Music & Arts

Heavy Metal’s Ghost Rocks America

American audiences are getting reacclimated to Ghost this summer.

Ghost, the Swedish metal band known for its dark themes and costumes, has been opening for legendary metal band Iron Maiden in addition to playing its own shows as part of a tour of the States that ends later this month. And the band has continued to leave a lasting impression.

Kevin Coffey, of the Omaha World-Herald, wrote in a review: “Ghost’s dark lyrics and melodic gothic metal fuel the band’s demonic premise, even if the anonymous Papa and his bandmates play it all a little tongue-in-cheek.”

L.A. Weekly’s Jason Roche wrote of the band’s recent opening for Iron Maiden: “Saturday’s set was a strong indicator of that increased success. When Ghost opened with the new hit, a quarter of the audience rose to their feet immediately, sang along and head-banged throughout the band’s entire set.”

Ghost has been in the news quite a bit recently because of a lawsuit from former bandmembers against Papa Emeritus, the lead singer whose true identity was shielded by his mask and dark-themed pope costume until the grievance. On Aug. 17, frontman Tobias Forge will unmask himself for the first time in public on the Swedish radio show “Sommar i P1,” according to heavy metal site Blabbermouth.net.