It shouldn't be this way: I thought the "Meliora" album by Ghost was one of the best efforts of 2015, but a part of me couldn't get over their never-break-character persona: skeleton-pope front man/backing back of anonymous dudes in metal devil masks. So what, right? If the music's good — and yet Ghost called the play with the whole concept. Well, I finally saw Ghost in person last weekend — and I'm all in. The shtick works. Imagine, as my pal Ernie describes them, a fusion of late-era Metallica with the theatrics/melodies of Split Enz. Brilliant if you can pull it off, and they do. As such, "Meliora" now affects me in a more comprehensive, far-less-skeptical fashion. Songs such as "From the Pinnacle to the Pit," "Cirice," "He Is" and "Mummy Dust" are the best from a consistently solid recording. It's not too late to discover the greatness.