On June 1, 2018, Ghost released Prequelle , their fourth studio album. Produced by Tom Dalgety , the album was a great commercial success and achieved significant sales figures.
Prequelle also marked a rather intense turning point for the band. Not only in terms of the mythology of its characters, but also the identity of the men behind the masks. However, Prequelle is not an album for everyone. The record features long instrumental tracks, pop hits and a major revelation. It is currently a fan favorite.
Check out some moments from the album, which turns 7 years old this Sunday:
Complete change in the line-up.
Although the band never revealed how many lineup changes it had, in 2017 the identities of four Ghost musicians came to light. Simon Soderberg, Mauro Rubino, Henrik Palm, and Martin Hjertstedt sued Tobias Forge over the division of profits from record sales and tours. The court ruled in favor of Forge, resulting in the departure of all members and a completely new lineup for the release of Prequelle .
Tobias Forge's revelation
Tobias Forge's identity as the person behind Ghost was revealed in 2017 , due to a lawsuit filed by former members of the band, the "Nameless Ghouls". The statement was made during the program Sommar i P1 , on a Swedish radio station, where a personality is invited to talk about whatever they want. After an emotional speech about his late brother, the Papa Emeritus revealed: " My name is Tobias Forge. I am the man behind the mask in Ghost .
Biggest visual change: Cardinal Copy
The changes in the lineup, as well as the big revelation, were represented by the biggest change in the band's visual style. In the new work, Ghost is now led by a Cardinal, Cardinal Copia , instead of a Papa Emeritus. The band, which above all takes the theatrical aspect very seriously, created a character undeserving of makeup or a higher church title. The clothes were also light, and not only facilitated Tobias's movement on stage, but also allowed for more danceable movements, in keeping with the songs from Prequelle – their most pop and danceable album to date.
Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.
Grammy nominations Best Hard Rock Performance for the track "Rats" and Best Rock Album. However, Ghost lost the Grammy to St. Vincent with the song "Masseduction" and to Greta Van Fleet with the album From the Fires .
Metallica's "Hit the Lights" inspired the solos in the track "Faith".
Tobias Forge is a multi-instrumentalist and a great guitarist. For his aggressive intro on “Faith,” he drew inspiration from his idols Metallica. He revealed this in an interview with Guitar World : “With 'Faith,' the solo called for an intense, aggressive part, where I was like, 'This needs to be strong.' I wanted to have that kind of attack you hear when you hear something like 'Hit the Lights,' where after every drum thing there's this insane, fast, aggressive guitar part. I wanted a piece like that, but it sounded more evil. And I managed to do it.”
