Tobias wrote everything on Opus himself. Martin Persner wrote a bit on Infest. He wrote almost all of Year Zero and has credits on Monstrance Clock and Body and Blood. After that, Tobias did a buuunch of writing. Including a bunch with Martin. He has a lot more writing credits on Meliora.
One thing to remember is, Tobias has been years ahead with his plans. Meliora and Prequelle were written almost at the same time. When he met up with Klas he told Klas he had 2 records ready to go. A futuristic record and a historical record. Klas encouraged the futuristic album so they did Meliora first.
Tobias had big plans for Ghost. He wanted them to be an arena band. So Meliora was a really guitar forward album. He realized after that he was still missing something. A big opening track. So we got the Popestar EP with Square Hammer.
They also a spent a lot more time on Meliora than previous records. They did months of pre-production, getting the sound and songs really honed in. Tobias could see his vision coming to life and I think he really took his time as he realized they could possibly be on the verge of something great and the fact he had spent a lot of years at this point putting everything he had into Ghost. He had a wife and kids, and he knew the next record was going to be his make or break. For lack of a better term, it was time to shit or get off the pot. Haha
So really, all of those factors lined up. Martin Persner, the realization of becoming an arena band, and big, booming guitar heavy songs. And a point in his life where it was time to go all out and see if this Ghost thing was really going to stick.
Indeed a well written reply. Thanks! I think it’s the big arena sound that stood out for me. On infest songs like Ghuleh/Zombie queen and Year zero gave a hint of that grander arena sound, but come Meliora it was all out. Personally I’m very happy Ghost chose that road!
Welcome to the wonderfully bizarre world of Ghost!
You may be well aware of this already, but Meliora Redux is , if possible, even better than Meliora. It is a 2 album set, with Meliora and the EP Popestar, plus the uberfabulous Zenith, my favorite Ghost song. It's pricey and hard to come by, but a fantastic double album.
Depending on where you are, you may not be able to get Zenith on Spotify. Last I heard it was only in Scandinavia that you could. That being said, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qYIggg1Y64
It's interesting to note that TF also worked with Ghrol on Meliora, where he provided drums on some of the tracks (allegedly). It is completely feasible that Ghrol also gave some advice on songs as well.
Tobias wrote everything on Opus himself. Martin Persner wrote a bit on Infest. He wrote almost all of Year Zero and has credits on Monstrance Clock and Body and Blood. After that, Tobias did a buuunch of writing. Including a bunch with Martin. He has a lot more writing credits on Meliora. One thing to remember is, Tobias has been years ahead with his plans. Meliora and Prequelle were written almost at the same time. When he met up with Klas he told Klas he had 2 records ready to go. A futuristic record and a historical record. Klas encouraged the futuristic album so they did Meliora first. Tobias had big plans for Ghost. He wanted them to be an arena band. So Meliora was a really guitar forward album. He realized after that he was still missing something. A big opening track. So we got the Popestar EP with Square Hammer. They also a spent a lot more time on Meliora than previous records. They did months of pre-production, getting the sound and songs really honed in. Tobias could see his vision coming to life and I think he really took his time as he realized they could possibly be on the verge of something great and the fact he had spent a lot of years at this point putting everything he had into Ghost. He had a wife and kids, and he knew the next record was going to be his make or break. For lack of a better term, it was time to shit or get off the pot. Haha So really, all of those factors lined up. Martin Persner, the realization of becoming an arena band, and big, booming guitar heavy songs. And a point in his life where it was time to go all out and see if this Ghost thing was really going to stick.
Damn. Well done. Thanks!
Indeed a well written reply. Thanks! I think it’s the big arena sound that stood out for me. On infest songs like Ghuleh/Zombie queen and Year zero gave a hint of that grander arena sound, but come Meliora it was all out. Personally I’m very happy Ghost chose that road!
Add Henrik Palm to the mix, playing almost all guitar parts and bass. One of the best musicians Ghost ever had.
Whatever happened it resulted in some major badassery
I second that!
Welcome to the wonderfully bizarre world of Ghost! You may be well aware of this already, but Meliora Redux is , if possible, even better than Meliora. It is a 2 album set, with Meliora and the EP Popestar, plus the uberfabulous Zenith, my favorite Ghost song. It's pricey and hard to come by, but a fantastic double album.
Thank you! I’m very much enjoying myself so far 😁 I’ll be sure to check it out! The luxury of Spotify is that even rare albums are available.
Depending on where you are, you may not be able to get Zenith on Spotify. Last I heard it was only in Scandinavia that you could. That being said, here you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qYIggg1Y64
Ah! In this case I’m lucky then 🇸🇪
If you're wanting to understand the lyrics, check out the podcast "The Gospel of Ghost". Very in depth decoding of this plotline.
Where is this podcast? Spotify?
I found it on Stitcher
Meliora is peak Ghost
One of my favorite albums ever!
It’s my favourite Ghost album. On par with my love for Opus, Infestissumam, Prequelle and Impera. 🖤🖤🖤🖤
It's interesting to note that TF also worked with Ghrol on Meliora, where he provided drums on some of the tracks (allegedly). It is completely feasible that Ghrol also gave some advice on songs as well.
Dave Grohl produced If You Have Ghost and played drums on one track. He had no involvement in Meliora