everything here is literally perfect. I wish it was longer but holy hell does it do a good job at opening the album. "Deus Culpa" was bland, but they upped the fucking ante with this one. It may just be an intro, but it's also the best song on the album and on par with "Ritual" from the first album. Man, I love it. I know it's just an intro, but that doesn't stop me from giving it full-on top marks. 10/10

2. Per Aspera Ad Inferi - A pretty cool riff opens up the first actual song on the album. The verse comes in and... what the hell did they do to the vocals here? It melds weirdly with the keyboards and makes the whole verse feel really... bland. The chorus is repetitive but I actually do like it. The "all your dreams will come true" bit is a bit too sickeningly sweet for my taste, as is the keyboard solo bit following it. I really don't like the production on this album. It's not as raw, but the instruments aren't as clear, the guitar doesn't sound as good, and overall it makes the album more boring than it could have been otherwise. I mean, it's still a boring album production or not. The good chorus isn't enough to save this song, but I'll give it an above average rating because most of the other songs are worse. 6/10

3. Secular Haze - Some bands can write carnival music (Beatles, anyone?), but Ghost can't. I hate the opening. This isn't a fucking circus, this is Satan pop and I don't wanna hear that shit. The verse still has that weird stuff going on with the vocals and it's just... eugh. The chorus is a little better but has stupid lyrics and the way Forge pronounces "fog weaver" and "unfathomable" with the vocal fuckery they did on this album just doesn't work. The second verse is still boring. Yeah, this song is boring as fuck and is a terrible lead single. Easily worse than every song on the previous album (bar the intro) and is one of the worst on here, too. 3/10

4. Jigolo Har Megiddo - The keyboard opening here is actually pretty cool and the ensuing verse is better than everything on the previous two songs. The vocals actually work here and while Forge can't really hit the low notes, I'll overlook that because the rest of the verses are awesome. My issue with this song actually is that it never does have a proper chorus. The bit following the verse is pretty great but it's just a single line and goes nowhere. After a cool guitar solo we enter a weird bridge which I don't like at all. Thankfully we return to that great verse again shortly thereafter, but the faux chorus just doesn't knock it out of the park at all. The ending is decent but not the best. Anyway, this is easily one of the better songs on the album, and with a real chorus and a different bridge it could've gotten an even higher score. Alas, I've gotta knock it a point or two for that. But I do like a lot of this song and that's enough to set it apart from some of Ghost's other songs on here. 7/10

5. Ghuleh / Zombie Queen - A decent but not outstanding piano intro opens this song before Forge starts whispering "Ghuleh" a few times... meh. A really sleepy verse enters and I can't say I'm a fan (the way he says "succubus" makes me cringe, and not because he's pronouncing it wrong or anything, just because of the way these damn vocals were recorded). Then there's a really weird bit that feels like it comes straight out of an '80s or '90s pop song. It's completely out of place on a Ghost song and I hate it. The verse comes around again and the piece comes and goes again before the song starts to pick up momentum... thank god. This new verse is a bit better but I really don't like the keyboards here. The chorus is pretty cool but every time Forge says "Ghuleh" it makes me cringe. It's just... eugh. Verse comes throw before we have a little keyboard breakdown before a choir leads us back into the chorus before we exit. I've heard this song three times now and I still don't know what to think of it. I get that they were going for something completely different but I don't think it works. It's also the longest Ghost song up to this point and that hurts it a bit, too. Overall, I think the bad outweighs the good enough to drag the score down below average. 4/10

6. Year Zero - A choir repeat six different names of Satan before the music comes in and it's awesome. I really love this opening. The verse is actually pretty strong here and the way the vocals were recorded finally work again. It leads into a "hail Satan" sort of chorus which took a few listens to get, but I've definitely got it now. We return throw a repeat of the Satanic names and the verse which is still great, and then that chorus comes again and it's still just as strong as it was the first time. It's shorter this time though, because the guitar solo cuts in now. It isn't an outstanding solo but it works well. The bridge is fine but again, the chorus is the highlight. This song did take a little bit to grow on me but I think it's easily one of the best songs on the first two albums, and the lyrics are quite good to boot! Maybe not exactly a perfect song, but it's pretty close. 9/10

