Ghost Concerts Setlist

Formed in 2006, in the city of Linköping, Sweden, Ghost is a rock band that created a very unique style, very similar to what bands like Slipknot or Mudvayne did. Their breakthrough came with the 2010 demo and subsequent releases like the "Elizabeth" vinyl and debut album "Opus Eponymous," which included the acclaimed track "Ritual."

The band was founded when Tobias Forge, the band's future leader, wrote the song "Stand by Him." Reflecting on its creation, Tobias described it as having a profoundly heavy metal riff and a chorus that haunted his thoughts.

Tobias enlisted Gustaf Lindström, his former bandmate from Repugnant, to record this song along with "Prime Mover" and "Death Knell" in early 2008. Impressed with the outcome, Tobias and Gustaf decided to create an anonymous "theater band" inspired by horror films.

They adopted the concept of "Nameless Ghouls" for band members dressed in black robes and positioned Forge as "Papa Emeritus," adorned in Papal attire with skull-like face paint.

With everything ready to go, the band entered the metal scene and in 2011, the Nameless Ghouls supported Paradise Lost on their tour and made their U.S. debut at Maryland Deathfest. Their performance at Download Festival later that year caught the attention of Phil Anselmo from Down and Pantera, who invited them to join him on stage for a collaboration.

In 2012, one of the band members disclosed that Ghost had finished writing their second album, in Nashville, Tennessee, despite interruptions from touring commitments. During this time, the band also decided to switch record labels. Later that year, Ghost debuted new songs like "Secular Haze" and their cover of ABBA's "I'm a Marionette" at a show in Linköping, Sweden, where they also introduced Papa Emeritus II as their new frontman. The album, titled "Infestissumam," was announced for an early 2013 release.

Due to controversy over the album artwork, depicting a 16th-century orgy scene, US manufacturers initially refused to produce the deluxe edition. Ghost resolved the issue by modifying the artwork, releasing the album to critical acclaim and commercial success, including chart-topping status in Sweden and winning several awards for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album in 2013.

Throughout the band's huge success, some controversy also happened during their journey. In early 2017, Tobias Forge faced a lawsuit from former Ghost band members Simon Söderberg, Mauro Rubino, Martin Hjertstedt, and Henrik Palm over a royalties dispute.

Ghost's third studio album, "Meliora," was released two years after their second album. Leading up to the release, a humorous advertisement aired on VH1 Classic announced that Papa Emeritus II had been "fired" and replaced by his younger brother, Papa Emeritus III, setting the stage for the album's new era. The album "Meliora" was initially promoted with a unique "Unholy/Unplugged" acoustic tour in record shops across the U.S., featuring Papa Emeritus III and Nameless Ghouls performing stripped-down versions of their songs.

In 2020, after the release of their fourth album in 2018, the band announced plans to release their fifth studio album in winter 2020, with a subsequent tour originally set for March 2021, postponed to fall 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2024, Papa Emeritus and the Nameless Ghouls announced the upcoming release of their film titled "Rite Here Rite Now."