Puked forth from a cantankerous abyss of shadows comes...GHOST, an eerie assemblage of spectral figures employing the aide of the devil himself, and trust me,  that deviant charlatan has chosen excellent vassals through which to work his crude mojo. An ominous template is set as cathedral pipe organs bellow centuries old dust into the lungs of good Christians, thus the ritual begins.

Coming on strong like the product of sex consummated between BLUE OYSTER CULT and MERCYFUL FATE, GHOST is a gracious throwback, yet in the context of current media trappings a welcome anomaly. Coven headmaster Papa Emeritus invokes the smooth falsetto of King Diamond after a midnight quaffing of pure virgins blood and those who choose to be nameless ghouls (the band) riff on inanely and histrionically like the mutant cubs of Michael Denner and Buck Dharma. It's as if the child hood members of GHOST weren't baptized in the blood of Christ but the left over hemoglobin from the Charles Manson massacres.

Standout tracks include "Con Clavi Con Dio" as well as "Ritual" and for a delirious ride into Hammer Horror by way of Disneyland check out the campy vitriol of "Prime Mover". Finally, Satan has gotten his due.