STACK #246 April 2025

MUSIC FEATURE

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GHOST STORIES T hey’ll remind you of Alice Cooper, David Sweden’s self-styled rock gods Ghost release their sixth album, Skeletá .

Ghost

The first single is called Satanized . The band’s lyrical content has attracted much controversy in the US, though their sense of humour is always just beneath the surface. Some critics have dubbed them “ABBA metal” and “Scooby Doom”. Ghost’s two most recent studio albums have both hit

Bowie, KISS, and perhaps Australia’s own TISM. But there’s no band quite like Sweden’s Ghost. They have called their new album their “sixth psalm”, describing it as their most personal record yet, saying it will “render

Skeletá by Ghost is out Apr 25 via Lorna Vista

Photo credit: Mikael Eriksson

the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its ten songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror”.

the Top 10 in Australia. Prequelle reached number seven in 2018, while Impera rose to number three in 2022. Jeff Jenkins

GHOST MOVIE The Ghost movie, Rite Here Rite Now , was released last year. It’s a concert film, capturing the band performing at the Kia Forum in Inglewood,

GHOST GRAMMY Ghost won the ‘Best Metal Performance’ Grammy in 2016 for their single Cirice .

GHOST FOOD Kuma’s Corner, a heavy metal hamburger restaurant in Chicago, sells a burger called “The Ghost”, in honour of the band. Its main ingredient is goat shoulder.

GHOST WORLD The band has a mysterious line-up. The lead singer was previously Papa Emeritus. He’s now known as Papa V Perpetua. The other members of the band are referred to as “Nameless Ghouls”.

California in 2023, as well as explaining the band’s origin story.

P reacher’s Daughter is a remarkable debut. It’s a concept album. And the subject matter is not for the faint-hearted, with the album addressing family trauma and sexual violence. Ethel Cain, the daughter of a deacon, drew on her own life CAIN IS ABLE American artist Ethel Cain issues a vinyl version of her acclaimed debut. to tell the tale. “Everything that happened to her is something that has happened to me,” Ethel admits. “But I’ve kind of twisted it. “You know in crime shows where they say something like, ‘The names have been changed to protect those involved’? Well, this album is like that.” The artist was home schooled in Perry, Florida, and grew up singing in the church choir. Preacher’s Daughter – a

THE NAME GAME

Ethel Cain is the stage name for Hayden Silas Anhedönia. Initially, she called herself White Silas before settling on Ethel Cain, which she insists is a character. “For me, she’s more than a musical character. She is the person I could see myself becoming, and she is the person I don’t want to be.”

potent mix of Americana, folk and goth pop – was initially released in 2022 on the artist’s own label, Daughters of Cain. Despite the heavy themes, there’s a happy ending. Cain stepped away from religion, came out as a trans woman, and now has a good relationship with her family. Jeff Jenkins

Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain is out Apr 4 via AWAL

MARK OF CAIN Ethel Cain has thoughts of turning Preacher’s Daughter into a novel and a movie. “I want it to be completely immersive.”

Ethel Cain

24 APRIL 2025

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