MELIORA review - What if The Beatles hated you?
(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Meliora is a 2015 occult rock/doom metal/psychedelic rock/heavy metal/pop rock album by Swedish band (their music is in English, FYI), Ghost, and released by Loma Vista. It is Ghost's third full-length album, and was their breakout hit--topping the charts in Sweden and peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 (#2 on Top Hard Rock Albums). Meliora was also met with critical acclaim, considered by many to be one of the greatest metal/rock albums of that year and winning the group awards from both the Grammy's and Sweden's equivalent, the Grammi's. It has since been followed up with 2018's Prequelle, which has only continued the band's hot streak of critical and commercial success. Ghost caught people's eyes with their performing gimmick of all band members having been anonymous and playing characters under costumes and makeup, but kept people's attentions with their unique sound and incredible music. As with all of the albums I've reviewed recently, I was turned over to this by YouTube music reviewer and everyone's favorite melon, theneedledrop. And as with all of the other albums I've reviewed recently, yet another album I am so glad I gave a try thanks to Anthony Fantano's recommendation (I didn't actually watch his review of it, just saw him talking Ghost up in other videos and I was looking for a new great rock band to jump into--so I may tread some similar ground to what he did), as I never would've tried this without the impetus. Maybe I can push someone reading this to go and try Meliora too, and pass it on. Even if I am convinced that Ghost is from an evil alternate dimension where The Beatles hated everyone and everything.
Clocking in at 41:35 in its initial release (which is what I'm reviewing here), Meliora never bores or slows down on the pace, despite its epic scope and feel. There are some lengthy tracks in this, particularly the lead single, "Cirice" (which is what won them their Grammy, by the bye). But they all pack a punch from start to finish and kept me fascinated for the whole album's run, with their intense atmosphere and an excellent blend of sounds. It's the kind of album that has no problem shifting between creepy murmurings of death and despair into your ears, and anthemic pop rock fun on "Absolution." You have this wonderful mixture of instrumentals on here, with the shredding guitar riffs that are expected of a rock outfit that uses album art like this (which is by Zbigniew M. Bielak, FYI)--but also alluring extraterrestrial noises (that remind me of Hollywood Burns (yes, I will eventually be reviewing Invaders)), wonderful piano playing, ominous choir singing, and a liberal smattering of synths. If you come into this expecting a Megadeath or a Disturbed and only wanted that, you would leave disappointed. If you come into this with no idea what you're going to get, it'll knock your fucking socks off time and again.
That said, I'm not going to pretend that this is the hardest album out there. It's not trying to be. It's more insidious and subversive than weighty and exclusionary metal (like what we see a lot in the black metal scene, which actively tries to keep people from listening to it except for a select few who are into it). More eclectic and odd than rad, though its eccentricities do wind up making this a pretty fucking rad album all the same. And by "pretty fucking," I mean it's either fist-pumping beauty or inexplicably groovy. This isn't to say that what makes Meliora such a ride is its weirdness and its weirdness alone--you can have the weirdest album on the market and it could listen like dogshit. Meliora does not listen like dogshit--not in the slightest. The instrumentals, which I think I've already gushed about enough for you to get my thoughts on, aside, the frontman of Ghost (who has been outed as Tobias Forge due to an unfortunate and unsuccessful lawsuit by former members of the band) brings some phenomenal range to the vocals. As good as the instrumentalists here on Ghost are, the whole gig does in some way hinge on the singing to be able to deal with such varied songs--from fun melodies to gothic horror intimidation. Luckily, Tobias is more than up to the task here, giving pitch perfect performances on every album. What's also exceptional is the songwriting, which is interesting and worth giving a more in-depth look into, if that's something you like in your music. And I know this is pretty much heretical to say, but I'm not someone who usually notices production much--it's one of those gigs in entertainment that is absolutely imperative, but isn't necessarily as immediately visible to the untrained eye as something like singing or shredding a guitar might be. That said, it seemed to me like the production by Klas Åhlund is on-point, with the album listening experience being buttery smooth even as the album itself seeks to rack your mind. Oh yeah, and if it wasn't already obvious enough--that album artwork is fantastic. Kudos to Bielak.
All's said, Meliora is an album I can't find fault with. As much as I thought that headline was funny and eye-catching, I do wanna say that this isn't really a difficult album to get into. A more honest headline would be, "What if The Beatles hated you (and you loved it)?" Because this is one helluva fun album that I will be listening to a lot in future, and I would have no problem slotting it in next to other albums I've reviewed in the past, like Fever or Ctrl or This Means War or Para||el Lives, as part of my regular listening regiment. Expect more reviews of other Ghost albums in the future, as this has obviously impressed the fuck outta me and I'm so down for more awesomeness like this. And just as some housekeeping, also you can expect other reviews of Fozzy's Judas, Dinosaur Pile-Up's Celebrity Mansions, Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace, and maybe Daughters' You Won't Get What You Want. Unless I hate Judas, Celebrity Mansions, or You Won't Get What You Want (spoiler: I am a huge Foo Fighters fan so I already know I'm into ESP&G) enough that I decide to skip reviewing them, lol. Anyways, Meliora is an album without one stinker in the bunch, with the best tracks in my opinion being "Cirice," "Absolution," "He Is," and "Deus in Absentia." Like Sweden, it is such a bizarre and wonderful album--and like Sweden, it gets a 10/10 from me. Yes, I did just sneak in a review of a whole country into this music review. Bam, two reviews for the reading time of one, that's good value.
Masterpiece
Summary:
Anthemic and strange, Meliora is a fresh and rollicking good time if you're down for something peculiar and funky.
