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Prequelle - Ghost

While Ghost has been around for almost 20 years, they’ve continued to bring a unique and sometimes dark aesthetic to the masses with a mostly palatable rock sound. Their 2018 album Prequelle leans into a more cinematic and artistically ambitious vision, focusing on themes of the Plague and the Black Death in medieval Europe.

I particularly liked the track “Rats.” While it’s lyrically sparse, it paints a striking picture of how fear and death spread like wildfire through both physical and ideological means. The opening verse sets the tone:

In times of turmoil, in times like these Beliefs contagious, spreading disease This wretched mischief is now coursing through your souls Never to let go, never to let go

On the surface, it draws a clear connection to the literal plague and the chaos it brought. But underneath that, it hints at something more abstract: the idea that mass panic, dogma, and hysteria can be just as infectious and destructive. In that way, “Rats” isn’t just about disease, it’s also about the psychological toll of collective dread and the mechanisms that drive it.

Standout Tracks:

8/10