Ghost have announced details of a brand new album called ‘Skeletá’. Check out the latest details below, as well as the explosive new single ‘Satanized’.
The announcement came as the Swedish occult metal band – led by Tobias Forge – began teasing that a new frontman was on the way, following on from Papa Emeritus IV.
Forge has inhabited a series of different characters throughout the band’s career, with a different incarnation fronting the group for every new touring cycle. IV led the band through their album ‘Impera’ in 2022 and its accompanying ‘Imperatour’ tour that wound up in October 2023.
Now, after sharing billboards confirming that “V is coming”, the band have shared a first glimpse of Papa V Perpetua and confirmed that a new album called ‘Skeletá’ is on the way.
“We wish to inform you that with just a few plumes of smoke our PERPETUAL state of anticipation has subsided. We learned patience is key to opening any door in life. Let us celebrate the crowning of Papa V Perpetua and the announcement of Ghost’s six-six-sixth psalm, ‘Skeletá’,” a new teaser read, also announcing news of a lead single.
“Watch the ‘Satanized’ music video; a demonic tale of possession has never sounded this sweet.”
The album is set for release on April 25 via Loma Vista and available for pre-order here. Check out the teaser for the album below.
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With the new song, Ghost carry on the anthemic sound they captured in ‘Impera’ as Forge builds up to the euphoric chorus. “Blasphemy, heresy/ Save me from the monster that is eating me/ I’m victimized/ Blasphemy, heresy/ Save me, from the bottom of my heart I know/ I’m satanized.”
It also comes with a predominantly black-and-white music video, which shows a distressed monk in a confessional, being scorned by two nuns.
Later in the video, members of a clergy are seen enjoying the new track, which has led to some fans speculating whether they are actors or the Nameless Ghoul band members unmasked for the first time.
At the end, a new look at the Ghouls and the new frontman is seen briefly as the video turns into colour. Watch it in full below.
The announcement comes ahead of the band embarking on a new run of UK and European tour dates later this spring. Check out a full list of dates here and visit here to purchase tickets.
Papa Perpetua will also be appearing as part of the line-up for Black Sabbath’s final ever show in Villa Park, Birmingham on July 5.
Last year, Alex Ross Perry, who directed the band’s film RITE HERE RITE NOW, spoke about the story of Ghost with NME. “Ghost as a band is like a planet and the story is like the moon. The moon is not part of the planet, but it orbits the planet,” he said. “The songs and the meanings are thematically connected to what Ghost are pursuing, but they’re not creating a rock opera about these family dynamics of mothers, sons and fathers. I think for fans, it’s like getting two meals instead of one.”
Frontman Tobias Forge added: “I think the family that we’re talking about, they’re just the manifestation of a very common occurrence within mankind’s struggle to live life. The idea of being fearful of death is very common.”