Ghost is a Swedish rock band that was formed in Linköping in 2006. In 2010, they released a three-track demo followed by a 7-inch vinyl titled "Elizabeth", and later their debut full-length album Opus Eponymous. The song "Ritual" was chosen by Kerrang! as one of "The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever." 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, reaching number one in Sweden, and number eight in the US. Its lead single, "Cirice", earned them the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The band released their fourth studio album, Prequelle, in 2018. The band released their fifth studio album, Impera, in 2022.
Ghost is known for its eccentric on-stage presence. Seven of the group's eight members, known as "Nameless Ghouls", wear virtually identical, face-concealing costumes. Prior to a 2017 lawsuit filed by former members of the band, lead singer Tobias Forge obscured his identity behind a succession of characters bearing the title of "Papa Emeritus". Portrayed by Forge in a prosthetic mask and makeup, the persona has been described as a "demonic anti-pope", and has undergone five incarnations: I, II, III, Nihil, and IV. For the band's 2018 album Prequelle and subsequent world concert tour A Pale Tour Named Death, Forge played a character known as "Cardinal Copia", who is described as being unrelated to the prior Papa Emeritus characters. Copia's costume consists of either cardinal vestments or a black or white tuxedo; he also sports a prosthetic mask with black eye makeup and multi-colored eyes, features which are present in each Papa character. In March 2020, at the final show of A Pale Tour Named Death, Copia was promoted to the title of "Papa Emeritus IV", a persona which Forge has continued to use for the album Impera and its associated concert tour, Imperatour.
Ghost was formed in 2006, when future band leader Tobias Forge wrote the song "Stand by Him". He said, "I said that this is probably the most heavy metal riff that has ever existed ... When the chorus came to me, it haunted my dreams. Every time I picked up the guitar, I ended up playing that progression, and when I fit the words in, it seemed to cry out for a Satanically-oriented lyric." Forge then contacted his former Repugnant bandmate Gustaf Lindström to record the song.

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