My band, I’m listening to for inspiration, and finding my sleep is Ghost. Who are they? Hmmm, that is a good question I’m happy to answer.

Ghostly Yours

The Scandinavian musical band Ghost originates from Sweden in the town of Linköping. In the United States, some knew them as Ghost B.C. Some say they are rock, but when you listen to their music to me, they fall under Gothic Rock.

That, to me, is due to the orchestration that is quite prominent in their unique sound. Music haunted by a Ghost from Sweden and I’m all over it!

Ghost goes back to 2006, but it was only in 2010 that the band released a track of three songs before another release followed with seven additional ones calling the 7” vinyl, Elizabeth.

Later on, Opus Eponymous saw the light of day, and the song Ritual hit the charts as one of “The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever.” Good job, Ghost!

Fame Is Haunting

The album received a nomination for the Grammis—not to confuse with Grammy— as it received praising from listeners, and Ghost’s popularity kept on climbing. Following the success of their first album with a reputable record company, the album Infestissunam came out in 2013. It started at #1 in Sweden.

They won Best Hard Rock/Metal Album at the Grammis. In 2015, Ghost’s third album hit the charts; Meliora sent the band over the top with incredible sales and praise.

Still number 1 in Sweden and 8 in the United States. The single Cirice had them bring home the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

It was in 2018 that Ghost released their latest album, Prequelle. That is when I fell in love.

Ghost Face?

The band’s sound is one that you cannot forget. They are electrifying, and the charisma of Ghost’s singer is mesmerizing as well as his vocal prowess. The band has eight members to make their sound possible and unforgettable.

Seven of them are the Nameless Ghouls. When looking at them, they are identified without a face because they all wear the same exact mask. Preceding a lawsuit in 2017 from former band members, Tobias Forge, the lead singer decided it was time to unleash a new character. This was the entrance of Papa Emeritus.

Forge wears a prosthetic mask and makeup for his character that he created for every single show and music video when present. So far, the role received five incarnations.

For the album Prequelle in 2018, Papa Emeritus left the spotlight to let Cardinal Copia take over. The character is quite distinctive from its former one from the costume to the prosthetic itself.

March 2020 marked the final show of A Pale Tour Named Death. Forge took the mantle of Papa Emeritus back to the pleasure of the audience to see him again. Music haunted by a Ghost from Sweden with a face that melted some heart and sparked others.

What About Me?

I didn’t know about Ghost until last year when the hit song, Rats, played on television. I thought it to be quite strange and had me look quite a few times at the screen. The face of the singer confused me. That’s when I realized he had some sort of unique effect makeup.

Once the song Rats was out of the building, I listened to Dance Macabre. The video was like those of the 80s. Nostalgia kicked in, and I had to sit down and listen to it.

My husband enjoyed the song, and he knew I’d like it too due to the video showing vampires and zombies and whatnot. Perfect for me, right?

Not long after, I bought the Prequelle Deluxe edition on iTunes. I listened to it and found myself lost in the words of each song. I must say that not many songs nowadays have meaning, but Ghost can give a song many faces. Each album has a theme, and weirdly enough, Prequelle is all about the BUBONIC PLAGUE.

My Favorite of All

I own two albums from them so far, Meliora Deluxe edition and Prequelle, that is to say, I’ll have all the records one day. But when I listened to Prequelle the first time, I fell in love and listened to it in a loop working on my book.

The lyrics spoke to me and ignited stories for my sci-fi series in ways I couldn’t think possible.

That day, I bought that album; one of my friends drew her last breath the night before. She lost her battle against brain cancer. I live an ocean away from her. I’m in Québec while she was in London.

The emotions running through my head were guilt and anger. She was a mother and grandmother, I’m just a young woman in her mid-thirties who doesn’t want kids, and she passed? Music haunted by a Ghost from Sweden that somewhat save a part of my life.

To Hide From Me

The song Pro Memoria started playing as I was crying curled in a ball on the couch before my 27” iMac. I thought about my grandpa “Mufasa/King Triton,” who is now an angel in the sky.

I thought about two of my friends who died fighting undefeatable illnesses. I was counting my losses until I listened to the ONE word that caught my attention…

“Lucifer, whispering silently into your mind, ‘Who walks behind? Who walks behind?’ Standing tall, invincible, but do not forget about your knives.

To save your lives, to save your lives. Don’t you forget about dying? Don’t you forget about your friend death? Don’t you forget that you will die.”

Ghost, Prequelle, Pro Memoria

Those words reminded me that no one can escape the circle of life. Somehow it brought me some peace of mind.

Not Sweet

The song Pro Memoria is actually referring to Memento Mori. That is a conceptual mindset to brainwash one into realizing that no one is immortal. It is to understand and accept that one day one will die.

The Memento Mori legend stipulates that a Roman General had a slave accompanying him from behind.

He continually whispered in the General’s ear the words, “Momento Mori.” The chariot kept moving forward, and so did the slave from behind. That slave, some belief, was Lucifer.

The lyrics say “Aint’ that right SWEDE St-Peter” and not “Sweet St-Peter.” That’s just an ‘FYI.’

Life Eternal

Ghost is one of those talented musicians that haunt your dreams. They have the music, the lyrics, the meaning, and the appeal, everything to create their world. Ghost takes you on a journey when you listen to their album from beginning to end. It has a story to tell and retell.

The last song of Prequelle is Life Eternal. When I first heard the words, I cried. It reached deep within my heart, a place I thought rot inside of me.

“I know the light grows darker down below. But in your eyes, it’s gone before you know. This is the moment of just letting go…she said, ‘If you had life eternal.’”

Ghost, Prequelle, Life Eternal

Every one of us battles demons. All of us have skeletons in our closet. Ones we hope no one will find. We hide our pain and the scars that we earned in battles.

I thought my heart was just a hole, and that song said, “I know” at first and ended with, “If you had life eternal.” That was enough for me to feel that I would refuse immortality because that would mean I would never ever meet my grandfather again.

Thank you Ghost

I know Ghost might never see this article, and so I’m going to end this ‘as if’ I was lucky enough that one of them read it to the end.

Thank you, Ghost, for your music that reaches deep within a listener’s veins and cut right through the bones. Sometimes we need something to cut us deep to realize what we have, what we don’t, and what we lost.

Thank you for taking me on a journey when I most need it. Your lyrics and music are once in a century type of talent. This is not a gift everyone receives. Love it and cherish it unless you have life eternal.

Music haunted by a Ghost from Sweden that is a gift as above so below and I welcome it forevermore.

Thank you for your music,
Alexa Wayne