Ghost has confirmed the release of its feverishly awaited new album: Skeletá, the Grammy-winning Swedish theatrical rock icons’ first full length offering of new material since 2022’s international #1 charting Impera, will manifest April 25 via Loma Vista Recordings.
Founded in 2006, Ghost is based on a unique concept and total work of art. The band is led by Tobias Forge, who appears as the frontman under various pseudonyms. Over the years, he has embodied various characters, including several versions of Papa Emeritus, a demonic, pope-like figure, as well as the sinister Cardinal Copia, who later became Papa Emeritus IV. The remaining band members are anonymous and perform as Nameless Ghouls. This concept of constantly changing identities, coupled with occult and sacred aesthetics, gives Ghost a unique recognisability and a special fascination for fans worldwide.
Forge recently spoke with German magazine DIFFUS, offering more details on his cast of Ghost characters since the inception of the band. Check out the interview below.
On Papa III
Forge: “This was a big step for the band because I was feeling already on the second album cycle that going around being spooky was fun and all, but sooner or later it’s gonna wear off. When you play longer than an hour, sooner or later it’s going to start coming off as stale, standing still, and not as fun. So Papa Emeritus got this get-up inspired by the Swedish King from the late 1700s. When he claimed the throne, he had a costume like that.”
On Cardinal Copia
Forge: “He was the most ‘Don’ of all of them. He’s like someone impersonating the Marlon Brando character (in The Godfather II). I always found that character very funny, and that he had really cool clothes.”
Skeletá’s impending arrival is heralded by anthemic first single “Satanized”, and its unsettling new video featuring a first glimpse of Ghost’s newly anointed ringleader Papa V Perpetua — whose ascension was foreshadowed by the recent V is Coming! campaign, which culminated in the recent Sin City conclave that saw him crowned. “A demonic possession unlike any before” has never sounded so sweet as it does here — an avalanche of infectious hooks and harmonies is buoyed by a hypnotic shuffle, as the narrator succumbs to dark forces within and without, helplessly acknowledging their own blasphemy and heresy as it inexorably consumes them. By the time the song’s opening lines “There is something inside me and they don’t know if there is a cure” have moved from the inner monologue of the possessed to the ears of the hapless listener, it will already be too late: You will have been “Satanized”.
This week also marks the debut of The Satanizer, a first of its kind music video experience for fans who wish to be “Satanized”. Developed in partnership with Jason Zada (Elf Yourself), The Satanizer will morph its users into characters featured in the song’s melodramatic video. With a quick upload of their photo, The Satanizer will send out a personalized music video clip featuring the participant, who can in turn share via social media that they too have been “Satanized”.
Additionally, chart-topping podcast Morbid will dedicate a special bonus episode to Ghost this Friday March 7, featuring an exclusive interview with Tobias Forge. Join Tobias and hosts Ash and Alaina for this one-of-a-kind first deep dive into all things Skeletá, special guests and so much more.
The genesis of Skeletá is rooted in the wake of a world-spanning years-long touring campaign in support of Impera — a period that saw Impera top album charts the world over and winning an American Music Award and an iHeart Radio Music Award, as well as the band earning its first RIAA-certified platinum single (“Mary On A Cross”) and presiding over the highest grossing hard rock cinema event in North American history (its feature film debut Rite Here Rite Now). As this sustained maelstrom ultimately wound down, Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge’s next uncharted creative direction would prove to be an inward journey. This deeply introspective turn in Forge’s creative process would ultimately result in Skeletá: a collection of 10 new songs originating from and cutting as close to the bone as (in)humanly possible.
Ghost’s sixth psalm, Skeletá, is its most unflinchingly introspective work to date. Where previous Ghost albums dealt largely with chronicling and/or observing outward facing subject matter — such as Impera’s meditations on the rise and fall of empires and its predecessor Prequelle’s evocations of the ravages of era-defining plagues — Skeletá’s lyrics render the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its 10 songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror. The end result is a singular collection of timeless, universal sentiments, all filtered through a prism of a uniquely personal point of view.
Tracklisting:
Peacefield
Lachryma
Satanized
Guiding Lights
De Profundis Borealis
Cenotaph
Missilia Amori
Marks Of The Evil One
Umbra
Excelsis
Skeletá will be brought to life over the course of Ghost’s impending Skeletour World Tour 2025. The most ambitious incarnation of the Ghost live ritual to date, Skeletour World Tour 2025 recently revealed a first wave of more than 55 dates — including a historic first-ever headlining show at New York’s hallowed Madison Square Garden — with more to be announced. With tickets already selling at a brisk pace, the Skeletour World Tour 2025 ritual experience promises to expand the Ghost community to attract its largest and most diverse audiences to date. From lifelong disciples to the curious uninitiated first-timers to the outcasts and others who find solace in the ritual, all are welcome to escape the travails of daily life and to become one with the phantasmagoric spectacle that is Ghost live in concert.
Ghost Skeletour World Tour 2025:
April
15 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
16 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
19 – London, UK – The O2
20 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
22 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
23 – Frankfurt, Germany – Festhalle Frankfurt
24 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle
26 – Lyon, France – LDLC Arena
27 – Toulouse, France – Zénith Toulouse Métropole
29 – Lisbon, Portugal – MEO Arena
30 – Madrid, Spain – Palacio Vistalegre
May
3 – Zürich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion Zürich
4 – Milan, Italy – Unipol Forum
7 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
10 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
11 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
13 – Paris, France – Accor Arena
14 – Oberhausen, Germany – Rudolf Weber Arena
15 – Hannover, Germany – ZAG Arena
17 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
20 – Tampere, Finland – Nokia Arena
22 – Linköping, Sweden – Saab Arena
23 – Sandviken, Sweden – Göransson Arena
24 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
July
5 – Birmingham, UK – Back To The Beginning
9 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
11 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
12 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
13 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
15 – Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
17 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
18 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
19 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
21 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
22 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
24 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
25 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
26 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
28 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
29 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
30 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
August
1 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
2 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
3 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
5 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
7 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
9 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
10 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
11 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
14 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
15 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
September
24 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
25 – Mexico City, MX – Palacio de los Deportes
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