THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “We’re building our new empire from the ashes of an old one,” say Grammy-winning Swedish theatrical rock outfit Ghost, announcing the arrival of Impera, the band’s fifth full-length studio album.
Impera finds Ghost transported hundreds of years forward from the 14th-century European Black Plague era of its previous album — 2018’s Best Rock Album Grammy nominee Prequelle. The result is the most ambitious and lyrically incisive entry in the Ghost canon: Over the course of Impera’s 12-song cycle, empires rise and fall, would-be messiahs ply their hype (financial and spiritual alike), prophecies are foretold as the skies fill with celestial bodies divine and man-made. All in all, the most current and topical Ghost subject matter to date is set against a hypnotic and darkly colorful melodic backdrop making Impera a listen like no other — yet unmistakably, quintessentially Ghost.
Impera was heralded by the release of its first official single, the sublime and haunting Call Me Little Sunshine, accompanied by a phantasmagoric visual interpretation lensed by iconic director Matt Mahurin and starring Ruby Modine. The album also features Hunter’s Moon, Ghost’s fourth consecutive No. 1 single, as heard over the end credits of the horror smash Halloween Kills.
Since forming in 2006, the Swedish outfit have elevated themselves to one of the most esteemed and celebrated rock bands in the world today, with chart-topping albums and singles, more than a billion streams, headlining arena tours, and countless appearnaces on magazine covers and television screens. The band’s passionate fan base and critical praise also stem from their ability to constantly push their creative boundaries. Their last album, 2018’s Prequelle, was loosely based on The Black Plague, a metaphor that sadly became a premonition for our times. Though the band’s music at times has dark lyrical content, it never loses its infectious melodic edge.”
