Era IV — Cardinal Copia / Papa Emeritus IV
From stadiums to TikTok: the Prequelle and Impera era
Ghost reached their commercial and cultural peak with Prequelle and Impera. Cardinal Copia —the most charismatic and colourful character yet— proved the band could reach millions, and Mary on a Cross became a TikTok viral phenomenon with over a billion streams.
Cardinal Copia and Prequelle
For 2018, Ghost introduced a completely new character: Cardinal Copia, a low-ranking cardinal in a classic suit, a walking stick and a completely different stage energy to previous popes. More clumsy and humanly comical on stage, Cardinal Copia immediately won fans' hearts. In June 2018, Ghost released Prequelle, set during the era of the medieval Black Death. The album was their most accessible yet: "Rats", with its powerful guitar riff, became the second #1 single on US rock radio, and "Dance Macabre" proved Ghost could write pure pop without apology. Prequelle was nominated for a Grammy as Best Metal Album and "Rats" as Best Metal Performance. The Prequelle tour was the biggest of their career to that point, with Ghost headlining festivals worldwide and selling out theatres and arenas.
Prequelle (2018): the Black Death era and Ghost's massive rise
The Coronation of Papa Emeritus IV
At the end of the Prequelle tour, in January 2020 during the closing show at the Barclays Center in New York, Papa Nihil —the elderly master of ceremonies— died theatrically on stage while playing a saxophone. At that moment, Cardinal Copia was promoted to Papa Emeritus IV, completing his narrative arc with a dramatic coronation before thousands of fans. Ghost also released in 2019 the single "Mary on a Cross", originally launched as a Halloween song. In 2022, thanks to its use in the Netflix series Wednesday, the song went viral on TikTok and accumulated over a billion streams on streaming platforms, bringing an entirely new generation to discover Ghost. With "Mary on a Cross", Ghost became one of the most remarkable crossover phenomena in recent rock history.
"Mary on a Cross" (2019/2022): a billion streams and a new generation of fans
Impera and total dominion
In March 2022, Ghost released Impera, their fifth studio album and the first recorded after the viral phenomenon of "Mary on a Cross". The album, with an imperial theme and references to the fall of great historical empires, was the band's most ambitious to date. Impera reached #1 in Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Top 10 in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Singles like "Hunter's Moon" (included on the Halloween Kills soundtrack) and "Twenties" showed different facets of the band. The Impera tour was historic: Ghost performed as headliners at festivals such as Download, Hellfest and Wacken, and on sold-out arena tours in the United States. The "Mary on a Cross" phenomenon brought them a new and diverse fan base, making the Impera era the most popular of their history to that point.
Impera (2022): #1 in four countries and Ghost's biggest arena tour