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Infestissumam

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{{Infobox album | Name = Infestissumam | Type = studio | Artist = Ghost | Cover = Ghost - infestissumam cover.jpg | Released = April 10, 2013 | Recorded = 2012, Blackbird Studio, Nashville, Tennessee | Genre = Heavy metal, hard rock Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). used by the band as "the most hostile"[1] or "the biggest threat" in reference to the Antichrist[2]) is the second full-length album by Swedish heavy metal band Ghost. It was released on April 10, 2013, produced by Nick Raskulinecz and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. Loma Vista Recordings released it in North America on April 16 in partnership with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group, marking the band's major label debut.[3]

Background and recording

All but one of the album's tracks, "Ghuleh", were written and demoed by the end of summer 2011, "although a very little bit was written even before the first record – but mostly it was written between the release of the first record and probably September 2011."[4][5][6] It was planned to record it after Ghost's North American tour with Enslaved and Alcest, however, Ghost had to pull out of the tour and both the band and Rise Above Records agreed the album should be released on a different label.[5][6] A Nameless Ghoul explained that the band was in a hurry to put out another record; "We were very very stressed. We really wanted to just go into the studio and hammer out a new record, and just have it out so that we could start headlining. There have been many occasions where we have been headlining, we headlined one U.S. tour and we got slots on European festivals that were one hour and 15 minutes, and we had one hour of material. We can barely fill 50 minutes! And people complained that we didn't surprise them. Are you fucking kidding? What do you expect, a two-hour show? We didn't have two hours!"[5]

On signing to a major label for the album; "It was Tom Whalley who was interested in the band.", he "was looking to start his own label, which ended up being an imprint of Universal", "He basically approached us saying that he wanted to work with the band, but that we were basically going to be the first band on his imprint, and that seemed like a good challenge.", explained a Nameless Ghoul. "We felt that we might be self-conscious about making that move, but knowing his background, having someone like that, having him be an advocate for our band, within a big organization like Universal, felt like the closest thing you can get to being on an independent without being on an independent."[2]

Ghost finally began recording the album in October 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Nick Raskulinecz.[6] The band explained they chose Raskulinecz because "He’s good at working with a band without transforming the band into something else, rather than make them just flower as the band they are. Upon talking to him about the record and showing him all the demoed material, we sort of took his temperature by seeing how much he wanted to change. It turned out he didn’t want to change much at all, and that’s why he got the job.", although "The most obvious reason was that we’d come to the point where we were able to work with a producer in terms of funding."[7]

Nashville "is the capital for commercial and religious music. So because we were doing our big sellout record, we definitely needed to go there to fully sell out. Nick [Raskulinecz] lives there, so we needed to be practical. Also the Blackbird Studio we ended up using was very much a good choice, I think. A lot of old gear. Even though the record isn't fully analog, it still has a very analog feel due to the gear that we used."[8] "Being so out of sync with the city left us to our own devices, like we were on an alien planet, and I think in some ways it pushed us farther out, allowed us to take chances we might not otherwise have were we in our homeland."[4] They did however have difficulties in the area due to their Satanic lyrics; "Initially we meant to have the choir parts recorded in Nashville as well, which didn’t work out. There wasn’t one professional coir that would accept doing what we do. They didn’t want to lend their voices to that. Then we tried another idea, that was to get a few choir-interested people into the studio, three at a time maybe. Sort of make a choir that way. Upon hearing what they were supposed to do on the phone, they were turning it down."[7] "Finally we had three guys come into the studio that were willing. Somehow the communication had been broken down because they were, Okay, what are we doing? Oh, you don’t know? Okay, it’s a theatrical performance, sort of like The Omen. Then we told them what they were supposed to sing, and one of the guys almost cried, he took offense; it was really weird.", "So we ended up recording the choir in Hollywood, where people have no problem with worshipping the Devil. [laughs]"[7]

