Megadeth

Ghost (Sweden)

The Metal Examiner: Ghost’s Opus Eponymous

Every Friday, The Metal Examiner delves metal’s endless depths to present the genre’s most important and exciting albums.

Ghost - Opus EponymousGhost: Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade, 1/18/11)

Ghost: “Con Clavi Con Dio”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Ghost_Con_Clavi_Con_Dio.mp3|titles=Ghost: “Con Clavi Con Dio”]

Sweden’s Ghost is a purposefully mysterious sextet propagating an overtly Satanic message. With a tongue-in-cheek press release making bold claims about subverting the minds of adolescents who have a “void in their life,” it’s tempting to dismiss Opus Eponymous as ironic kitsch. However, the songs themselves are wildly catchy and full of melodic twists in the school of King Diamond‘s 1980s compositions.

Native Musicians in Popular Culture at Smithsonian

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian’s current exhibition, Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture, displays the oft-overlooked relationship between Native artists and American contemporary music with audio samples and artifacts from big-name artists like Chuck Billy (Testament), Jimi Hendrix, Link Wray, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. This ain’t your average trip to the history museum.