The controversial clip released by Ghost on Easter Sunday

O Ghost couldn’t have chosen a more symbolic date to release her new music video. Made available on Easter Sunday (9), the promotional footage of “Jesus He Knows Me”original music from Genesiswent public with a preview of the covers EP Phantomime, to be released on May 18.

The material has bands of Tina Turner (“We Don’t Need Another Hero”),Iron Maiden (“Phantom of the Opera”), Television (“See No Evil”) It is “Hanging Around” (The Stranglers). However, the choice for “Jesus He Knows Me” as the lead single seemed to fit the message that the Swedish band fronted by Tobias Forge wanted to convey.

The music video directed by Alex Ross Perry can only be watched by people over 18 years old on YouTube. The reason? A series of explicit scenes to portray the hypocrisy of a fictional priest, who leads a double life: while deceiving faithful by saying that “Jesus is back” and collects his money, engages in acts ranging from orgies to group masturbation sessions, as well as drug use.

In an interview with NME, Tobias Forge pointed out that the song Genesis sounds more current now than it did at the time of its original release in 1991. He also made clear the destination of his criticism by re-recording such an iconic work from a specific period: the flat earth movement, which believes in the conspiracy that the shape of the planet Earth would be flat.

“A few years ago it seemed like this song would be a little dated lyrically. […] But all this is back even in my next compositions. For my next album, I’m looking to make a contemporary commentary on a movement within the free western world that wants to flatten the earth. [terraplanistas].

This movement wants to regress the world and put us back to medieval times. It is stupid. […] I think the letter of ‘Jesus He Knows Me’ hit and still hits hard.”

The acid criticism of Genesis

The original composition was released by Genesis in the album We Can’t Dance (1991). The three members – the drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, the keyboardist Tony Banks and the guitarist Mike Rutherford – sign the track, but the acidic lyrics had their idea originally conceived by Collins.

It is not possible to say that the controversial clip from the Ghost escaped the theme presented in the verses of Genesis. But times, of course, were different: the lyrics were inspired by televangelists who deceived their audience using faith to obtain financial advantages. At the time, some of the most famous names in the area in the United States were investigated for this crime: Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton and Jim Bakker.

The band led by Phil Collins also made a music video for the song. There are no explicit scenes, but the critical tone was maintained: parodying Ernest Angley,Collins appears as a televangelist alongside Banks It is Rutherford making the public donate $18 million to him simply because “the Lord said it must be done.”

Ghost in Brazil

O Ghost returns to Brazil for a single performance on September 21st. The show will be at Espaço Unimed, in São Paulo. Tickets will go on sale next April 13 (with pre-sale starting two days before) on the website Livepass.