Hallelujah! Ghost are celebrating Easter Sunday with the surprise release of a provocative, unholy and decidedly NSFW video for a cover of Genesis' Jesus He Knows Me.
Back in January, the occult-metal icons took out a billboard in Hollywood, California featuring Papa Emeritus IV’s face and the teasing message 'Jesus Is Coming'. We now know the relevance of this, with Tobias Forge's band re-imagining Jesus He Knows Me, a satire of money-grabbing TV evangelists, which originally featured on Genesis' 1991 album We Can't Dance.
The song includes the chorus lyric, "'Cause Jesus, He knows me and He knows I'm right / I've been talkin' to Jesus all my life".
Ghost's take on the Tony Banks / Phil Collins / Mike Rutherford-written track is accompanied by an Alex Ross Perry-directed video which promises to 'make the case that one person’s beauty is another’s blasphemy', the band's 'people' promise. The video features one Father Jim DeFroque, host of the evangelical radio show Jesus Talk with Father Jim DeFroque on KLAQ in El Paso, Texas.
Viewer discretion is very, VERY much advised, particularly for its eye-opening climax.
The new single is a teaser for the Swedes' forthcoming covers EP, PHANTOMIME. The EP, set for release on May 18, will feature Tobias Forge's band offer their own spin on songs by Television, The Stranglers, Iron Maiden and Tina Turner, in addition to their Genesis cover.
The track listing for PHANTOMIME is:
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)
Watch the video for Jesus He Knows Me below:
Ghost have previously released covers of classic songs by The Beatles (Here Comes The Sun), Abba (I'm A Marionette), Depeche Mode (Waiting For The Night), Roky Erickson (If You Have Ghosts), Metallica (Enter Sandman) and more.
