Ghost have unveiled their cover of Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” from the upcoming PHANTOMIME covers EP, arriving this Thursday (May 18th).
Papa Emeritus IV and his Nameless Ghouls do a faithful job covering their heavy metal forefathers on “Phantom of the Opera.” The original Maiden track hails from the British legends’ 1980 debut, featuring singer Paul Di’Anno. However, Ghost’s version harnesses the power and might of the 1985 Live After Death version featuring Bruce Dickinson.
Impressively, the guitar tracks are nearly transposed in accuracy, and Papa stays true to the song’s vocal arrangement while adding his signature melodic flourishes to the mix. For a band that has long wore its NWOBHM influences on its sleeve, the cover marks a consummatory moment in Ghost’s career. It also harkens back to Iron Maiden’s Book of Souls tour in 2016 and 2017, when they brought Ghost along as support.
Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge (aka Papa Emeritus IV) opened up about his adoration for Maiden last year in an interview with Planet Rock, calling the seminal metal act “inspiring” both musically and professionally due to their “work ethics and just the sheer volume of work.”
“When I was a kid, I was sitting with [the] Live After Death record and I was… dead set on wanting to become a professional musician and I wanted to tour,” Forge said. “I knew about the concept of touring, but a lot of my knowledge or my preconceived notions of what I thought touring was about was looking through Live After Death and seeing all those dates that they were playing everywhere.”
He added: “I sat there with like a big map book and just drew out how they toured, where they played and how often you play. That record in the inner sleeve, you have a lot of information about touring life.”
The rest of the PHANTOMIME sees Ghost also covering deep cuts by Genesis, Tina Turner, Television, and The Stranglers. It’s possible Ghost will perform one or more of the covers on their upcoming summer North American “Re-Imperatour,” featuring support from fellow Swedish act Amon Amarth. Get tickets to those shows here.
Stream Ghost’s cover of Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” below.