Ghost’s unholy covers EP Phantomime is here
SWEDISH ROCKERS GO GARAGE INC. WITH DEVILISH EP.
Ghost’s covers EP Phantomime is out May 18.
Review by Natasha Christian
Swedish rockers Ghost have dropped a five-song covers EP to follow up album no. five IMPERA.
Phantomime is an unexpected mix of classic covers and deep cuts that starts with Television and ends with Tina Turner.
Papa and the Nameless Ghouls welcome us with the iconic riff to See No Evil, it feels random but at this point you wouldn’t expect any less from Ghost.
Up next is the devilish cover of Genesis bop Jesus He Knows Me where the band takes aim at blind faith, religious hypocrisy and televangelism. For a song that came out in 1991, it’s still strangely relevant 30 years on - and it’s an excellent cover. You can check out the divine video here.
For a short and sweet 5-song EP, it sure takes some twists and turns.
Up next we get a version of Hanging Around by classic British punk rockers The Stranglers (who recently toured Australia, you can read Britt McCarthy’s awesome review here).
While you can clearly hear the signature Ghost sound throughout Phantomime, I do appreciate how this EP keeps the iconic melodies from the originals - I hope it encourages new audiences to go back and hear them (to make it easy, I’ve linked them throughout this review).
Up next is a very cool version of Iron Maiden’s Phantom of The Opera, you can watch the kickass live version of the original here.
Ghost is touring Australia in October 2023.
Out of all the covers chosen for this EP, this one makes the most sense for the Ghost treatment. The theatrical sound, appreciation for mythology and Tobias Forge’s voice are a good match for Maiden. Oh, and the solo at the halfway point is just as spine-chilling as the original.
To send us home we’ve got Tina Turner's classic We Don’t Need Another Hero - a song Aussies love because of Mad Max Thunderdome.
This might be why it feels like the weakest cover on the EP but I’m glad it’s here as we definitely need some female representation on this EP.
On that, while this is undoubtably a list of unexpected covers, I do think the song selection could’ve been more diverse. In the past Ghost have given us covers of ABBA and The Eurythmics but I think this could be pushed even more when the band is deciding what to pay homage to next.
In saying that I would love to hear the Motorhead piano ballad and Misfits cover that didn’t make the chop for this EP - perhaps a Phantomime II will be heading our way soon.
Phantomime is out May 18.
Ghost is touring Australia in October presented by Destroy All Lines.
