Ghost - Popestar EP [Review]

Ghost's Popestar EP is intended to be a companion piece to the Swedish heavy metal band's third studio album, Meliora (which I reviewed here). In fact, as I discussed in my review of Meliora, Meliora was also reissued with the songs that are present here on Popestar. The band did the same thing with its second studio album, Infestissumam (reviewed here), releasing a reissue of the album with songs that were also featured on the If You Have Ghost EP (reviewed here). As was also the case with If You Have Ghost, most of the songs featured here on Popestar are covers, with the only exception, in fact, being the opening track, "Square Hammer." "Square Hammer" has been critically acclaimed and has been considered by some to be Ghost's opus magnum. Loudwire even named the song the metal song of the decade (2010s, that is), and Tobias Forge has cited the song as one of Ghost's biggest milestones. While I do absolutely love the song (it might even be in my top 5), I definitely wouldn't consider it Ghost's best work. Ghost frontman Tobias Forge explained in an interview with Loudwire that the song was originally written as a show opener, which I think makes a lot of sense because it's definitely more of an arena rock song than it is a metal song. Forge felt that they didn't have a strong opener. "We need[ed] a big opening song," he reflected in the aforementioned interview. "We [didn't] have that." Interestingly, however, as he also discussed in that interview, "Square Hammer" made for a really good opening song for the Popestar Tour (after which this EP is named - a clever name since it is a play on the word popstar and the Papas are usually dressed like popes) but ended up becoming their signature closing song. (I believe that subsequent tours opened with the Prequelle opening track - "Rats.") Forge also mentions in that interview that the song was born from its opening riff which is how many Ghost songs are born. (The entire Ghost project, in fact, was born out of the "Stand by Him" riff that Forge came up with while in another band.) As I said, "Square Hammer" is an energetic arena rock song with an oscillating and infectious guitar riff, and the melody of the chorus is equally infectious. The song is, lyrically, one of Ghost's more difficult songs to decipher (in my opinion), but it seems to be flipping the popular "I swear to God" adage to express that you are telling the truth to make it Satanic, and as discussed in previous reviews of Ghost albums and EPs, subverting Christian passages and adages is typical of Ghost: "Are you ready to swear right here, right now, before the devil?" The song also makes use of masonic themes (hence the title including the word hammer even though the word is never said in the lyrics). As explained on Genius, the lyrics referencing being on the square or being on the level are phrases that come from masonry. "Square Hammer" also features a fun(ny) music video that pays homage to very old films such as Nosferatu (probably my favorite horror film of all time) and Metropolis.

Popestar then gives listeners "Nocturnal Me," a cover that made me really happy when I first discovered it because it is one of my favorite songs from the 1980s. Originally by Echo & the Bunnymen and released in the spring of 1984, I have to admit that I have Stranger Things to thank for being familiar with the original song, and it has always been one of my favorite songs presented on the series. The original version is a new wave song fueled by synth, strings, acoustic guitar, and a pulsating beat, and I definitely find it to lyrically be a fitting song for Ghost to cover for a couple of reasons. (1) There is sexual innuendo in the lyrics when, in the song's chorus, the speaker asks the subject to "take me internally," and Ghost is certainly no stranger to including sexual innuendo in its lyrics. Take these lyrics from the Infestissumam track "Jigolo Har Megiddo" as an example: "...I am the one who comes richly endowed, harvesting crops of fields that others have plowed." Forge even usually closes shows by asking the crowd to promise him that when they get home, they will give their significant others and/or themselves orgasms. In addition to that, the song is thematically somewhat similar to Depeche Mode's song "Waiting for the Night," which Ghost covered on the If You Have Ghost EP. I personally see both songs as being about loving the nighttime. "Waiting for the Night" talks about nighttime being a time for peace, quiet, and reflection, and "Nocturnal Me" is about considering yourself to be a nocturnal being and wanting to share your love of the night and your darkness with someone else. (The song "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera is also thematically similar, as I am sure that many other songs are.) As is typical of Ghost (with few exceptions, such as their cover of "If You Have Ghosts"), Ghost stays pretty faithful to the original Echo & the Bunnymen version. This version is melodically unchanged, although it is, of course, heavier, relying much more on heavy guitar. We then get "I Believe," originally by Simian Mobile Disco. This is a very interesting choice for Ghost to cover for two reasons: (1) the original version is a totally different genre - electronic music and (2) even Ghost's version is very different than their usual sound, as it's very dreamy and ethereal and not really hard rock or heavy metal at all. The original is heavily synthy, sounding like a retro synthpop song from the '80s, whereas Ghost's version is, as I said, light and dreamy. It is lyrically ultimately a love song, heralding someone as being what the speaker needs to believe in love again, although who the subject is and what they are helping the speaker believe is left somewhat vague, meaning that Ghost could be intending the cover to be repurposed for a Satanic theme here on Popestar.

Popestar then provides listeners with "Missionary Man," a cover of a Eurythmics song from 1986. Both the original version and the Ghost cover have a bit of a southern rock flavor to them. I have to say that I overall prefer the Eurythmics version because something about Annie Lennox's soulful delivery brings more power to the song. Ghost does nothing to change the melody, and as is usual (as I mentioned previously), it is very faithful to the original. There is even a voice chanting in the background of the track which sounds very similar to Annie Lennox's chanting in the original song, and Ghost's version also keeps the harmonica part that is prevalent in the original. The lyrics of the song, which warn the listener not to "mess with a missionary man," are meant to be cynical and sarcastic, for as Lennox herself stated, "...I... think that there are a great deal of people in the media, in the form of politicians or religious speakers or philosophical people, people who are generally trying to have some power over other people, who I just don't trust." This makes a lot of sense given the title of the song, as a missionary is someone who travels and tries to recruit people to Christianity. It also therefore makes sense as to why Ghost would want to cover it. Their music frequently looks at Christianity with a critical eye, something that Tobias Forge has also frequently discussed in interviews, so covering a song about religious fanatics being despots definitely seems like an appropriate move. What seems like an odd move, however, is the band's decision to cover Imperiet's 1988 song "Bible." Imperiet, like Ghost, is a Swedish band, so that isn't surprising at all because Ghost also covered songs from fellow Swedish acts on If You Have Ghost. However, the song, on the surface, seems to simply be a recap of the creation of the world in seven days according to how the Christian Bible chronicles it; the lyrics even touch upon the creation of Adam and Eve. While Ghost is certainly no stranger to using religious imagery in its lyrics, it's usually in a more subverted and critical way. However, at the same time, the chorus of the song potentially offers a more complicated interpretation. "Now, who will pray for Babylon?" the melodically powerful chorus asks. "Sing a song to Babylon on your knees before Babylon. Beat that drum because Babylon is falling." As explained on Genius, Jerusalem is biblically considered to be the holy city, whereas Babylon is considered to be the city of sin. This part of the song could therefore be emphasizing the need for empathy and understanding, asking why we don't offer our hearts to those who most need it. The original is an '80s rock ballad through and through, and Ghost's version is sonically almost identical. I love its grand, anthemic sound, and it is definitely a highlight on this EP. I think that I overall prefer If You Have Ghost, but Popestar is a lot of fun, too, with "Square Hammer" definitely being its most exciting number.