Ghost

Melding surprisingly accessible metal- and pop-driven hard rock, costumed Swedish outfit Ghost delivers sonic sermons centered on horror imagery, the occult, and religious themes. The group is fronted by lead singer, songwriter, and conceptualist Tobias Forge, who dons various demonic Pope costumes and is backed by a band of “Nameless Ghouls” hidden in cloaks and heavy makeup. 2011′s Opus Eponymous wed ’70s hard rock to ’80s hair metal in hook-laden songs. 2013’s Infestissumam offered a keyboard-centric approach, melding progressive pop and alt metal. 2015′s Meliora combined vintage FM rock, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and edgy new wave influences, while 2018′s Grammy-nominated Prequelle doubled down on the hooks, revealing ABBA’s influence in a sound that combined the riffing bombast of Judas Priest and King Diamond. Ghost released their fifth effort, the international chart-topper Impera, in 2022, followed by the 2023 covers EP Phantomime in 2023 and 2024′s global movie event Rite Here Rite Now. Ghost was formed in 2006 in Linköping, Sweden by Forge, the former singer and guitarist for death metal band Repugnant. He wrote the song “Stand by Him” and contacted former bandmate Gustaf Lindström in early 2008 to assist him in properly recording it. They also wound up cutting two additional tracks, “Prime Mover” and “Death Knell.” The Satanic and occult subject matter birthed a concept for Forge and he wanted the group to be an anonymous, theatrical rock band. As he enlisted other musicians, he costumed them in hooded robes and referred to them as “Nameless Ghouls.” Forge called the band Ghost and dressed in Papal regalia; his face was painted to resemble a skull and he called himself Papa Emeritus. He has since altered or changed his moniker on every subsequent album. Initially, Forge wanted to play lead guitar. He offered the position of lead vocalist to four singers: Messiah Marcolin, Mats Levén, Krister Göransson, and J.B. Christoffersson. All passed and Forge became the band’s singer by default. In March 2010 he posted those three Ghost songs to MySpace. Within two days he was contacted by several record labels and managers. Ghost began playing underground shows and sharpening their sound, leavening it with keyboards and sometimes even pop-prog overtones. Given their occult ritual-styled performances, their popularity with metal fans in their home country flourished. In 2010, they issued a three-track demo followed by the single “Elizabeth” and both quickly sold out. Their debut album, Opus Eponymous, on Rise Above Ltd., defied expectations with a welcoming melodic sound, weaving together ’60s psychedelia, doomy hard rock, and the pervasive influence of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The band’s multi-textured approachable songs contrasted beautifully with their sinister appearance. The music drew listeners across the globe despite the record’s limited distribution. Though metal fans had some difficulty with its sound, progressive music fans embraced it. Ghost took to the road, touring internationally. The set was nominated for a Swedish Grammis award, and they signed to Universal’s Loma Vista Recordings imprint afterwards. After two years of international touring, Ghost issued the single “Secular Haze,” followed by sophomore album Infestissumam in January 2013. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz, Infestissumam was recorded in Nashville and employed a more keyboard-oriented sound with a plethora of gothic and prog tenets. Forge’s writing focused on the use of a backing choir as a core element in his sonic architecture. The unmistakable Satanic and occult themes in his lyrics, combined with the band’s occult reputation, resulted in virtually every regional choir boycotting the sessions. The chorus vocals had to be recorded in Hollywood. Even the album cover proved controversial, as four U.S. compact disc manufacturers refused the job. The artwork, described as “basically a 16th century illustration of an orgy,” only appeared on European CDs and U.S. LP editions. Infestissumam won the acclaim of fans and critics alike. It topped the Swedish rock charts, eventually charted in seven countries, and was certified gold. It took home the Grammis Award and the P3 Guld Award for “Best Hard Rock/Metal Album” of 2013. Ghost proved an anomaly among metal bands. As their profile increased on both sides of the Atlantic, they began winning over a legion of fans who didn’t even prefer metal as a genre. Later that year, Ghost released If You Have Ghost, a covers EP produced by Dave Grohl. In May of 2015, Ghost announced that Forge’s alter ego, Papa Emeritus II, had been fired. He was succeeded by his three-month-younger brother, Papa Emeritus III. They issued the pre-release single “Cirice” as a free download; it charted in nine countries. It was followed in August by their third album Meliora. Produced by pop heavy-hitter Klas Åhlund (Katy Perry, Usher, Kesha, Madonna) and mixed by Andy Wallace, it offered a sound that seamlessly melded polished pop songwriting to the mid-’70s hard rock