Written by: Blackie Skulless
Please excuse this long, rambling intro, as we’re working in territory that I’ve been an expert in for a while, and witnessed all of its nuances in real time. Swedish masterminds Ghost have evolved from a freezing but straightforward brand of traditional metallers into pop-rock icons, especially with 2022’s Impera bringing them more commercial breakthroughs than ever before. Sticking to the theme of dropping a full-length roughly every three years, they’ve come back and done what feels like a part-two for the first time ever. The first four records had their own identities subtracted from the style choice, strictly based on vibes. Opus Eponymous was a tried and true depiction of Satan taking over the world, while Infestissumam was our campy classic horror flick. Meliora brought forth an absence of light and hope, where Prequelle was a glamorous dark-romance around the end of humanity. After this, Tobias and Co. would craft an album chock-full of dissimilar, albeit enjoyable tunes in Impera; 2025’s Skeletá does exactly the same thing.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so conflicted on how I feel about an album, but after like five listens, I think I’ve got it down, so strap yourselves in. Unto Others are a band I’ve loved since they first broke ground in 2019 under the name “Idle Hands”. Mana was like a one-in-a-million shot of combining traditional metal with goth rock, and it worked well. Strength hinted at a heavier direction for a few songs, being a little awkward at times but overall a great release. And then we get to the latest, Never, Neverland, making me think it’s going to expand on the heavier sound. It kinda does, but it also doesn’t. But also, it tries punk, upbeat vibes, and…. black metal? It’s as weird as it sounds, and as much as I hate to break an album down by track, there’s absolutely no consistency to this outside of the fact that it runs with the melancholic vibes coated with the deep, sonorous vocals. Otherwise, this is a game of take what you like and leave the rest. Right in the opening, “Butterfly” lays a convincing ground of running towards the softer, gothic direction with the occasional heavier lick worked in nicely; I actually very much enjoy this one. Then “Momma Likes The Door Closed” shifts entirely and works like a metal oriented punk rocker that even includes blast beats. Seriously, it’s as if you’ve started listening to another album, before “Angel Of The Night” brings you right back to where you started, finding strength in a soft chorus. |
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