Theme

Commenting on the theme of the new album, a Nameless Ghoul told Decibel that while the first record ended with "Genesis", the birth of the Antichrist, Infestissumam continues from the Antichrist's birth onwards.[9] In another interview the band elaborated; "Everything on the first record was about a coming darkness, an impending doom. Whereas the new record is about something present, and literally, the new record deals with the presence of the Anti-Christ, the Devil. But subliminally, the meaning of it is more how mankind-- predominantly men-- what they have deemed to be the presence of the Devil, throughout history and even nowadays. And that’s why the record is so fueled with sexual themes and females. That’s basically it, the Inquisition was basically men accusing women of being the Devil just because they had a hard-on for them."[2]

The song "Secular Haze" came about when "Writer came to the rest of the band saying, This is a new song. There was this carnival remark, and obviously there is a cabaret element in that organ, but the idea was to actually have a maritime feel. It’s supposed to feel like you’re on a stormy sea, with waves. The idea was musically inspired by a saying, how someone that has been close to dying by drowning said that the feeling that you get is an enormous, cold, anxiety feeling which is replaced just before you die with a warm acceptance that is supposedly extremely rewarding and orgasmic. The whole song is supposed to feel like it’s storming and storming, never ending with a few glimpses of tranquility in the choruses, but where in the end, in the “come mist eternal part”, it’s supposed to feel like you’ve gone over the edge of freezing to that warmth."[7]

"Ghuleh / Zombie Queen" originated from an old piece of music; "The piano part in the beginning is old. It’s been lying around for years. But in a Ghost context it needed to become something else, there wasn’t a full idea that would sort of materialize, it would have kept the same line throughout the whole song. This record needed an ending to the A-side, after the three first songs, which are all hectic and involve a lot of changes and hysteria, you needed a sort of meadow where you could lie for a little while. That’s why we took on that song and transferred it into what turned into “Ghuleh/Zombie Queen”. Even though it might not be the best song on the record, which I have a hard time deciding which is, it’s definitely one of the most interesting parts of the record. It’s a good move that we’re getting away with. [laughs]"[7] In another interview, a Ghoul said "there are elements of "Ghuleh" that are very typical of '70s Swedish music. I think that a lot of people growing up in Sweden or Scandinavia may refer to a lot of the vibe, at least on the first part, as some of the kids shows that were around in the '70s and prog bands in Sweden in the '70s had that sort of sound.", it "is very much a nostalgic song, and it sounds very much like that era of kid shows -- a little bit mystical, a little big magical.'[8]

Artwork

The album's cover art is part of one big piece that was separated into 12 or 13 pictures, made in collaboration with Ghost, drawn by Polish artist Bp. Necropolitus Cracoviensis Zbigniew Bielak II and inspired by the album's lyrics and themes.[10][11]

Infestissumam was originally scheduled to be released on April 9, however the band could not find a manufacturer for the CD in the United States and it was delayed until April 16.[12] A source "close to the band" told Spin that Ghost was turned down by four US CD manufacturers because of artwork on the CD of the deluxe edition of the album, "which is basically a 16th century illustration of an orgy".[12] The magazine claims it was the depiction of Jesus Christ crucified upside down that caused the controversy instead of the Gustave Doré-inspired work's sexual content.[12][11] However, a Nameless Ghoul explained it was indeed because of the sexual content and called it ironic that "just because we had naked women as well as female body parts shown and exposed, that caused the problem. What about the blasphemy? What about the Satanism? That wasn't the problem. That's exactly what the record is about. Our record is called Infestissumam—the greatest threat of all. It's funny they fell for it. It's not that we planted a hoax for them to fall into though. It's just humorous that it turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. What we sing about in a poetic way turned into an actual physical threat and became a subject of censorship and outrage.[10]

Rather than delay the album longer, the band decided to use the CD artwork from the regular edition for the US pressings of the deluxe edition CD.[12] All European copies and the US vinyl version include the controversial artwork as "Vinyl manufacturers don't have a problem with the artwork. Neither does Europe."[12]

