The first single & video are available now
Ghost has confirmed the release of its feverishly awaited new album Skeleta, the Grammy-winning Swedish theatrical rock icons’ first full length offering of new material since 2022’s international No. 1 charting Impera, will manifest April 25th via Loma Vista Recordings.
Skeleta‘s impending arrival is heralded by anthemic first single “Satanized,” and its unsettling new video featuring a first glimpse of Ghost’s newly anointed ringleader Papa V Perpetua—whose ascension was foreshadowed by the recent V is Coming! campaign, which culminated in the recent Sin City conclave that saw him crowned. “A demonic possession unlike any before” has never sounded so sweet as it does here — An avalanche of infectious hooks and harmonies is buoyed by a hypnotic shuffle, as the narrator succumbs to dark forces within and without, helplessly acknowledging their own blasphemy and heresy as it inexorably consumes them. By the time the song’s opening lines “There is something inside me and they don’t know if there is a cure” have moved from the inner monologue of the possessed to the ears of the hapless listener, it will already be too late: You will have been “Satanized.”
The band also marks the debut of “The Satanizer,” a first of its kind music video experience for fans who wish to be “Satanized.” Developed in partnership with Jason Zada (Elf Yourself), The Satanizer will morph its users into characters featured in the song’s melodramatic video. With a quick upload of their photo, The Satanizer will send out a personalized music video clip featuring the participant, who can in turn share via social media that they too have been “Satanized.”
Additionally, chart-topping podcast Morbid will dedicate a special bonus episode to Ghost this Friday, March 7, featuring an exclusive interview with Tobias Forge. Join Tobias and hosts Ash and Alaina for this one of a kind first deep dive into all things Skeleta, special guests and so much more.
The genesis of Skeleta is rooted in the wake of a world-spanning years-long touring campaign in support of Impera—a period that saw Impera top album charts the world over and winning an American Music Award and an iHeart Radio Music Award, as well as the band earning its first RIAA-certified platinum single (“Mary on a Cross”) and presiding over the highest grossing hard rock cinema event in North American history (its feature film debut Rite Here Rite Now). As this sustained maelstrom ultimately wound down, Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge’s next uncharted creative direction would prove to be an inward journey. This deeply introspective turn in Forge’s creative process would ultimately result in Skeleta: a collection of 10 new songs originating from and cutting as close to the bone as (in)humanly possible.
Ghost’s sixth psalm, Skeleta, is its most unflinchingly introspective work to date. Where previous Ghost albums dealt largely with chronicling and/or observing outward facing subject matter—such as Impera‘s meditations on the rise and fall of empires and its predecessor Prequelle’s evocations of the ravages of era-defining plagues—Skeleta‘s lyrics render the distinct individual emotional vistas of each of its 10 songs in one-on-one fashion, at times as if in a dialogue with oneself in a mirror. The end result is a singular collection of timeless, universal sentiments, all filtered through a prism of a uniquely personal point of view.
Skeleta will be brought to life over the course of the band’s impending Skeletour World Tour 2025. The most ambitious incarnation of the Ghost live ritual to date, Skeletour World Tour 2025 recently revealed a first wave of more than 55 dates—including a historic first-ever headlining show at New York’s hallowed Madison Square Garden—with more to be announced. With tickets already selling at a brisk pace, the Skeletour World Tour 2025 ritual experience promises to expand the Ghost community to attract its largest and most diverse audiences to date.
As Ghost continues to strengthen its bond with the world-spanning legion of kindred souls that commune with the band and each other at its vaunted live rituals, it’s no exaggeration to describe Ghost — and the uniquely intense connection formed with the faithful who find refuge in the personae, lore and world Forge has created — as a singular global phenomenon
- Peacefield
- Lachryma
- Satanized
- Guiding Lights
- De Profundis Borealis
- Cenotaph
- Missilia Amori
- Marks Of The Evil One
- Umbra
- Excelsis
Ghost Skeletour World Tour 2025 Dates:
Apr 15 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
Apr 16 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
Apr 19 – London, UK @ The O2
Apr 20 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena
Apr 22 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis
Apr 23 – Frankfurt, DE @ Festhalle Frankfurt
Apr 24 – Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle
Apr 26 – Lyon, FR @ LDLC Arena
Apr 27 – Toulouse, FR @ Zénith Toulouse Métropole
Apr 29 – Lisbon, PT @ MEO Arena
Apr 30 – Madrid, ES @ Palacio Vistalegre
May 3 – Zürich, CH @ Hallenstadion Zürich
May 4 – Milan, IT @ Unipol Forum
May 7 – Berlin, DE @ Uber Arena
May 8 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
May 10 – Lodz, PL @ Atlas Arena
May 11 – Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena
May 13 – Paris, FR @ Accor Arena
May 14 – Oberhausen, DE @ Rudolf Weber-ARENA
May 15 – Hannover, DE @ ZAG Arena
May 17 – Copenhagen, DK @ Royal Arena
May 20 – Tampere, FI @ Nokia Arena
May 22 – Linköping, SE @ Saab Arena
May 23 – Sandviken, SE @ Göransson Arena
May 24 – Oslo, NO @ Oslo Spektrum
July 5 – Birmingham, UK @ Back to the Beginning
July 9 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
July 11 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
July 12 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
July 13 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
July 15 – Raleigh, NC @ Lenovo Center
July 17 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
July 18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
July 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
July 21 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
July 22 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
July 24 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
July 25 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
July 26 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
July 28 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
July 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
July 30 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
Aug 1 – Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
Aug 2 – Saint Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Aug 3 – Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center
Aug 5 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
Aug 7 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
Aug 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Aug 10 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
Aug 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
Aug 14 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center
Aug 15 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Aug 16 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Sept 24 – Mexico City, MX @ Palacio de los Deportes
Sept 25 – Mexico City, MX @ Palacio de los Deportes