7. Body And Blood - I swear to god, this opening sounds like an ad kicked in for a moment. The guitar kicks in to dispel that thought, though. The verse feels like some sort of... swing song? Pop? Something. Anyway... it doesn't quite work, yet I don't dislike it outright at the same time. The chorus is worse though, just too poppy for my taste. It could easily be chopped in half and it would be better. It's an interesting way to tackle Communion but it's just not for me. The bridge is decent, the solo is bleh, and the outro chorus is actually half of the actual chorus... but it still doesn't really work. It's not quite terrible, but there's enough that drives me bonkers to warrant a below average score. 4/10

8. Idolatrine - Pros: I kinda like the idea of stitching the words "idol" and "latrine" together. That's basically it. The song opens with a drumbeat and moves into something out of fucking Disney. Ghost don't do well with Disney, apparently, because this song sucks. The verse is just way too sweet that it's sickening. The chorus is even worse. This feels like some sort of fucking circus song and it does it even worse than "Secular Haze" did. The "suffer little children" piece is really shit. Thank god for the solo though, because it's actually pretty strong. Alas, it doesn't last, and we're back at that stupid fucking chorus. The second "suffer little children" bit as actually worse than the worst one. This song makes me wanna throw up, it just doesn't work. The only thing keeping it from hitting rock bottom is that solo, but everything else here is just an absolute abortion of a song. 2/10

9. Depth of Satan's Eyes - A pretty solid riff opens this song, and we enter a pretty solid verse. If nothing else, this song is far better than the previous one. The chorus is also pretty solid if a little sleepy. Okay, this bridge is pretty stupid, but the "aaah" piece that ends it is actually kinda cool and feels like something off of a Beatles track. The second verse is still solid, but the chorus that follows doesn't knock it out of the park. The outro chorus is far too long, though, and could've ended three times earlier than it did. My issue with this song is that it smacks of filler. It's solid but the performance feels a little like the band is growing as tired of this album as I am. As such, I think it's just an average song, better than some of the shit on here, but not as good as some other Ghost tracks. 5/10

10. Monstrance Clock - A quiet vocal intro opens this song but it's not the best thing I've ever heard by any means. It feels like a lullaby and unfortunately almost does the trick of putting you to sleep. It's slow, it's quiet... Anyway, the verse is kinda decent and the chorus isn't bad. Some guitar and keyboard before we return to the verse. The music falls out for a moment and leaves only a quiet Forge and keyboard (or maybe that's a real organ, IDK). It starts to build up a little though before returning to its previous incarnation. I actually think this is pretty decent, and if the song ended right here it would be fine. But no, there's still two minutes left. That time is filled with a bland keyboard solo that goes nowhere and another chorus repeat from our beloved choir, apparently known as St. Trident Tenors of Tinseltown. It's pretty boring and makes the song and album end on a low note. If those last two minutes had just been eliminated I may have gone higher in score, but since they're there I'm keeping things at an average level. So close, but not good enough for Diesel work. 5/10

Bonus: La Mantra Mori - A pretty interesting 40 second opening before we enter the actual song which has a tranquil but kinda neat body. The vocals come in at last after about a minute and a half. Apparently the idea was to create a mantra here, so the song just repeats the same lines over and over and over again. This is the kinda thing that would otherwise piss me off, but I actually think this song is kinda cool. The mantra itself is pretty cool and the way it's executed... works. It doesn't fit the album at all though (and I'm not considering it a part of the whole body here), so I'm glad it was left off. That said, it's way better than most of the actual album, and as a curio - which is what I consider it - it's actually a success. Not the best song ever, but it's pretty strong. 8/10

Infestissumam is definitely a step down from the debut. I didn't think it was possible, but Ghost managed to do it anyway. It has two great songs, but one of them's the fucking intro for Christ's sake, and the bonus track is better than everything except "Infestissumam" and "Year Zero". It has to get better with the next two albums. If it doesn't I'll be severely disappointed. Bland production is just one problem here. Ghost managed to iron out their songwriting a little bit, but that doesn't help much, if at all, because a lot of this album is just boring. Sorry, this is definitely the reason the term "sophomore slump" was invented.

Rating: 5.50/10

Going by my ratings, I'm voting for "Deus Culpa", "Secular Haze", "Ghuleh / Zombie Queen", "Body and Blood", and "Idolatrine". There were a couple 4's on the debut, but they're better than the ones on Infestissumam.
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Fuck that hurt.
 
