GHOST: We Want To 'Sound Like A Very, Very Expensive Record From The '70s'

Spain's TheMetalCircus.com recently conducted an interview with one of the "Nameless Ghouls" from the mysterious Swedish buzz band GHOST. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

When asked about how GHOST's image and sound was conceived, the musician said, "Basically, the idea was to combine, I guess, rock music with horror. The idea was pretty much planned out very early on when the embryo of GHOST came to life. Because the first couple of songs that were written, they sort of screamed 'image,' the screamed a certain atmosphere in order to present themselves in the most suitable way. I think that what GHOST is doing musically is strong enough — musically — but I think that the imagery and what we're doing visually adds a lot to what we're doing, as opposed to a lot of bands, historically, that have relied on image but musically [weren't] all that great. And, I guess, that idea also spawned the idea of us doing what we do. There have been a lot of horror bands… and I'm not talking about Alice Cooper, because obviously he did it very, very successfully, and KISS made it very successfully doing another thing that was sort of dark… But I think that a lot of what we are trying to create is something that most bands that have tried to do something similar have failed miserably because they, basically, weren't good enough. So I think it's sort of unexplored territory. But the idea was to make, sort of, '70s music, but with the exception that we never wanted to sound lo-fi. A lot of stoner and doom bands, they wanna sound like a lo-fi band, so they basically want to sound unproduced, whereas the idea of GHOST is to sound like a very, very expensive record back from the '70s — like a really produced, top-notch record from that time. I guess that makes us a bit different from a lot of the bands that try to sound like a '70s band."

GHOST cult leader "Papa Emeritus" (rumored to be REPUGNANT/SUBVISION's Tobias Forge, who takes the stage in the form of "a satanic pope") and his anonymous ghouls recently teamed up with doom rockers BLOOD CEREMONY and ANCIENT VVISDOM for a two-week trek dubbed the "13 Dates Of Doom" tour that launched on January 18 in New York City and wrapped on February 2 in Los Angeles.

GHOST will support MASTODON and OPETH on a North American tour in April/May.

GHOST is continuing to support its debut album, "Opus Eponymous", which has been called "amazing" by Stereogum and "a primer on the creation of melodic hard rock" by The Big Takeover.

GHOST floored music fans with its first U.S. shows and served notice that it is not only a "band to watch" but will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. In its live review of GHOST's New York City headlining show, the Village Voice called the group's performance "lurching and menacing", saying "GHOST's sound is like heavy metal trapped in a state of suspended animation since 1973."

GHOST's "Opus Eponymous" is a daringly fascinating combination of satanic rock music merged with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility. Enveloped in a shroud of mystery and standing anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the GHOST deliver litanies of pulsating heavy rock and stimulating lyrics which "glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious." The music and philosophies of GHOST specifically target "individuals who have a void in their life perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset" (research suggests these are most likely adolescents); this dearth can then be alluringly filled by GHOST's music and philosophies.

Interview (audio):

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral