I have been asked more about the Ghost B.C. the last few years , and what I think of them as a legitimate band than any other question about music. Insanely catchy, totally blasphemous, and seemingly playing a joke on all of the humorless hipsters and elitists who hate them more than a tech death fan hates emo kids moshing at a show. While part of me says all of Ghosts entire being is gimmicky, and the band would be just solid if it were a bunch of dudes, there is no denying the quality of the players, or the songs. When the dust settles years from now, I believe they will be remembered for the impact they made on this era of music, and not the aura and schtick that makes people discount them.

 

This EP is really not that much different than their other recorded covers, or really any of their recorded output. Except that this EP was produced by Dave Grohl, and these are some of the best and most fun covers the band has done to date. The title track is the Roky Erickson song ‘If You Have Ghosts’ which is pretty evil sounding compared with the original. They give it their own bombastic treatment, as you’d expect them to, and it works well. Despite the hilarity of the idea of this band covering ABBA, I can’t really get past the fact that I hate ABBA deeply, as every self-respecting metal fan ought to. Still, ‘I’m A Marionette’ works as a cover, and I suspect this will be the big hit that carries this album. Army of Lovers‘ ‘Crucified’ has no irony at all actually, and is also one of the top songs herein. The best cover, and perhaps the best cover the band has done is Depeche Mode’s ‘Waiting For The Night’. This rendering is down right bliss inducing, whether you count yourself a DM fan, or not. The live version of ‘Secular Haze’ from Infestissumam is solid. Sonically the cross between the carny vibe and church music is great, and just cements the intelligence of the band to me. Once again, nothing new from this band, but still enjoyable.

 

 

8.5/10

 

Ghost B.C. on Facebook

 

Keith (Keefy) Chachkes