Thirteen years after forming in Bergamo as a Misfits tribute act, The Crimson Ghost have closed the horror trilogy they’ve been releasing in three-song installments. “Witchcraft“, the third and final EP, just dropped, which means the project now exists as one nine-track album called “III”. Physical release on Gotama Records is set for mid-2026.
The structure was locked in from day one. Three EPs of three songs each, each one tied to a horror archetype.
Lycanthropy first, then vampirism, then witchcraft. The whole thing was meant to honor the 70s concept-album tradition without asking listeners to sit through a 45-minute record in one go. “We envisioned three EPs of three songs each, eventually forming a single album,” the band explain. “Our aim was to honor the great concept albums and rock operas of the ’70s, while adapting them to the rhythm of today’s fast-paced world.”
The main musical reference point they name on the album isn’t Misfits or Samhain. It’s Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”.
The band cite it as the primary inspiration for “III”, which goes some way toward explaining why each EP carries its own atmosphere instead of running on one mode start to finish. Lycanthropy opens with “Get Out My Way”, which sits between punk rock and hardcore. From there the music moves through more relaxed pieces and lands on what the band describe as a “desert rancho finale”.
Lyrics across all nine tracks came from one source. Charas Evildead, the band’s self-described horror Magister, wrote the lyrical concepts and pulled from a catalogue of cult films: “The Curse of the Werewolf”, “Werewolf on Wheels”, “Curse of the Devil”, “The Witch”, “The Blood on Satan’s Claw”, and others.
The band leave the full list open as a guessing game. “Come tell us in person at the merch booth,” they say, “there’s a little prize for anyone who guesses them all.”
The writing wasn’t completely smooth. A lineup change happened just before sessions started, which is partly why the trilogy took nearly a year from first ideas to finished product. Von Satan came in with three or four ideas already in hand, and the rest of the songs followed without much resistance once the three themes were set.
Closing on witchcraft was a choice with weight to it. “Beyond the horror elements, we also incorporated a touch of esotericism and occultism into it,” the band say. “As far as we consider ‘III’ to be not only a journey through horror themes, but also a journey through ourselves, this felt like the perfect and most natural choice for us.”
Pier Paolo Alessi recorded, mixed and produced everything at Gotama Studio. Daniela of Hyde.Ink handled the artwork.
Set against earlier releases like “Tits & Bones”, “Destroy To Create”, “Curtains Of Fear” and “Burnt Offerings”, and a touring schedule that’s taken them across Italy, Europe and the Middle East, “III” is the most structurally ambitious thing The Crimson Ghost have put out.
The pieces pull from horror punk, hardcore, metal, hard rock, stoner and grunge, but horror imagery is the thread that ties the trilogy together.
A year of work split across three EPs, and the band say the final result lines up with what they imagined at the start. The merch booth prize is still on the table for anyone who can name every cult film referenced.
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