Skeletá by Ghost

God I love this album. One criticism I've seen levied against Ghost over the past few years is that it's not really heavy enough. And, I don't know, I suppose I can understand that. Or at least, I can see where people are coming from. In their early years, the idea of the band being a satanic church was really strong. But as the years have gone by and the band has developed more, that side of them has definitely softened... and I don't see that as a bad thing.

This album more than any of their others feels more personal, and I love that. There's some really really enjoyable songs on here. Obviously the three-hit punch of Peacefield to Lachryma to Satanized is great. Satanized might be one of my favorite Ghost songs of all time. But don't sleep on the rest of the album, Umbra goes absolutely insane, moreso live.

I think a big reason why this album resonates with me so much is because I was able to actually go to a Ghost Ritual and hear nearly the entire album performed live. And yeah. These songs are made to be heard in a stadium. The arena rock aspect to Ghost has never made more sense.

So okay. Is it their best album? No, that's probably still Meliora, but I can't pretend I don't love it. According to last.fm, Ghost was my most listened to artist in 2025, and Skeletá was my second most listened to album, so... I really enjoy it.