Ghost: Opus Eponymous [RISE ABOVE]

Why you'll love it

Opus Eponymous is where Ghost's whole theatrical world began, nine songs of 1970s-style riffs and choirboy melodies. It was nominated for a Grammis, the Swedish Grammy.

About the album

Tobias Forge played his bandmates a riff he called probably the most heavy metal riff that has ever existed, and that riff became "Stand by Him" and, eventually, Ghost. When none of the singers he approached would take the job, he stepped up himself, posted three demos to Myspace in March 2010, and within two days labels around the world were calling.

The album was recorded over a few weeks in a basement studio in their hometown of Linköping with a standard Gibson SG and Orange amps, gain backed off for a proper 1970s tone, and mixed in London by Jaime Gomez Arellano. "Ritual" is the instant classic, "Elizabeth" tells the tale of Elizabeth Báthory, "Con Clavi Con Dio" and "Genesis" are sped-up waltzes, and "Prime Mover" and "Death Knell" were on the very first demos. Gene Walker is credited as producer, and the album went on to spend five weeks on the Swedish chart.

The cover nods to a poster for the 1979 'Salem's Lot miniseries. Ghost went on to fill arenas in full costume; this is the record from before the wardrobe budget.

Also at Kops: more Ghost on vinyl · browse Metal

Tracklist

Listen

On Rise Above, a reissue of the 2010 album.