- Country: Sweden
- Style: Heavy metal / Occult rock
- Label: Loma Vista Recordings
- Release date: 10 April 2013
Infestissumam is Ghost’s second album and the one where the Swedish band swapped the tight, compact sound of their debut for something bigger and stranger. Nick Raskulinecz produced it, with sessions in Nashville, and a choir credited as the St. Trident Tenors of Tinseltown adds backing vocals.
“Per Aspera ad Inferi” and “Secular Haze” set the tone: fairground organ, sweet harmonies, lyrics about the devil sung like a lullaby. “Year Zero” is the dramatic centrepiece, with a chorus that should be impossible to sing along to and isn’t.
Not everything works. “Ghuleh / Zombie Queen”, the longest song here, takes its time getting going, which works better than it should, but “Idolatrine” is filler. “Monstrance Clock” closes the album with a singalong that stays with you for days.
It went to No. 1 in Sweden, reached No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and won the 2014 Grammis award for best hard rock/metal album. Hard to argue with any of that.
Best tracks:
Year Zero
Secular Haze
Monstrance Clock
Per Aspera ad Inferi
Author’s rating: 8.7/10
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