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Apr 30, 2025"Marks of the Evil One" and "Umbra" (I hope you like cowbells) could have easily been singles, they’re that good, and they solidify Skeletá as a worthy new chapter in the history of the only mainstream band that is able to sing about Satan in stadiums while having the ultra catholic zealots silent as a grave.
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Apr 24, 2025There are bands that lavish in the fondue of modern hard rock without the cheese, but not Ghost. Ghost is fun.
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Apr 23, 2025Through a rich exploration of genres and a new level of emotional depth, it becomes clear that ‘Skeletá’ was made with a new vision in mind, and comes as the promising start of a new Ghost chapter.
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Apr 22, 2025It’s enchanting rock’n’roll that might well tempt you into selling your soul – if only for one night of sweet soft-metal abandon. [Jun 2025, p.72]
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Apr 22, 2025As sweeping final ballad Excelsis picks up where previous closing tracks Life Eternal (Prequelle) and Respite On The Spitalfields (Impera) left off, compelling listeners to live life to the fullest with one eye on the inevitability of death, there’s surely no-one else living quite so deliciously on the level of The Devil.
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Apr 22, 2025There are those in the world folks like to refer to as “old souls”; Skeletá is the LP equivalent to that characterization, an anachronistically fresh piece of work that mimics the aspirant, rebellious spirit of wild, bygone years of bad hair, terrible politics, and even worse economic policies.
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Jun 10, 2025As strong as much of Skeletá is, Ghost’s usual contagious energy feels depleted. Its more measured approach does lend an appealing atmosphere of sadness that looms over the entire record, but fans will be clamoring for more energy and menace amidst the garishness next time around.
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Apr 30, 2025Skeleta is the band’s most immediate and accessible release to date, it is also perhaps the least satisfying to early impressions, and recommends itself to a certain level of patience, paired with a prudent refusal to make the unflattering comparison to stronger versions of Ghost that populate their back catalogue. All issues thrust aside, listeners are left with a fun-loving, tasty-snack version of Ghost, regrettably lacking in satisfying meatiness, but absolutely caked in pretty frosting to make up for it.
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Apr 23, 2025SKELETÁ is a fascinating concept album with tight melodies and carefully crafted arrangements, enough to satisfy day one Ghost fans, but might fall short of bringing new fans into the band’s ever-growing sonic realm.
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Apr 22, 2025Suffers from wearyingly similar production, with vocals consistently at the front of the mix and the same guitar and synthesizer sounds repeated throughout. Tracks like “Peacefield,” “Umbra,” and the uptempo “De Profundis Borealis” are decent slices of ’80s stadium rock, but it’s all overly compressed, robbing songs like “Satanized” and “Cenotaph” of any real edge.