Last month, in an interview with French radio station OUI FM, Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge teased the possible release of new music before the band sets out on their 2023 tour. His words have since come to fruition with the announcement of the band’s new EP Phantomime which is set to arrive on May 18 via Loma Vista Recordings as well as the release of their electrifying cover of Genesis’ “Jesus He Knows Me.”
Originally released in 1991 on the band’s fourteenth studio album, We Can’t Dance, “Jesus He Knows Me” addresses the world of greedy televangelists who coax believers into “buy[ing] a piece of paradise” while ultimately enriching themselves. This is something Ghost has previously touched upon in their past music video for Meliora’s “He Is” in which a clergymember can be seen slyly taking money from the collection plate before shoving it into their pocket.
Ghost’s music video for “Jesus He Knows Me,” directed by Alex Ross Perry, introduces a new character named Father Jim DeFroque. He is first seen in church preaching to his congregation before indulging in a night of sins: from taking drugs in his car to participating in a kinky romp (which undoubtedly contributed to its age-restriction on YouTube). Before the music video’s debut, fans were treated to a half-hour talk show segment entitled “Jesus Talk With Father Jim DeFroque” which featured the same character discussing blasphemous lyricism in rock music, exemplifying the “do as I say, not as I do” attitudes that Genesis addressed on their original track.
Returning to Phantomime, it will be a bit different from the band’s previous EP releases as this album is comprised entirely of covers. According to the tracklist, the band is set to cover Television’s “See No Evil,” The Stranglers’ “Hanging Around,” Iron Maiden’s “Phantom Of The Opera” and Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero.” Preorders can be made here.
The band will be kicking off their U.S. trek with show in Concord, California on August 2 before hitting Washington, Utah, Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. They will return to California with back-to-back shows at the Kia Forum in L.A. on September 11 and 12. Back in February, the band hosted a special archival exhibition at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in celebration of their 1969 era that brought “Mary On A Cross” and “Kiss The Go-Goat.”
Phantomime Tracklist
1. See No Evil
2. Jesus He Knows Me
3. Hanging Around
4. Phantom Of The Opera
5. We Don’t Need Another Hero
Photo Credit: Ekaterina Gorbacheva
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