Ghost

Ghost is a Swedish metal band from Linköping, Sweden, active from 2008. The group is known for combining heavy metal with hard rock, doom metal, occult rock, pop rock, psychedelic rock and progressive rock, and for a theatrical visual identity that shapes its live presentation.

Origins and formation

The band forms in Linköping and first appears with a three-track demo in 2010, followed by a 7-inch vinyl single called “Elizabeth”. It performs under the name Ghost and was also known as Ghost B.C. in the United States.

Albums and recordings

Its debut album, Opus Eponymous, brings wider attention, with the track “Ritual” singled out by Kerrang! as one of “The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever”. The album is nominated for a Grammis award and helps establish the group’s profile. The second album, Infestissumam, is the band’s major label debut, reaches number one in Sweden, and wins the Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album.

The third studio album, Meliora, is released in 2015 and reaches number one in Sweden and number eight in the United States. Its lead single, “Cirice”, wins the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Ghost follows with Prequelle in 2018, Impera in 2022, and Rite Here Rite Now, a soundtrack to the concert film of the same name, in 2024. The sixth album, Skeletá, follows in 2025 and reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 200.

Members, identity and stage concept

Tobias Forge is the sole songwriter and creative force behind the group and performs in a rotating stage role linked to the Pope-like character Papa Emeritus. The band’s live line-up includes masked performers known as the Nameless Ghouls, who wear near-identical face-concealing costumes. Over time, the frontman character develops through several incarnations: Papa Emeritus I, II, III, Nihil, IV and V. From the Prequelle era, Forge performs as Cardinal Copia, who later becomes Papa Emeritus IV, then Frater Imperator, and later Papa V Perpetua. The Ghost storyline continues through web videos on the band’s YouTube channel and is expanded in the Rite Here Rite Now concert film.

Style and influence

Ghost’s music is described in several related ways, including doom metal, hard rock, heavy metal, metal, occult rock, pop rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock and arena rock. The band cites a broad range of influences, from classic rock and film scores to underground metal, and the Swedish and Scandinavian black metal scene of the early 1990s is described as an important part of its background. Despite this, the group states that it does not aim to be a metal band in the narrow sense.

Recognition

Ghost gains significant critical and commercial attention through its early releases, with Infestissumam and Meliora both becoming major milestones. The band’s awards include the Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album and a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Its catalogue is issued on Polydor Sweden.