Cirice

"Cirice" (Old English: "Church") is a song by Swedish heavy metal band Ghost. The track was released as the lead single from the group's third studio album Meliora. The song is considered to be the band's breakthrough into the U.S., peaking at #4 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The song is nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Loudwire ranked the song second on their list of the 20 Best Metal Songs of 2015.

Background and release

"Cirice" was originally conceived together with "Devil Church", which was its opening, as a very dark and doomy nine-minute instrumental without a chorus. But after working on it further at the urging of producer Klas Åhlund, a chorus materialized and the two parts were split.

"Cirice" was released as a free download from the band's official website on May 31, 2015. It was first performed live at their June 3, 2015 concert in their hometown of Linköping. A CD-single coupled with the B-side "Absolution" was released on July 31, 2015 exclusively in independent record stores in the United States. Chad Childers of Loudwire noted the track as "building in tension and heaviness as it progresses." The song was performed live on Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 31, marking the band's first appearance on American television.