keepers 5
keeper avg .500
Not perfect but more varied than its predecessor, Opus Eponymous, Infestissumam starts with a big statement of cheese, with choral fanfare. But it's the carnival from hell third track "Secular Haze"**** that is most jarring and least in keeping with the band's humorous but creepy mock-ecclesiastical stage presence. But even at their furthest afield, careful construction, virtuosity, and considerable melody are evident. "Ghuleh/ Zombie Queen"**** rises from a spooky piano ballad to a spacey, prog-rock synth fanfare that is merely the introduction for the the Zombie Queen's rock army. "Per Aspera Ad Inferi"***** and "Body And Blood"**** are heavy yet catchy in the manner of Blue Oyster Cult. But I'm sure it's no coincidence that another choral chant begins what would be side 2 on vinyl. The chanting that starts "Year Zero"***** is a bit over the top, but Papa Emeritus' maximum right panned whisper-y intoning 'welcome year zero' is absolutely chilling, and by the last time the music breaks for the final 'hail Satan!' (which rhymes with 'Latin' here) chorus with maximum dramatic effect, it's a double-devil-horn moment. But even the lesser album tracks have fantastic parts, such as the stacked rhythm guitar parts and the spacey, melodic breaks in "Jiggolo Har Megiddo" and the menacingly chunky riffs in the otherwise silly "Depth Of Satan's Eyes." By "Idolatrine" the quality falls off precipitously, and by closing track "Monstrance Clock", where Ghost creates its own satanic "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing", the joke seems to be on us.
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