EP Review: Ghost - Phantomime
Reviewed by Tim Finch
Having released their critically acclaimed fifth album ‘Impera’ last year and followed it up with the equally critically acclaimed ‘Imperatour’ in arenas across Europe and North America, the question is what do Ghost do next.
In the spare time in between tours Papa Emertius IV has put together an EP full of cover tunes in the style you would come to expect from Ghost. In fact they had enough material recorded for a full covers album yet instead chose to release just an EP’s worth of it.
‘Phantomime’ sits behind a magnificent record sleeve, building upon Impera’s artwork perfectly. But it’s the music we really care about.
Opening with a cover of Televisions ‘See No Evil’ the Ghost aesthetic is immediately present, twisting the song to fit the Ghost mould, however it has to be said this is the weakest of the five tracks we hear.
‘Jesus He Knows Me’ was the lead single from the EP, accompanied by a brilliant video. The cover of the Genesis classic is inspired fitting the thematical trends of the band taking the original and making it sound huge!
The Stranglers ‘Hanging Around’ seems to be a bit more filler before another big gun in Iron Maiden’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’. A very true to the original rendition of the song see’s the band show the NWOBHM masters some love, although Papa Emeritus IV’s vocals are stronger than classic version. Now how would Maiden look with the enhancement of this kind behind the mic!
It’s all closed out with ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’, the Tina Turner classic from the Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome sound track. Just when you think they couldn't up their game, they do with this inspired pick of a song.
This isn’t an EP that will set the world on fire, nor is it one to be taken too serious. At the end of the day this fills the gaps between album cycles and in the break between tours. For the collector or the Ghost Uber-fan, this is one for the collection. A light hearted perspective on a handful of classic pop/rock tunes.
