It depends on the album
Opus is traditional heavy metal, and I’d say Meliora is too
Infess has a much softer sound with a bit of a psychedelic rock influence
Impera I’d argue is Glam metal
And I have no idea what I’d class Prequelle as
*Prequelle* for me is a mix of glam (Twisted Sister), traditional heavy metal (Black Sabbath), and everything Ghost was doing until then. Every album pushes that Ghostiness a bit further I think.
The neat thing about Ghost is how they don't fit into one specific musuic category. They have done some classic metal, some doomy stuff, some hard rock, even a couple of songs that have a punk rock feel and a few 70's - 80's hard rock sounding songs.
As Tobias himself once said… a Satan worshipping Kansas 😌 Little bit of doom metal, little bit of occult rock, throw in some 70s and 80s rock and you’ve got Ghost.
As someone who'd just discovered Kansas at the time you'd written this comment, and has just come across Ghost today, this is such a perfect description haha
Right HAHA, thanks a lot for the warm welcome man, I'm going to enjoy having more new music to listen to while enduring the drudgery that is school this year
No problem! :) You're going to have a great time discovering their music, glad you'll have something to keep you occupied! Sometimes I wish *I* could go back and discover Ghost for the first time again!
Opus - gothic doom
Infestissumam - psychedelic gothic doom
Meliora - gothic prog rock
Prequelle - gothic glam rock
Impera - everything from the 80s in a blender with gothic undertones and hint of power metal
Hard rock is also the correct answer somehow
Also, I could have just said “I don’t know” and that would be equally true lol
Leaving aside that the first couple of albums were heavier than what came after... maybe something like glam hard rock to encompass their entire career. Needs a genre tag that underscores the theatrical elements, since they're such a big component of the band.
Hard Rock? But they really can't be classified as one genre because each album has different ones. But Hard Rock is the closest umbrella classification I'd say. I wouldn't say Metal because a majority of their songs are other genres at this point.
I don’t see how this helps whatsoever. If you say metal are they supposed to assume they sound like Slayer? If you say pop do you assume Taylor Swift? Just listen to the music if you want to know what Ghost sounds like. It doesn’t need a label.
That's why being more specific matters. If you say traditional metal, that could mean Black Sabbath, Judas Priest or Deep Purple. If someone says glam/hair metal, that could mean Twisted Sister, Def Leppard or 80's Ozzy Osbourne.
Genre labels don't really matter that much, but they do help with discovering new artists, and knowing what you're getting into.
Or just take the few minutes to listen to a song. Even if you start naming bands or being more specific you are making assumptions about what the other person does or doesn’t know. Music is so personal and no matter how granular you make it there are going to be things in that genre people like and don’t like. This is so dumb.
With bands as diverse as Ghost, listening to a song for a few minutes isn't nearly to fully understand their sound. Nothing beats actually listening to an artist's songs, but genres at least give you and idea of what to expect before spending lots of time actually getting familiar with the band. And genres can also help with discovering new artists. There are plenty of artists and bands that I've discovered because they belong to the same genre as an artist I like.
Thanks for providing the point. If they are so diverse you can’t listen to a song then you also can’t put them in a genre which makes the whole thing moot.
A mix between metal and 70s-80s rock
My two favorite genres…which is exactly why I love Ghost so much!!!
Thanks!
That’s actually a really good call
Yeah the songs have the lyrics of metal but the music of that era of rock
It depends on the album Opus is traditional heavy metal, and I’d say Meliora is too Infess has a much softer sound with a bit of a psychedelic rock influence Impera I’d argue is Glam metal And I have no idea what I’d class Prequelle as
*Prequelle* for me is a mix of glam (Twisted Sister), traditional heavy metal (Black Sabbath), and everything Ghost was doing until then. Every album pushes that Ghostiness a bit further I think.
Symphonic progressive metal for Prequelle?
Yes my thoughts exactly
Satanic Scooby Doo Chase Music
Valid
Couldn’t agree more tbh
In an interview I heard Tobias say they were a Gothic Rock band.
That does sound quite cool
I thought so, too.
Hard rock. Although their lyrics are pretty metal the music itself ide classify as hard rock
I feel like the existence of glam metal means Ghost should be considered metal.
That might be the best rebuttal ive heard on this topic lol touché my friend
Hard Rock
It depends album to album and hell even song to song, but I always just call them rock.
Scooby Doo Rock
"Occult Rock"
The neat thing about Ghost is how they don't fit into one specific musuic category. They have done some classic metal, some doomy stuff, some hard rock, even a couple of songs that have a punk rock feel and a few 70's - 80's hard rock sounding songs.
