Review by Michael on May 17, 2023.

I must confess that I am an absolute Ghost fanboy and that will probably never change. Accordingly, my anticipation was great when I got to hear the advance cover song 'Jesus He Knows Me'. This song moves very close to the original, but as you could already hear with 'It's A Sin' on Prequelle, this is still absolutely gripping. Also here the song sounds very massive and powerful and you can recognize the signature of Ghost despite the closeness to the original.

But not only Genesis are covered this time in Ghost-like manner on their new EP Phantomime, but four other more or less known classics have this time the honor to get a Tobias Forge corset put over. The only song that has to do with heavy metal in the original is 'The Phantom Of The Opera' by Iron Maiden, the rest is, as already in 2013 on the "If You Have Ghost" pop (Tina Turner, Genesis) or punk music (Television, The Stranglers). So the Swedes start with 'See No Evil' by Television, which comes across much rockier than the original from 1977. The voice sounds a bit deeper and more aggressive than the original by Tom Verlaine, who by the way passed away this year. Also, the typical Ghost keyboards are used here, which make the song even a touch more atmospheric. The second punk song, 'Hanging Around', by The Stranglers is much more upbeat than the original and you can hear that the guys must have had a lot of fun recording this song. Again, Ghost sounds incredibly punchy and is just fun to play. 'The Phantom Of The Opera' is by far the longest song of the EP and I must say, I had my doubts whether Ghost would do themselves a favor with this. But, fuck, they did. Instrumentally beyond any doubt, they rock the track and make the song sound like they wrote it personally. Again, there's the usual Ghost garb and it fits perfectly. 'We Don't Need Another Hero' falls off a bit though, as the tempo is pretty slowed down here. But with the chorus, the song is then partially saved, because this kicks a powerful ass. But maybe this assessment is also due to the fact that I never liked the song very much and thus cannot go unbiased to it.

Remains as a conclusion to state that Ghost have once again provided for some surprises and (at least me) once again do not disappoint and make happy with this EP. I hope that after the next tour a new album will follow!

Rating: 9 out of 10