Meliora

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But if their 2013 sophomore album Infestissumam was supposed to be metal's second commercial coming, there couldn't have been a worse album to place that expectation upon. Opus Eponymous, their unabashedly derivative 2010 debut, at least had solid hooks. There's that whole thing about catching more flies with honey than vinegar, but vinegar is a crucial ingredient of metal. With Meliora, their third full-length, they've dropped the temporary B.C. from their name and returned to a heavier direction, ditching most of the lite Mercyful Fate/Blue Öyster Cult hybrid for more folk and Deep Purple influences. It's far and away a more engaging record than Infestissumam, but still, you have to wonder if Ghost should be metal's new chief representative. Opinion on their previous album, Infestissumam, was cleanly divided between those who adored its enhanced theatrical ambitions and those who missed the succinct thud of 2010's Opus Eponymous. Led by the eerily detached proclamations of third vocal incumbent Papa Emeritus III, Meliorastrikes a shrewd balance between its two predecessors, snappier song structures moderating the intrusive impact of the band's most unhinged ideas. The malevolent swagger that drives the likes of 'Spirit' and 'From the Pinnacle to the Pit' ensures that underground metal fans will still feel the scorch of hellish flames, but these often startlingly catchy songs deserve to reach a much bigger audience.

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