Ghost, 23 April 2025

Ghost is a Swedish heavy metal band that was formed in Linköping, Sweden in 2006. In 2010, they released a 3-track demo followed by a 7" vinyl titled "Elizabeth", and later their debut full-length album Opus Eponymous. The Grammis-nominated album was widely praised and significantly increased their popularity. Their second album and major label debut Infestissumam was released in 2013, debuted at number one in Sweden, and won the Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album. The band released their third studio album, Meliora, in 2015, to much critical acclaim and high record sales, reaching number one in their home country of Sweden, and number eight in the United States. Its lead single, "Cirice", earned them the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
Ghost is easily recognizable owing greatly to its eccentric on-stage presence. Five of the group's six members, its 'Nameless Ghouls,' wear virtually identical, face-concealing costumes. The most distinguishable member is its vocalist, called 'Papa Emeritus', who wears a prosthetic mask of skull face paint and appears as what can be described as a "demonic anti-Pope." Each album cycle has brought about a change in the band's appearance. Though the vocalist is always portrayed as roughly the same archetypal character, there are slight appearance changes, and even altered personality traits from former versions.
All of the band members' true identities were kept anonymous until 2017, when five former members revealed themselves, four of whom filed a lawsuit against the lead singer Tobias Forge, marking the confirmation of his true identity.