(how can anyone hate Sweden?)
Meliora is a 2015 occult rock/doom metal/psychedelic rock/heavy metal/pop rock album by Swedish band (their music is in English, FYI), Ghost, and released by Loma Vista. It is Ghost's third full-length album, and was their breakout hit--topping the charts in Sweden and peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 (#2 on Top Hard Rock Albums). Meliora was also met with critical acclaim, considered by many to be one of the greatest metal/rock albums of that year and winning the group awards from both the Grammy's and Sweden's equivalent, the Grammi's. It has since been followed up with 2018's Prequelle, which has only continued the band's hot streak of critical and commercial success. Ghost caught people's eyes with their performing gimmick of all band members having been anonymous and playing characters under costumes and makeup, but kept people's attentions with their unique sound and incredible music. As with all of the albums I've reviewed recently, I was turned over to this by YouTube music reviewer and everyone's favorite melon, theneedledrop. And as with all of the other albums I've reviewed recently, yet another album I am so glad I gave a try thanks to Anthony Fantano's recommendation (I didn't actually watch his review of it, just saw him talking Ghost up in other videos and I was looking for a new great rock band to jump into--so I may tread some similar ground to what he did), as I never would've tried this without the impetus. Maybe I can push someone reading this to go and try Meliora too, and pass it on. Even if I am convinced that Ghost is from an evil alternate dimension where The Beatles hated everyone and everything.
Clocking in at 41:35 in its initial release (which is what I'm reviewing here), Meliora never bores or slows down on the pace, despite its epic scope and feel. There are some lengthy tracks in this, particularly the lead single, "Cirice" (which is what won them their Grammy, by the bye). But they all pack a punch from start to finish and kept me fascinated for the whole album's run, with their intense atmosphere and an excellent blend of sounds. It's the kind of album that has no problem shifting between creepy murmurings of death and despair into your ears, and anthemic pop rock fun on "Absolution." You have this wonderful mixture of instrumentals on here, with the shredding guitar riffs that are expected of a rock outfit that uses album art like this (which is by Zbigniew M. Bielak, FYI)--but also alluring extraterrestrial noises (that remind me of Hollywood Burns (yes, I will eventually be reviewing Invaders)), wonderful piano playing, ominous choir singing, and a liberal smattering of synths. If you come into this expecting a Megadeath or a Disturbed and only wanted that, you would leave disappointed. If you come into this with no idea what you're going to get, it'll knock your fucking socks off time and again.
That said, I'm not going to pretend that this is the hardest album out there. It's not trying to be. It's more insidious and subversive than weighty and exclusionary metal (like what we see a lot in the black metal scene, which actively tries to keep people from listening to it except for a select few who are into it). More eclectic and odd than rad, though its eccentricities do wind up making this a pretty fucking rad album all the same. And by "pretty fucking," I mean it's either fist-pumping beauty or inexplicably groovy. This isn't to say that what makes Meliora such a ride is its weirdness and its weirdness alone--you can have the weirdest album on the market and it could listen like dogshit. Meliora does not listen like dogshit--not in the slightest. The instrumentals, which I think I've already gushed about enough for you to get my thoughts on, aside, the frontman of Ghost (who has been outed as Tobias Forge due to an unfortunate and unsuccessful lawsuit by former members of the band) brings some phenomenal range to the vocals. As good as the instrumentalists here on Ghost are, the whole gig does in some way hinge on the singing to be able to deal with such varied songs--from fun melodies to gothic horror intimidation. Luckily, Tobias is more than up to the task here, giving pitch perfect performances on every album. What's also exceptional is the songwriting, which is interesting and worth giving a more in-depth look into, if that's something you like in your music. And I know this is pretty much heretical to say, but I'm not someone who usually notices production much--it's one of those gigs in entertainment that is absolutely imperative, but isn't necessarily as immediately visible to the untrained eye as something like singing or shredding a guitar might be. That said, it seemed to me like the production by Klas Åhlund is on-point, with the album listening experience being buttery smooth even as the album itself seeks to rack your mind. Oh yeah, and if it wasn't already obvious enough--that album artwork is fantastic. Kudos to Bielak.
All's said, Meliora is an album I can't find fault with. As much as I thought that headline was funny and eye-catching, I do wanna say that this isn't really a difficult album to get into. A more honest headline would be, "What if The Beatles hated you (and you loved it)?" Because this is one helluva fun album that I will be listening to a lot in future, and I would have no problem slotting it in next to other albums I've reviewed in the past, like Fever or Ctrl or This Means War or Para||el Lives, as part of my regular listening regiment. Expect more reviews of other Ghost albums in the future, as this has obviously impressed the fuck outta me and I'm so down for more awesomeness like this. And just as some housekeeping, also you can expect other reviews of Fozzy's Judas, Dinosaur Pile-Up's Celebrity Mansions, Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace, and maybe Daughters' You Won't Get What You Want. Unless I hate Judas, Celebrity Mansions, or You Won't Get What You Want (spoiler: I am a huge Foo Fighters fan so I already know I'm into ESP&G) enough that I decide to skip reviewing them, lol. Anyways, Meliora is an album without one stinker in the bunch, with the best tracks in my opinion being "Cirice," "Absolution," "He Is," and "Deus in Absentia." Like Sweden, it is such a bizarre and wonderful album--and like Sweden, it gets a 10/10 from me. Yes, I did just sneak in a review of a whole country into this music review. Bam, two reviews for the reading time of one, that's good value.
Masterpiece
Summary:
Anthemic and strange, Meliora is a fresh and rollicking good time if you're down for something peculiar and funky.
(how can anyone hate Sweden?)
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