Promotion

On December 14, 2012, the website SecularHaze.com was created by Ghost and promoted on their official Facebook page. The website contained a sound clip of a new Ghost song, only without vocals. On the page was also a clock ticking backwards and five candles, each playing one element of the new song when the user would hover over it with their mouse, be it drums, two guitars, bass, vocals, and keyboards.[13] The next day, the band uploaded a new song to their official YouTube channel, also called "Secular Haze". Later that day, the band performed a special concert in their hometown of Linköping, Sweden, performing the entire Opus Eponymous record along with "Secular Haze" and their cover of "I'm a Marionette". Before "Secular Haze" was performed, Papa Emeritus, the band's vocalist, disappeared into the black of the stage to be replaced by Papa Emeritus II. After this concert, SecularHaze.com was updated to include a sixth candle containing the vocal track of the song "Secular Haze". Four days later, the band announced the title of their second album, Infestissumam, along with creating the webpage Infestissumam.com which showed the album's track list.[14]

"Secular Haze" was the album's first single, given as a free digital download if one signs up to the band's Emailing list starting on December 15.[15] A limited pressing of 10" vinyl records of the single was later released. On choosing "Secular Haze" as the first single, a Ghoul said "we wanted to present a song from the new record that sort of stood on its own but without being too far off from the first record", "both ‘Con Clavi Con Dio’ and ‘Genesis’ from the first record are also waltzes, they’re just speeded up! So it’s not that far off, we just slowed it down this time."[6] The single's B-side was the cover of ABBA's "I'm a Marionette", which features Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters on drums as well as production.[16] The collaboration happened when, before going to Nashville to record the album, Ghost had a bunch of covers demoed and were discussing if they should squeeze them onto the album.[2][8] "Whilst we were thinking this we were at a festival in Europe and Foo Fighters was playing, and we knew that Dave was a fan, and we made the arrangements of going over to talk to him. And when we met him, after a few handshakes and a few laughs, we were like Okay, so you liked the band? So do you want to do something? And he said yeah, and one month later we were in [his studio in] L.A. doing that."[2][8] The band recorded their first music video for "Secular Haze" in Linköping, with director Amir Chamdin.[17] The song was named one of the Best Metal Songs of 2013 by Loudwire.[16]

On March 12, 2013, Ghost began providing fans with a free streaming of "Year Zero" if they promoted the band on Facebook, by endorsing its frontman to be elected the next Pope of the Catholic Church.[18] The vinyl version of the single includes the B-side "Orez Raey", which is the A-side played backwards. A music video for the song, once again directed by Amir Chamdin, was unveiled on March 25.[19]

The song "Monstrance Clock" was offered for free streaming on April 8.[20] The following day, the entire Infestissumam album was uploaded for streaming.[21]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[22]
Consequence of Sound[23]
CraveOnline8/10[24]
Decibel7/10[25]
Exclaim!7/10[26]
The Guardian[27]
Loudwire[28]
MetalSucks[29]
Metal Hammer8/10[30]
Pitchfork Media5.8/10[31]

Infestissumam received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, which indicates "generally favorable reviews," based on 11 reviews.[32] James Christopher Monger of Allmusic described the psychedelic and progressive departures from the band's debut "weirdly effective" and called the album "a hell of a lot of fun."[22] In a less positive review, Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound described the album as "pretty tame" commented that "for a band whose songs rely on falsetto and choruses, the absence of memorable melodies on Infestissumam is an eternal sin."[23] In Decibel Magazine, Jeff Treppel commented that Ghost seem to be consciously avoiding a sophomore slump by "throwing together the most eclectic set of songs they could conjure from the pit," and that this "wildly inconsistent ride ... bodes well for the band's longevity."[25]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Infestissumam"1:42
2."Per Aspera ad Inferi"4:09
3."Secular Haze"5:11
4."Jigolo Har Megiddo"3:58
5."Ghuleh / Zombie Queen"7:29
6."Year Zero"5:50
7."Body and Blood"3:43
8."Idolatrine"4:24
9."Depth of Satan's Eyes"5:25
10."Monstrance Clock"5:53
Total length:47:47
Deluxe Edition
No.TitleLength
11."La Mantra Mori"5:14
12."I'm a Marionette" (ABBA cover)4:52
13."Secular Haze" (Music video, digital deluxe edition only)5:19
Total length:62:31
Japanese Edition
No.TitleLength
11."La Mantra Mori"5:14
12."I'm a Marionette" (ABBA cover)4:52
13."Waiting for the Night" (Depeche Mode cover)5:36

