Reading the descriptions in Wikipedia, they seem to communicate the album to have been a sort of channelling. In fact, it sounds like the symbols took form before even the band and music did. Whether that is "part of the show," a faithful retelling, or a mix of both, we may not know. It is, however, consistent with Satanism in general - tricksters extraordinaire!
"Deus Culpa"- Latin for "criminal god" or "guilty god," a play on "Mea Culpa," I presume, which essentially translates to "my fault." Instrumental. The organ calls to mind simple organ which might be played at a small church.
"Con Clavi Con Dio"- Reference made to Lucifer, proclaiming allegiance and requesting his incarnation. Appears to use Italian, "We are with Clavi (claws?). We are with God. We are with our dark god." An invocation, really.
"Ritual"- Bastardization of the Lord's Prayer, and another petition for incarnation, "the unholy bastard."
"Elizabeth"- Melody is much like a sung litany. So, this is the essentially the reading. So far, very much a satanized liturgy.
"Stand By Him"- According to Wikipedia, this song was the cornerstone for the whole album. The reference to the "witch hammer" is probably a direct reference to the Malleus Maleficarum... I wonder if this is an homage to particular events, or a general celebration of the Witches' Sabbat? If nothing else, this song indicates an allegiance to the "Satanic witch" supposed in medieval Europe. This is not proto-Wicca, but witches choosing the Devil over the Church.
"Satan Prayer"- as noted within the song, "Our anti-Nicene Creed," quite literally.
"Death Knell"- This seems to be a perverse hymn, and reads a lot like a spell. Intention seems to be impregnation, fitting into the theme of a satanic incarnation.
"Prime Mover"- A companion piece to "Death Knell," the results of the pregnancy: "Antichrist will walk the earth."
"Genesis"- Another instrumental, and the end of the album. "New beginnings," so to speak, with antichrist.
Listening and reading the lyrics, I find this album to be a faithfully produced inversion of the Christian liturgy, which seems to consistently call ahead to the incarnation of antichrist. They communicate an allegiance to the "medieval Satan," and embrace the destruction and evil that goes with it. I don't think it unfair to guess that the album itself is even a ritual to that end. (The following may be a little foil-hat-y:) I had always been struck at how, well, pretty their music is. For a Scandanavian "heavy metal" band, with strong Satanic themes, it's pretty damn accessible. That accessibility would be the perfect design to get the message out, to expose the "ritual" to more people. It is a perfect companion to the rock music (and ethos) of the late 60s, in which heavy Satanic themes became influential. "Satanic Revivalism"?
Wikipedia confirms some of my previous suspicions: Opus looked forward to the coming antichrist; this album looks at the present period of antichrist.
Side note, the former album was released in 2010, and this album in 2013. Though it is not canon to any tradition, there's been general rumor among many that 2012 marked the "new age" of Aquarius, or whatever. Though I've found nothing communicating precisely that, it would be an interesting part of the "show" to note that the heralding of the coming antichrist precedes 2012, and the album marking the time of antichrist follows it in 2013.
"Infestissumam"- No lyrics available, though clearly Latin.
"Per Aspera ad Inferi"- Asking Satan to devour all
! "Secular Haze"- This is really kind of funny, because it seems to be a celebration that their message is obscured by the "secular haze." That is, their message goes unquestioned because no one seems to understand the message.
"Jigolo Har Megiddo"- Jigolo, Son of Megiddo, a reference to yadda-yadda - celebrating antichrist
"Ghuleh/Zombie Queen"- I'm not familiar with the entity, but seems to be a hymn of praise to a real entity. Like, legit hymn.
"Year Zero"- interesting they release Year Zero, or 0 Ad Satanas (A.S.), in 2013, noting what I previously had.
"Body and Blood"- A mockery of Christian Mass and an indirect rejection of Christ's Resurrection.
"Idolatrine"- Mocking the religious.
"Depth of Satan's Eyes"- Satan held up as the deepest mystery. Perhaps a reference to Lucifer.
"Monstrance Clock"- celebration of Satanic ritual, if not its mass. The titular clock escapes me, unless it is simply a reference to antichrist's time having come? That would be fitting, too, with the point made about 2012. That's a bit of a stretch, though.
"La Mantra Mori"- a play on "Memento Mori," remembering death. Literally, a mantra, which is a yogic ritual action. Or, otherwise stated, a spell.
"I'm a Marionette"- ABBA cover. (Abba is Aramaic for "Father.") Likely poking fun at the illusion of freedom - ours, and perhaps even God's.
