47. Ghost - "Impera"

The bastard child of ABBA and Metallica, Ghost are currently modern metal’s biggest draw. They have made a career out of cliché and have carved out a very specific niche for themselves in the market in terms of being the most flamboyant of the flamboyant. This is occult rock goes to Broadway and it quite easily could be the soundtrack for an elaborate West End musical. Fed up with being in one deadbeat death metal band after another, Tobias Forge realised that people love concept and people love big, really really big. With Ghost, he has captured the collective imagination and proved once again that there is a market for bands that blatantly raid the dressing-up box. 

But a cacophony of costume changes does not automatically mean success and what makes Ghost stand out from all the other bands screaming for attention is that they have got the songs. “Impera” is stuffed full of high production numbers full of garish pomp and decadent splendour. Every song sounds like it could be a closing number and it is a sweet jar full of extravagance and opulence. A glorious celebration of being alive.