Charts

Year Chart Peak position
2013 Australia ARIA Charts 62[33]
Finland The Official Finnish Charts 5[34]
Greece IFPI Greece 22[35]
Norway VG-lista 8[36]
Sweden Sverigetopplistan 1[37]
UK UK Albums Chart 35[38]
US Billboard 200 28[39]
US Billboard Hard Rock 7[40]

References

  1. ^ "Ghost B.C.'s Sophomore LP Is a Major Label Pop-Metal Opus About the Devil". seattleweekly.com. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Show No Mercy: Ghost B.C." Pitchfork Media. 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  3. ^ "GHOST On New Album: We Wanted It To Sound 'Like A Real Expensive Record Done In 1978'". Blabbermouth.net. 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  4. ^ a b "Interview: Ghost B.C." eMusic. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  5. ^ a b c "Ghost Interview". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  6. ^ a b c d "Masked Balls And Papal Bull: Ghost B.C. Interviewed". The Quietus. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  7. ^ a b c d e "An interview with Ghost B.C." MSN. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  8. ^ a b c d "A Nameless Ghoul from Ghost B.C. on Papa Emeritus II being too evil for the Vatican". westword.com. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  9. ^ Bennett, J. (2013). "Receive the Beast". Decibel. 100: 80. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ a b "The PV Q&A: Ghost B.C.'s Nameless Ghoul on Infestissumam, Their Controversial Artwork, and Strange Sexual Energy". purevolume.com. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  11. ^ a b "Ghost B.C.'s 'Infestissumam' Delay Due to Orgy Artwork?". Exclaim!. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Ghost B.C.'s Album Delayed After CD Manufacturers Refuse to Print Blasphemous Art". Spin. 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  13. ^ "Hear New Music from Ghost - Right Now!". gunshyassassin.com. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  14. ^ "Ghost Name New Album Infestissumam". gunshyassassin.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  15. ^ "Ghost Premiere New Song, "Secular Haze"". Revolver. 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  16. ^ a b "GHOST: Studio Version Of 'I'm A Marionette' Available On SPOTIFY". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-04-03. Cite error: The named reference "Marionette" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ "GHOST B.C.: 'Secular Haze' Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  18. ^ "GHOST: New Song Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  19. ^ "GHOST: NSFW Version Of 'Year Zero' Video Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  20. ^ "Ghost BC Jam for the Devil in 'Monstrance Clocks'". Rolling Stone. 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  21. ^ "GHOST: Entire New Album Available For Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  22. ^ a b Monger, James. "Infestissumam - Ghost B.C." Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  23. ^ a b Hadusek, Jon (2013-04-16). "Ghost B.C., 'Infestissumam' – Album Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  24. ^ Robinson, Iann (2013-04-16). "Review: Ghost Get Spooky on 'Infestissumam'". CraveOnline. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  25. ^ a b Treppel, Jeff (2013). "Career of Evil". Decibel Magazine (103): 79–80. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  26. ^ Walschots, Natalie (2013-04-12). "Ghost: Infestissumam". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  27. ^ Lawson, Dom (2013-04-11). "Ghost: Infestissumam – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  28. ^ Hartmann, Graham (2013-04-18). "Album Review: Ghost B.C. – Infestissumam". Loudwire. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  29. ^ O'Hagar, Sammy (2013-04-17). "Besmirching Christianity: Ghost's Delectable Infestissumam". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  30. ^ McIver, Joel (April 2013). "Ghost B.C.-Infestissumam". Metal Hammer (243 May 2013): 86.
  31. ^ Currin, Grayson (2013-04-18). "Ghost B.C.: Infestissumam". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  32. ^ "Metacritic - Ghost B.C.: Infestissumam". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Chartifacts". ariacharts.com.au. MCM Media. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  34. ^ "Ghost Discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  35. ^ "Official IFPI Charts Top-75 Albums Sales Chart Εβδομάδα: 17/2013". IFPI Greece. Retrieved 2013-05-8. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 21 (help)
  36. ^ "Ghost Discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  37. ^ "Ghost Discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  38. ^ "Michael Buble set for third chart topping album in a row". officialcharts.com. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  39. ^ "GHOST's 'Infestissumam' Cracks U.S. Top 30". Blabbermouth. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  40. ^ "Hard Rock Albums: May 11, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
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