A Nameless Ghoul - Ghost (19/12/2013)
From the moment you look at Ghost you probably don’t know what to expect. The members are dressed in masked, black Catholic Priest attire with the exception of the ghostly faced vocalist, Papa Emeritus II.
No one but people in close proximity to their personal lives knows their names or their looks. So, are you expecting extreme, underground metal, Swedish melodic metal or metal? The simplest and most exact expectation is to expect quality.
The bands throwback to 80’s heavy metal with influences from black metal to psychedelic rock of Pink Floyd has paved their way for success. Having won multiple Grammis (Europe Grammy) and been nominated abundantly for them too, Ghost have wound their way into the hearts and minds of people around the globe. With a new album under their, Infestissumam, and a planned pilgrimage to Australia for Big Day Out 2014, it was no wonder they’d be looking for an interview! And as such, The 59th Sound spoke with the guitarist of the band, who just goes by, “A Nameless Ghoul”, about their upcoming journey down under and the album!
“We’re excited to come back down under again next year,” explains Ghoul. “We were there earlier in the year for Soundwave and that was a lot of fun. But this time we get to do some sideshows! We’re really looking forward to doing these as on them we can really perform. Give the crowd the true Ghost experience. I’d tell you who the supports are but I don’t know! They’re still in planning but they’ll happen! Plus we here we’re playing in a tent so we’re happy to be out of sun!”
For those who caught the band at Soundwave earlier this year, don’t pass up on them again! There’s a bit of a change to the set.
“Well, we have the new album out. It wasn’t out in March so we only played one new song off the record. This time there will be a bunch of new ones and even on our sideshows it’ll be very different,” he emphasises. “We’re lucky if we’re going to get forty to fifty minutes at Big Day Out so a sideshow we’ll get to play for a good hour and a half. Like I said, give them the real Ghost experience!”
With a bill so large and diverse, you might expect Ghost to feel a little out of place with such acts as Snoop Lion and Major Laser appearing. Not in the slightest!
“We come from Europe and over there it is very different. From what I can tell, in Australia there’s pretty much Big Day Out and Soundwave with a few other festivals. And that’s about it; whereas in Europe there’s ten Big Day Outs and twenty Soundwaves. And in Europe there is almost always a tent or stage that just has metal bands. And we get asked to play at these things a fair amount. Sp we’re no stranger to this idea of having hip hop artists and DJ’s next to our names. It’s not a big deal for us,” Ghoul says rather humbly.
As he was saying this, he went on to explain how he feels about the band’s sound.
“I mean, I know my metal. I grew up with all this 80’s and 90 heavy metal. So I know we’re a heavy metal band but when someone asks me what genre we are and I can see that they’re one of the hip hop guys or DJ’s I say we’re hard-rock. It keeps things less controversial and easier and simpler. Because there will always be some eighteen year old who goes, *mocking teenage voice* ‘No you’re not metal! You have no breakdowns!’ But like I said, I know my metal. I’m not fussed by it because it is pretty trivial. Yet I still just want to move on with my day at the same time, you know?”
As Ghoul has stated, they will be playing some new material from a brand new album, Infestissumam. He was more than happy to share a bit about the album before he took off.
“It’s fucking strange because we recorded the album in Nashville, [Tennessee] and if you know anything about Nashville, then it’s not for metal purposes. It’s a very country and pop orientated city so to record there felt a bit strange but we didn’t mind. We recorded it like any band would. We don’t really do anything that special in terms of recording. We don’t record shit in alleys or elevators like that. Just a nice good recording. As for writing we normally have like a core of members who do it or maybe eve just one. We do the sitting around a table and talk and experiment. I don’t what to say we’re a pretty normal band!" Ghoul says, laughing.
Matty Sievers
No one but people in close proximity to their personal lives knows their names or their looks. So, are you expecting extreme, underground metal, Swedish melodic metal or metal? The simplest and most exact expectation is to expect quality.
The bands throwback to 80’s heavy metal with influences from black metal to psychedelic rock of Pink Floyd has paved their way for success. Having won multiple Grammis (Europe Grammy) and been nominated abundantly for them too, Ghost have wound their way into the hearts and minds of people around the globe. With a new album under their, Infestissumam, and a planned pilgrimage to Australia for Big Day Out 2014, it was no wonder they’d be looking for an interview! And as such, The 59th Sound spoke with the guitarist of the band, who just goes by, “A Nameless Ghoul”, about their upcoming journey down under and the album!
“We’re excited to come back down under again next year,” explains Ghoul. “We were there earlier in the year for Soundwave and that was a lot of fun. But this time we get to do some sideshows! We’re really looking forward to doing these as on them we can really perform. Give the crowd the true Ghost experience. I’d tell you who the supports are but I don’t know! They’re still in planning but they’ll happen! Plus we here we’re playing in a tent so we’re happy to be out of sun!”
For those who caught the band at Soundwave earlier this year, don’t pass up on them again! There’s a bit of a change to the set.
“Well, we have the new album out. It wasn’t out in March so we only played one new song off the record. This time there will be a bunch of new ones and even on our sideshows it’ll be very different,” he emphasises. “We’re lucky if we’re going to get forty to fifty minutes at Big Day Out so a sideshow we’ll get to play for a good hour and a half. Like I said, give them the real Ghost experience!”
With a bill so large and diverse, you might expect Ghost to feel a little out of place with such acts as Snoop Lion and Major Laser appearing. Not in the slightest!
“We come from Europe and over there it is very different. From what I can tell, in Australia there’s pretty much Big Day Out and Soundwave with a few other festivals. And that’s about it; whereas in Europe there’s ten Big Day Outs and twenty Soundwaves. And in Europe there is almost always a tent or stage that just has metal bands. And we get asked to play at these things a fair amount. Sp we’re no stranger to this idea of having hip hop artists and DJ’s next to our names. It’s not a big deal for us,” Ghoul says rather humbly.
As he was saying this, he went on to explain how he feels about the band’s sound.
“I mean, I know my metal. I grew up with all this 80’s and 90 heavy metal. So I know we’re a heavy metal band but when someone asks me what genre we are and I can see that they’re one of the hip hop guys or DJ’s I say we’re hard-rock. It keeps things less controversial and easier and simpler. Because there will always be some eighteen year old who goes, *mocking teenage voice* ‘No you’re not metal! You have no breakdowns!’ But like I said, I know my metal. I’m not fussed by it because it is pretty trivial. Yet I still just want to move on with my day at the same time, you know?”
As Ghoul has stated, they will be playing some new material from a brand new album, Infestissumam. He was more than happy to share a bit about the album before he took off.
“It’s fucking strange because we recorded the album in Nashville, [Tennessee] and if you know anything about Nashville, then it’s not for metal purposes. It’s a very country and pop orientated city so to record there felt a bit strange but we didn’t mind. We recorded it like any band would. We don’t really do anything that special in terms of recording. We don’t record shit in alleys or elevators like that. Just a nice good recording. As for writing we normally have like a core of members who do it or maybe eve just one. We do the sitting around a table and talk and experiment. I don’t what to say we’re a pretty normal band!" Ghoul says, laughing.
Matty Sievers