GHOST Opus Eponymous CD (2010)

When Ghost surfaced in 2010, nobody knew who they were, and that was entirely the point. A nameless, faceless band fronted by a papal figure called Papa Emeritus, playing hook-laden heavy rock dressed in Satanic vestments, Opus Eponymous landed like a dispatches from some alternate timeline where Blue Öyster Cult never stopped worshipping the devil.

The debut is still the one purists reach for first. Before the arena tours, before the Grammy, before the endless Papa incarnations, this is Ghost at their most genuinely eerie, seven tracks of occult rock that owe as much to 70s Swedish prog as to any metal lineage. "Elizabeth" and "Con Clavi Con Dio" remain untouchable. If your entry point was Prequelle or Impera, go back. This is the document that earned all of it.

Full length album on CD. Released 2010 via Rise Above Records. Country of origin: Sweden. Genre: Heavy metal, occult rock.

Fans of: Mercyful Fate, Blue Öyster Cult, Witchcraft.