Collin said:
Yeah but Monstrance Clock and Zombie Queen... ouch
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Sorry. They just don't work as well as I'd like them to. That said, the more I listen to these albums the more I find them interesting, and despite all the stuff I dislike here, the good stuff is really good and make the albums worth listening to. I'll probably come back to them more than some albums I like better just for that. At any rate, I'm kinda looking forward to where the band goes with the next two albums. I've heard "Cirice" and "He Is" from Meliora already (plus "Square Hammer", which I actually think is awesome and I've come back to again and again), but I've heard nothing from Prequelle, so it's going to be really interesting to see them evolve. Opus Eponymous is a fresh-sounding album from a young band, and Infestissumam is a duller version of that band, but they managed to up the songwriting a little bit (only it's less interesting as on the previous album). I'll be intrigued to see if they manage to connect that fresh sound from the debut with the more polished writing from the sophomore release. This survivor is going to be pretty cool!
 
Infestissumam is my favourite Ghost album.

It contains 4 tracks which are in my top 10:

Infestissumam
Per Aspera Ad Inferi
Year Zero
Monstrance Clock
 
I think Infestissumam is vastly superior to Opus Eponymous, but I think it depends on what you think of Ghost's direction. They've been on a pretty straight line from this church-mocking band originally formed to a pop-rock sensation.
 
Collin said:
@Diesel 11 What are your thoughts on this?
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Thanks for posting, was meaning to check out the acoustic version. I think that may be a better performance than that on the album - Forge sounds much stronger when the low notes arrive and it's a much clearer sound. Taking out that worthless bridge is also a nice touch. That said, I do think the song works better with electric guitars, so I'll probably stick to the album version mostly, but that is a really great acoustic rendition nonetheless. If they took that and just added heaviness it'd be awesome.
 
LooseCannon said:
I think Infestissumam is vastly superior to Opus Eponymous, but I think it depends on what you think of Ghost's direction. They've been on a pretty straight line from this church-mocking band originally formed to a pop-rock sensation.
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I disagree, the debut has pop hooks in every track that they never got near again until Dance Macabre.
 
Yeah, I feel like the debut starts that pop metal hard rock concept, and then that idea takes a backseat on Infestissumam. Whether that’s because of the production or not, I have no clue.
 
Ghost - If You Have Ghost

We may not be doing the covers in the game, but I thought I'd check out this EP nonetheless and see what it's like. It's actually quite a nice listen overall with a lot of interesting tidbits from the Ghost lore in store. The title track, "If You Have Ghosts", feels about as pop as Ghost have gotten up to this point, but it's performed nicely and is a pretty cool little song. I'm not surprised that they play it live; it feels like it could easily fit in on a live show. Meanwhile, "I'm A Marionette" is also a strong cover, with a really great performance from Forge, but I don't think they topped the original by any means. ABBA's song was really dark and sinister, which is due to the fact that their discography is mostly filled with either happy dance tracks or sad breakup songs, so it stands out as a pretty creepy song about life on stage. Ghost don't manage to replicate that vibe, and some of the lyrics work better when Frida and Agnetha are singing them, but it's still a pretty strong cover that's certainly better than some of Ghost's actual songs.

"Crucified" didn't quite nab me at first, but by the end I was really into it. The verses feel like they're trying to replicate an old horror flick like Bela Lugosi's Dracula, but it's the chorus that really stands apart, because it's pretty awesome. "Waiting For The Night" doesn't do much for me though; it's a bit too slow for my taste, though it does have a bit of a lighter doom metal vibe. Finally, the live version of "Secular Haze" doesn't help me like the song any better, though I will say that the verse vocals sound much better here than on Infestissumam. Overall, it's a pretty cool EP that works well as a curio piece, does some cool stuff in its run, and is definitely worth listening to. I'd probably give it a 7 or something if I was rating it, but I don't want to mess up my album scores just yet, so I'll just leave that tidbit of info as an addendum.
 
If You Have Ghost was one of the highlights of the show I saw a couple months ago. They did the band introductions during it. A lot of the fans hold it very high. Tobias definitely enjoys it too.

I think it’s an essential Ghost song, as well as a live staple. I still think we should have had it in this game.
 
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