The new single and video are available now
Ghost has unveiled “Lachryma,” the second advance offering from the Grammy-winning Swedish theatrical rock icons’ feverishly anticipated new album, Skeleta, out April 25th via Loma Vista Recordings.
Arriving in tandem with a lucid nightmare of a video featuring Papa V Perpetua’s first full performance as newly anti-christened frontman, “Lachryma” is quite possibly the most emblematic example to date of Ghost’s signature balance of dark lyrical foreboding and irresistible melodic uplift. Following closely on the hooves of first Skeleta single “Satanized,” “Lachryma” supplants the demonic hooks of its predecessor with a purple haze of sonic flourishes that accomplish something even more insidious: a bonafide modern day rock anthem about weeping. The sweet turns sour, the vile rot attacks, yet you can’t stop singing along… even as the purple tears begin to fall, as they’re flowing.
The band’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 ten 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.
The physical manifestation of Skeleta will be heralded by the recently announced Skeleta-Eve Midnight Sales. Reclaim the night with your fellow Ghost faithful, as you celebrate the arrival of Skeleta at one of the many participating stores around the globe at midnight local time. Fans who purchase the new album at these ceremonies can have it marked with a Grucifix stamp, as they join Ghost in reviving and continuing the hallowed rock and roll tradition of the midnight mass sale.
Beginning April 15th at the AO Arena in Manchester UK, Skeleta will be brought to life over the course of Ghost’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 shows to be announced soon. With tickets already selling at a brisk pace, the Skeletour World Tour ritual experience promises to expand the Ghost community to attract its largest and most diverse audiences to date.
