STAFF PICKS: Ghost Cult Senior Editor Steve Tovey’s Top Albums of 2022


Less waffle, more riffs. Favourite, not “best”. Here’s my Top 25 for you all (ranking is fairly nominal, and often based on gut at the point of submission). Lorna Shore ripped my head off, too, but I’ve only listened to it twice as I didn’t get to it at the point of release. That’s my one main omission (I think).Continue reading


Ghost Cult’s Albums of the Year 2022 Part 3 (20 – 1)


Press on, intrepid reader, to find out our top albums of 2022, as voted for by the cast, crew and hangers-on of the good ship Ghost Cult. Over 275 albums were nominated (including one stray and errant vote for Stryper… we’ve had words), some people lauded albums as the greatest of all time that no one else noticed, other albums picked up a steady stream of votes across the board without tickling the top of anyone’s charts, but through it all, we’ve been able to compile our team list of the best 75 albums of the year. And there are some absolute corkers, here. 75 of them, to be exact…

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Ghost Cult’s Album of the Year 2022 Part 2 (40-21)


As we move into the meaty part of the Ghost Cult albums of the year for 2022 (as chosen solely by the team that dedicate their time to promote, analyse and share the love for the great alternative music that we exist to talk about), we find a mix of old favourites and a sprinkling of new rising and shining stars…Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: The Cult – Under The Midnight Sun


Nearly forty years have passed since vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy first teamed together, settling on the moniker of The Cult for their musical entwinement, and, while it has been a partnership that has to endure critical and commercial highs and lows, come 2022, and Under The Midnight Sun (Black Hill) their eleventh album, the epithet that class is permanent has rarely rung so true. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark


Those who stumble across the hallowed pages of Ghost Cult with any degree of regularity, or have had the misfortune to know me and feel obliged to read my writings on any recurring basis, will know that I am not a fan of writers breaking the fourth wall. However, honesty is such a core tenet of Marillion that I feel that starting this review off with full disclosure is not only the best option, but probably the only one.

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DVD REVIEW: Ayreon – Electric Castle Live and Other Tales


Come with me now; be joyful. It is time to enter The Electric Castle!”

After the wild success of the Ayreon Universe shows in 2017, where an audience of international Ayreonauts was treated to a best-of selection of Ayreon’s most popular songs, the Poppodium 013 once again opened its gates to the gentle hordes in September of 2019. 2018 had seen the twenty-year anniversary and the re-mixed and -mastered version of Into The Electric Castle, and thus it was a logical step that this new live show centered around that album, a favourite of many. To the great thrill of not only the fans but the artists as well, Arjen managed to gather most of the cast members of the original album, and the most admirable substitutes for those who couldn’t make it. Continue reading


O.R.k. – Ramagehead


No, I have no idea what a Ramagehead is either, but this quixotic and enigmatic title seems entirely apposite for a third album of psychedelic Progressive Rock from this most discerning and intriguing of collectives. Combining the talents of Porcupine Tree’s bass general Colin Edwin and King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto, this already sounds like a Fantasy Prog Band competition winner. Add in some vocals of an Obake vintage and you’re there. This could end up being the most intimidating and contrived ego-trip were it not handled carefully.

Ye of little faith. Continue reading


Superfjord – All Will Be Golden


Finnish Prog Rock merchants Superfjord have the kind of name that should cement immediate status as cult legends. Somewhat marvelously, they also sound as if the last forty-five years have never happened. The powerful resonance of the music they produce has, incredibly, seen the band embraced by BBC Music, and second album All Will Be Golden (Svart) could leave the average rocker wondering if this is finally an avenue into awards that have previously excluded our genres.Continue reading


King Goat – Debt of Aeons


To say that Brighton’s King Goat set themselves a high bar with début album Conduit (self-released) is like saying that Donald Trump is a wee bit controversial. To merely label them a Doom band is, similarly, doing the quintet a severe disservice: that début was laced with emotional vocals, choirs overlaying evocative bridges, and light, textured instrumentalism. It was a tour de force precious few expected.Continue reading