Ghost’s “Mary on a Cross” from “Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” has recently soared on the social media app Tiktok, with more than two hundred fourty thousand videos. The fiery doom metal band Ghost released “Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” in September of 2019. Since then, “Mary on a Cross” has gained traction and become Ghost’s number one song. 

Written by band members Salem Al Fakir, Tobias Forge, and Vincent Pontare, the album “Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” was created through fiery energy and teamwork. “Kiss the Go-Goat” was released first as a single in September 2019, then “Mary on a Cross” followed it, being released shortly after. With only two songs, it still stands strong as one of Ghost’s very successful albums.

In my opinion, the album art alone makes it one of my favorite Ghost albums. The art, which shows/pictures colorful pops of vibrant tones, especially goes with the theme of the album, as this is some of Ghost’s lighter work. Other Ghost songs like “Dance Macabre”, “Rats”, and “Faith” contain a dirtier, more heavy guitar tone, and have album colors with more dark, warm colors. The “Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” album art has bright, pastel, cool toned colors, fitting the lighter style of songs in this album. 

“Mary on a Cross” is my personal favorite song of the album, having elements like a key change and admirable instrumentation for a metal band. “Kiss the Go-Goat” is still a decent song, but does not include musical elements like “Mary on a Cross”. Looking at “Mary on a Cross” through a lyrical depiction, it could mean so many things. Some people believe it’s about a woman suffering like Jesus did. Most people thought that the lyrics were blasphemous when the song came out, when in reality, I believe it is a love song. With lyrics like, “Your beauty never ever scared me,” it makes the listener feel comfortable and loved. 

This album would be perfect for someone to listen to if they wanted to sample what entry level metal sounds like. “Kiss the Go-Goat” is slightly heavier than “Mary on a Cross”, giving the album a subtle contrast, which is ideal in most albums to avoid repeativness. I would definitely recommend more of Ghost’s content for new metal listeners, and look into some of their live performances. Ghost is known for their erratic stage presence, which upgrades the general listening experience. 

“Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” is a great listening experience overall, with multiple musical elements making both “Mary on a Cross” and “Kiss the Go-Goat” great songs that I recommend.