influences of Blue Öyster Cult, Alice Cooper, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The album became their international breakthrough. “Cirice” won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2016, and the album took home another Swedish Grammis while charting in 13 countries. A deluxe reissue added two bonus songs and a handful of covers, including the Eurythmics’ “Missionary Man.” The bonus material was also released separately as the Popestar EP. The album’s infectiously catchy sound united metal critics and fans alike with their indie and pop counterparts. In 2017, legal issues hit Ghost. Previously, the identities of Ghost’s musicians remained a secret. However, when frontman Tobias Forge was sued by former bandmembers Simon Soderberg, Mauro Rubino, Martin Hjertstedt, and Henrik Palm over royalties, the shadow of anonymity disappeared. The case against Forge was ultimately dismissed. After the year-end release of the live album Ceremony and Devotion, Forge moved forward with a cast of new musicians. With 2018′s Prequelle, Forge introduced a new identity, Cardinal Copia. Produced and recorded by Tom Dalgrin, this offering stood apart from its predecessors as its songs left Satanism and occultism behind. In a quest to become an arena-filling rock band, Forge wanted ”…to sound like the best 1970s band you never heard….” In addition to sweeping, radio-friendly hard rock swagger, they employed funky basslines, disco beats, fat horns, and an abundance of analog synths. The songs readily referenced themes and tragedies from the Dark Ages, including the Bubonic plague. Prequelle debuted in the Top Three of the Billboard 200 upon release, and claimed the top slot on the U.S. Top Rock Albums chart, making it their highest-charting effort to date. Its lead single “Rats” was nominated for a Grammy as Best Rock Song; the best-selling album also garnered a nod for Best Rock Album. While touring almost incessantly, Forge wrote new material. 2019 saw the release of Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, a two-song EP/single featuring the fiendish and retro-sounding “Kiss the Go-Goat” and the soaring “Mary on a Cross.” A pair of 2021 one-offs saw Ghost cover “Enter Sandman” for The Metallica Blacklist tribute album and contribute their own “Hunter’s Moon” to the Halloween Kills soundtrack. At the beginning of 2022, the single “Call Me Little Sunshine” heralded the long-awaited arrival of fifth album, Impera, which arrived that March. Re-enlisting the production team of Åhlund and Wallace, Forge combined his lifelong love of Blue Öyster Cult, early Judas Priest, and Queen with NWOBHM influences Def Leppard and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also invited full participation from Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson. The 12-song Impera balanced multiple layers of keyboards and dual lead guitars with polished, dominant drumming. Forge’s influences were painstakingly, skillfully integrated into anthemic songs such as “Kaisarion,” “Spillways,” and “Darkness at the Heart of My Love.” Upon release, the set entered the U.S. Top 200 at number two and topped charts across Europe. Three months later, the band embarked on an international tour, with shows selling out in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Stockholm. In between legs — dubbed “Imperatour” and “Re-Imperatour” — they released a short EP [Message From The Clergy], featuring setlist highlights and a “slowed + reverb” version of “Mary On A Cross,” which was blessed with new life that year after going viral on social media, earning Ghost their first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first platinum certification. 2023 was an even bigger year for the group. They kicked it off with a new version of “Spillways” featuring Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott, who Forge discovered was a fan of the band. Then in May, the band issued another covers EP, Phantomime, which included hard-hitting versions of Genesis’ “Jesus He Knows Me,” Television’s “See No Evil,” and Iron Maiden’s “Phantom of the Opera,” which earned them a Grammy nomination. To cap their whirlwind year, they released 13 Commandments, which served a solid set of greatest hits from across their catalog, most notably the fan favorite rarity “Zenith,” which had previously appeared on 2016′s Meliora Redux. After promising exciting things to come in 2024, Ghost announced the release of a theatrical film that would combine footage from the final two North American Re-Imperatour dates in Los Angeles with their long-running narrative web series mythology. Initially set for just two nights in theaters, Rite Here Rite Now was so successful at the box office that its run was extended for a full week. It became the highest-grossing hard rock cinema event ever in North America and entered the top 10 in the overall global box office, grossing over $5 million worldwide. A companion soundtrack arrived that July, featuring an extended setlist and a new track, “The Future is a Foreign Land.” ~ Thom Jurek, James Christopher Monger & Neil Z. Yeung