GHOST has created a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera” which is part of the upcoming “Phantomime” extended play. It is the second track within the collection and follows last month’s release cover of Genesis’s “Jesus He Knows Me”. “Phantomime” comes out on May 18 via Loma Vista Recordings and follows last year’s “Impera”. It consists of covers and classics originally by Television, Genesis, The Stranglers, Iron Maiden, and Tina Turner.

The music video for GHOST’s “Phantom of the Opera” consists of an instrumental with similar pacing of the original. In the music video, a figure is seen laying down in a coffin which closes near the end. The figure is seen with a human-like appearance and turns into a skeleton several times. Supposedly, this is the titular phantom of the opera, and it may represent the process of death.

GHOST’s Tobias Forge has mentioned that Iron Maiden has been a massive influence on the band. “Both musically and also stage production-wise,” said Forge. “But also when it comes to work ethics and just the sheer volume of work you have to put into your job and in your craft has always been inspiring to me.”

Forge delves deeper on Iron Maiden’s influence on GHOST:

“When I was a kid, I was sitting with Iron Maiden’s 1985 live album ‘Live After Death’…a lot of my knowledge or my preconceived notions of what I thought touring was about was looking through ‘Live After Death’…seeing all those dates that they were playing everywhere. I sat there with like a big map book and just drew out how they toured, where they played and how often you play.”

“Phantomime” track listing:

1. See No Evil (TELEVISION)
2. Jesus He Knows Me (GENESIS)
3. Hanging Around (THE STRANGLERS)
4. Phantom Of The Opera (IRON MAIDEN)
5. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (Tina Turner)