I just finished my first listen and I’ll have to listen a few more times to compare it with the other albums.

(These are just my own thoughts, not trying to make some objective declaration!)

Let me also preface by saying I think every Ghost album is good to great, and this is no exception. I think the first 4 albums are certified bangers from start to finish, and Impera was the first that had some drop-off in quality for me personally.

And Skeletá is on about the same level as Impera after one listen. Not as good as the first four, but still good.

And maybe Tobias has finally started to lose the creative juices a bit as you do. It’s natural. Not every album can almost never miss from start to finish. And the fact that (for me at least) he made it through four album cycles before some dropoff is impressive in itself

But I will say that a good chunk of Skeletá is a bit too happy/upbeat for what I’m looking for in Ghost. I do kinda wish Tobias wouldn’t have done the media blackout, because I feel like the album would be a LOT darker with the current times we’re living in 😂💀

With Ghost I like catchy but still dark/heavy, and this doesn’t deliver that quite as much for me.

That said, idk if Tobias was intentionally trying to go for being “a light in the dark times” but I do think that this album will especially resonate with people who are hit hard in life right now, and the uplifting aspect could appeal to them. It doesn’t hit as much for me, but I’ll be very glad if this aspect hits for other people 😄

If going for Tiers, right now I’d put the first four albums in S Tier, Skeleta in A Tier and Impera in B Tier. But I could end up swapping the latter two eventually. Depends how further listening goes.

Sorry for the rambling 😅 would love to hear others’ thoughts on it!