So, yeah - more spells and celebrations.
"The lyrics deal with the void that happens when there is no god, when there is no one there to help you. But even then, there will always be some fucker there to give you guidance. And the band is basically portrayed as the religious party that comes in there with a guiding hand. We offer the one place in the world that is spiritual." Dangerzone in my head, though I haven't read much of the lyrics, yet. Having now established that the "Secular Haze" is blinding people to their message, they choose to give those people spirituality... under the guise of parody. The line between mocking and creating religion blurs...
I'm not going to be quite as thorough with this album. Just looking things over.
"He Is"- Outside of the greater context, you could swear this were on a Christian song.
"Mummy Dust"- rather brilliant mockery of American decadence - and how fitting now in 2017! You'd almost think they were trying to capitalize on our fall...
So, I'm pretty convinced that Ghost are legitimately, religiously Satanists. That is, they seem to believe Satan to be real, and are sincerely seeking to evoke a real Antichrist. And it appears their understanding of Antichrist is not some philosophical metaphor, but a legitimate power of destruction to consume humanity and create hell on earth. Admittedly, their language may be symbolic or metaphorical - Crowley's ritual instruction to "sacrifice a child" was supposedly a reference to masturbating, after all - but I find no imagery or language that would water this down into metaphor. It seems to be an outright celebration of death, putrefaction, and damnation. There's no mention of a bright future for humanity at the coming of Antichrist; Antichrist is not coming to save us from the lies of Christianity; Antichrist is coming only to destroy.
And they revel in it not because they expect some greater good to come of it, but because they are enamoured with his power. "Depth of Satan's Eyes" and "I'm a Marionette" (4/5 of the band being voiceless "ghouls", much like marionettes) indicate a kind of bewitchment. Like Renfield is entranced to Dracula, Ghost communicates a selfless devotion to Satan and his Antichrist. The Joker in Dark Knight ostensibly wanted to expose the hypocrisy of the social order - Ghost seems to advocate destruction merely for destruction's sake. It is somehow beautiful to them.
Speaking conservatively, the first album blurs the line between art and sincere ritual - more likely, I think it is sincere ritual to bring the Antichrist to life. As Grant Morrison saw his comics as a hypersigil, I think it reasonable to take this album as a hyper-ritual.
To me, the red flag with Ghost is "Secular Haze," a celebration of humanity's ignorance regarding spirituality, "when the intents remain obscure." In an interview noted in Wikipedia, the original publisher refused to work with Ghost not because of their blasphemies but because of the overt sexuality in the artwork, to which one of the ghouls remarked "That's exactly what the record is about." This alarms me because 1) they expected push-back against overt ritual and aren't finding it, 2) they explicitly state in interview "We offer the one place in the world that is spiritual." This demonstrates to me the sense of license to co-opt the lack of spirituality towards their devotional purpose: the incarnation of destruction. I don't believe their goal is art, or personal empowerment, or even so much as to get laid by spooky groupies. Their stated purpose is to take advantage of the spiritual void to entrance others into service of their dark lord.
I could easily lapse into still more flowery language condemning their message, but let's get down to the pragmatic question: Does their message matter? Is it necessary to believe in either Christianity or this medieval sort of Satanism in order for Ghost's work and message to have significance?
I don't know that I can make a strong case for the significance of their ritual outside of some spiritual foundation, but I think I can make a case that their message is significant. Unlike LaVey's ostensible Satan, who stands as a philosophical device for the primacy of the individual - unlike the Romantic Lucifer, whose intentions were otherwise noble or virtuous - the Satan to whom Ghost has devoted themselves is a catalyst for destruction and malice only. It is a celebration of the anti-social, and even the anti-personal. Literally nothing matters except its exaltation. Byron praises virtue, LaVey praises selfishness, and Ghost finds everything in the universe to have no value beyond kindling for the fire.
In short, I find nothing redeeming or constructive in their message. The only expressed hope is to stand in awe of one's destroyer. I suppose that if I were an atheist, I could admire the artistic gravitas of such an expression? But I'm pretty sure even Richard Dawkins wants to leave humanity with something more positive than that. Even Lovecraft found the eldritch horror frightening, rather than enticing!
For my part, I have respect for their talent and can not in good conscience support them. They are entirely opposed to my beliefs as a human being, as much as my beliefs as a Christian. I hope this exploration has been helpful, and I'm happy to discuss it further.