Former Ghost Member Says Band’s New Album Is ‘Not Very Good’

Priest singer Linton Rubino, who used to play bass for Ghost under the name Water, has offered his unbiased review of his former band’s new album.

“I think their last record is not very good, to put it simple,” Rubino says of 2022’s Impera. “I skipped through the songs once and then I tried to listen to the whole thing. Then I turned it off half way. I can’t, really. But I don’t have any feelings around it, really. Let them have their fun. If they think it’s fun and have a good time, let them have it.”

That’s not to say Rubino is incapable of enjoying Ghost’s music. He calls 2015’s Meliora — the last album he was a part of — “close to a masterpiece.” He explains, “I think something had happened with the band, and you can clearly hear the difference in the songwriting there and today.”

What do you think of Impera?