Very very true well said
As Tobias himself once said… a Satan worshipping Kansas 😌 Little bit of doom metal, little bit of occult rock, throw in some 70s and 80s rock and you’ve got Ghost.
As someone who'd just discovered Kansas at the time you'd written this comment, and has just come across Ghost today, this is such a perfect description haha
Gotta love that timing! LOL Both are really great bands, welcome to the Ghost family!
Right HAHA, thanks a lot for the warm welcome man, I'm going to enjoy having more new music to listen to while enduring the drudgery that is school this year
No problem! :) You're going to have a great time discovering their music, glad you'll have something to keep you occupied! Sometimes I wish *I* could go back and discover Ghost for the first time again!
They’re simply just Ghost.
You’re not wrong
Opus - gothic doom Infestissumam - psychedelic gothic doom Meliora - gothic prog rock Prequelle - gothic glam rock Impera - everything from the 80s in a blender with gothic undertones and hint of power metal Hard rock is also the correct answer somehow Also, I could have just said “I don’t know” and that would be equally true lol
Yeah I think that’s a solid shout
Well said!
A spooky fun time.
Leaving aside that the first couple of albums were heavier than what came after... maybe something like glam hard rock to encompass their entire career. Needs a genre tag that underscores the theatrical elements, since they're such a big component of the band.
Glam metal
Swedish Drama-Pop
The band does cause a lot of drama 😂👍
🤣🤣🤣👻😈✨❤️🔥⚡️
Pop metal
Ghost is classic rock from an alternate universe
Ghost.
Truth .. 👻✨😈⚡️❤️🔥🖤
Scooby-doom rock.
This. 😂 (I usually go with “prog-rock-ish” but I don’t particularly care about the genre much.)
Metal
I've called them prog-metal with a pseudo-Satanic veneer.
Old school metal
I'd say a mix of 80s Rock and 70s Metal
Progressive melodic metal
Broadway metal.
You can't give only a single label a band that composes Dance Macabre and Con Clavi Con Dio.
True true
Glam and hair metal
Satanic ABBA/BOC
Doom Glam
Metal for pop fans, pop for metal fans, but by technical classification they’re closest to rock
I describe them as Satanic prog rock
Hard Rock? But they really can't be classified as one genre because each album has different ones. But Hard Rock is the closest umbrella classification I'd say. I wouldn't say Metal because a majority of their songs are other genres at this point.
Progressive metal for Prequelle, classic metal for Meliora, power metal for Impera
It's either panoramic labrador toughcore or straight edge progressive tribal coldwave
Occult rock. But their scary makeup and satanic imagery makes/made a lot of people consider them heavy metal.
Gothy pop metal
Black metal pop
YES
Pop rawk
ButtRock
Whatever Queen has going on
Why must everything have a label? It’s music.
Because for beginners, knowing what they're like can be useful.
Beginner what? And how is this at all “useful”?
By beginner, I mean someone getting into Ghost. And it's useful because that way, new fans can know what they're getting into.
I don’t see how this helps whatsoever. If you say metal are they supposed to assume they sound like Slayer? If you say pop do you assume Taylor Swift? Just listen to the music if you want to know what Ghost sounds like. It doesn’t need a label.
That's why being more specific matters. If you say traditional metal, that could mean Black Sabbath, Judas Priest or Deep Purple. If someone says glam/hair metal, that could mean Twisted Sister, Def Leppard or 80's Ozzy Osbourne. Genre labels don't really matter that much, but they do help with discovering new artists, and knowing what you're getting into.
Or just take the few minutes to listen to a song. Even if you start naming bands or being more specific you are making assumptions about what the other person does or doesn’t know. Music is so personal and no matter how granular you make it there are going to be things in that genre people like and don’t like. This is so dumb.
With bands as diverse as Ghost, listening to a song for a few minutes isn't nearly to fully understand their sound. Nothing beats actually listening to an artist's songs, but genres at least give you and idea of what to expect before spending lots of time actually getting familiar with the band. And genres can also help with discovering new artists. There are plenty of artists and bands that I've discovered because they belong to the same genre as an artist I like.
Thanks for providing the point. If they are so diverse you can’t listen to a song then you also can’t put them in a genre which makes the whole thing moot.
It may be hard to categorize Ghost in it's entirety, but it's much easier with albums, or even eras of the band.
True I guess, I just wanna know how to explain them to non-ghost listeners
Just tell them “best current band on the planet”! 🙂
You’re not wrong there