Saturday: Ghost - Meliora

     If you're a Ghost fan -- which I'm not, really -- then you're probably already much more familiar with their latest Meliora than I am. But did you know there's a deluxe edition with a bonus track?

     And once again, it's kind cool, and by the end it gets pretty grand and majestic, in an evil sort of way. "Zenith" apparently didn't make the cut for the regular release of Meliora, but many commenters online think it should have been, including this guy right here. It might not be enough to make me a Ghost fanboy, but it's another step in the right direction. And dat organ!

Monday: Anup Sastry - Reflex

     Skyharbor fans have more to lament about the recent line-up shuffle than the departure of vocalist Dan Tompkins. Skinsman Anup Sastry bid the band adieu as well, meaning that the groove quotient for Skyharbor's next album remains a semi-open question (we've heard new drummer Aditya Ashok's first crack at some Skyharbor material in the form of recent single "Out of Time").

     Anup's got a couple of solo EPs under his belt, but it doesn't look like he's joined up with another collaborative project just yet. I certainly hope he finds the right group of people, if he's looking for another band, because he's be an asset to a variety of heavier styles. For now, though, we can only fall back on said catalogue of EPs for some Anup Sastry Monday Funday groove.

     To that end, your belated Monday song is "Reflex" from Anup's 2013 EP Ghost. It's a little djenty, but don't let that stop you from bobbing your head and catching the energy that Anup's beats have got in spades.

Sunday: Ghost - Majesty

     As I'm pretty sure I've said before, I've never really been a huge Ghost fan. It's not that I have a problem with the schtick or anything -- I'm totally cool with a gimmick, if you can back it up. But Ghost has always felt a little too camp and just not heavy enough for my liking.

     Regular readers may remember that one of the previous singles for Ghost's upcoming record Meliora, "Cirice", caught my attention and spent some time repeating on my playlist when it came out back in May. Well a single or two later, the latest, "Majesty", has me interested once again, although not nearly as much as "Cirice" did.

     If "Cirice" was grade-A earworm stuff, then "Majesty" is, for me, a slightly less-infectious cut. But that's not say it's not catchy and rocking in the same way, with a retro feel and a sinister vibe that's less genuine evil and malice and more 70's Saturday night horror. Funny, the very same camp I once decried has sorta grown on me. Maybe the rest of Meliora will do likewise? I don't have long to wait to find out.

Wednesday: Ghost - Cirice

     You know I like to do something a little weirder for my Wednesday posts (ain't alliteration absolutely awesome?) and while today's song isn't exactly weird in a Frank Zappa kind of way, it is weird in a proggy, majestic, minor-key sort of way.

     It's actually a little weird that I dig this song enough to feature it, since costumed Swedish metal act Ghost has never really appealed to me before. But their new single "Cirice", from their upcoming third album Meliora, has got its claws in me. I don't know if it's the band's new singer (if indeed the third incarnation of papal vocalist Papa Emeritus is actually a different person than before), or the grand majesty of the choruses, or just that stompy, in-your-face verse riff, but something about "Cirice" appeals to me in a way that Ghost's work hasn't previously. I can most definitely feel the rumble -- can you?

Song of the Day: Anup Sastry - Limitless

     I've written about the purveyor of today's track before, but previously it's always been by way of his connection  to other musical projects. You see, up and coming drummer Anup Sastry is the skinsman for both Intervals and Skyharbor, two slick bands that are more than worth checking out. But Mr. Sastry has just released his first solo effort, which means more tasty grooves for the masses!