Ghost teams up with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott on a new version of »Spillways«!

Swedish occult rockers Ghost have released a lyric video for a new version of »Spillways« featuring guest vocals by Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott. »Spillways« originally appears on Ghost’s latest studio album, »Impera«, out on March 11th, 2022 via Loma Vista Recordings.

“I listened to it all, and I thought it was absolutely stunning,” said Elliott about »Impera«. “It’s like a whole new genre of music – it’s way more Toto than death metal or any of that stuff. It’s like the song »Spillways«. It starts off like »Hold The Line« by Toto or »Jane« by Jefferson Starship – one of those classic 70s songs that begin on the piano before these big, chunky chords come in.”

Courtesy of Nasty Little Man PR:

“»Impera« was my favorite rock album of 2022… I found out along the way that Tobias is a bit of a fan of DL, so I guess it was inevitable we’d both find out about each other! Once we’d been introduced to the idea of working together it just snowballed organically and I’m thrilled that I got to sing on what is my favorite song from that album!” — Joe Elliott

Look what you’ve done to this rock n roll clown… Ghost’s »Spillways« has undergone a transfiguration to include guest vocals from rock legend and avowed Ghost fan Joe Elliott of Def Leppard. To hear this new facet of this “sweetly constructed rock tune” (The New York Times) from Ghost’s American Music Award-winning »Impera«, go to this location.

To witness Joe Elliott’s phantasmagorical journey into the world of Ghost, open Chapter 15: Meanwhile in Dublin. The newest installment in Ghost’s long running series of webisodes, Chapter 15 documents a karaoke session that goes awry in spectacular and supernatural fashion (and if you’re feeling like singing along, check out the lyric video at YouTube.

Photo by Mikael Eriksson

The original version of »Spillways«, currently Top 5 at Active Rock Radio and having generated some 50 million streams globally, can be found on Ghost’s »Impera«. Released March 11, 2022, »Impera« has moved nearly 500,000 albums worldwide, won the American Music Award for Favorite Rock Album 2022, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance (»Call Me Little Sunshine«). Best of 2022 accolades included Ghost landing at #1 on Spotify’s Best of Kickass Metal 2022, while cover stories in Revolver and Metal Hammer proclaimed »Impera« #1 Album of 2022 and Loudwire has named Ghost 2022 Artist of the Year. As Consequence noted in its Top Metal & Hard Rock Albums of 2022 roundup, “Few rock bands are as grand and ambitious-sounding as Ghost nowadays.” With all of the above plus the 70 date Imperatour that saw the Wall Street Journal anoint Ghost “the next generation of arena stars” and an iHeartRadio Awards 2023 nomination for Rock Artist of the Year, that ambition is primed to take the band to further and unforeseen heights in 2023.

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well