Ghost, “Infestissumam”
Ghost, Infestissumam (2013)
Loma Vista Recordings
Artist: Zbigniew M. Bileak
Swedish heavy metal band, Ghost, signed to Republic Records after their debut record, Opus Eponymous. They recorded their follow up in Nashville in a hurry to get new music out.
The album, dubbed Infestissumam, was ready to go until they couldn’t find manufacturers in the United States to print the deluxe edition of the CD. In fact, they were turned down by four manufacturers because of the graphic sex scene depicted on the label art. The illustration by Zbigniew M. Bileak depicted a 16th-century orgy and depicted Jesus Christ on an upside down cross. While it isn’t definite which of these two things (or both) caused the delay in manufacturing, the art wasn’t questioned in Europe.
To save time and get the album out, the band chose to release the disc with the art from the standard edition. Despite the controversy, the vinyl edition in the US and the rest of the world include the sex ridden artwork.
Each part of the album booklet is a piece of a bigger image, with all pieces being a part of it. A Nameless Ghoul described the process of long, trying to create the art using the themes of Satanism and birth of the Antichrist. He says “we knew there was going to be a baby on the front cover. It also represents the paradox of inborn evil, of being very innocent and very vulnerable.”
The album cover also contains references to the movie poster for the 1984 film, Amadeus.
