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Ghost

Ghost built one of the stranger success stories in modern metal: a band from Linköping, Sweden, whose singer appears as a rotating series of demonic clergy (Papa Emeritus and his successors) backed by anonymous musicians known only as Nameless Ghouls. Behind the theatre, though, the songs are the point — heavy riffs wrapped in unusually melodic, almost pop-minded writing, the work of frontman Tobias Forge. Tracks like "Ritual," "Year Zero," and "Cirice," which won the band a Grammy, turned a gimmick into one of rock's most reliable hit machines.

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Meliora (2015). Their third album is where the heavy side and the melodic side fully lock together. It has "Cirice," the slow-burning single that won them a Grammy, plus the soaring "He Is" and the driving "From the Pinnacle to the Pit."

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Biography

Ghost is a Swedish rock band formed in Linköping, in 2006. The band released their debut album, Opus Eponymous, in 2010, which earned them international recognition. This was followed by Infestissumam in 2013 and in 2015 by Meliora, which reached number one in Sweden and number eight in the US. This was followed by the albums Prequelle in 2018 and Impera in 2022. The band's sixth studio album, Skeletá, was released in 2025; it subsequently became their first number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Known for their costumed on-stage presence, Ghost's members, except for the lead vocalist, are known as "Nameless Ghouls". The lead-singer has performed under the personas of "Papa Emeritus I-IV", "Cardinal Copia", and "Papa V Perpetua", characters known for their "demonic anti-pope" imagery, while changing this for subsequent albums and tours. The band's music combines hard rock, heavy metal, arena rock, and pop rock.

In 2017, the identity of the lead singer was revealed to be Tobias Forge after several musicians who had worked with him on the Ghost project started legal action over royalties.

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