Every Ghost Album Ranked

There’s no denying that Ghost have been getting bigger and bigger with each album, but how do the band’s full-length records stand up against each other? Here’s our ranking of all five albums.

Ghost have evolved tremendously since the 2010 release of Opus Eponymous. Starting as an occult doom throwback inspired by Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate and Death SS, the anonymous band of ghouls felt like a lost band from the early ‘70s. The songs were simple and brooding, but possessed brilliant melodies and a unique interplay of a duel, “smart guy/dumb guy” guitar attack. Ghost became one of the underground’s most talked about bands, but nobody could have guessed what happened next.

With Infestissumam, Ghost broke out of the underground doom scene and became the next big thing. Tracks like “Year Zero” and “Secular Haze” became huge singles for the Swedish band, while “Ghuleh / Zombie Queen” stretched the limits of the band’s prog muscles.

It was their third album, Meliora, that allowed Ghost to become undeniable. “Cirice” combined everything that fascinated fans about Ghost and turned it into a Grammy-winning masterwork, while “He Is” set the standard for powerful worship ballads. It also gave us live staples like “From the Pinnacle to the Pit” and “Mummy Dust,” which boasted how big Ghost could make a straight-forward rock or metal banger.

Prequelle brought Ghost into the stylistic ‘80s just as the decade’s nostalgia bomb had officially gone off. The unapologetic “Dance Macabre” gave Ghost their biggest album single to date, only being surpassed by standalone singles “Square Hammer” and “Mary on a Cross.” The ‘80s influence continued into the band’s latest record, Impera, which brought Ghost into Queen territory thanks to theatrical rock behemoths like “Spillways” and “Call Me Little Sunshine.”

Over five albums, Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge has continued to be rock and metal’s magic man. Check out how we ranked all five albums below.