The Cardinal Copia Era
2018-2020
Cardinal Copia broke with everything. For the first time since Ghost's founding, the successor would not bear the Papa title. There would be no Roman numeral. No Emeritus lineage—at least, that's what the world believed until Rite Here Rite Now would reveal he is the bastard son of Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator. He was officially presented on April 6, 2018 in the webisode 'Chapter Two: The Cardinal'. His first appearance was intentionally anticlimactic: a nervous, uncomfortable man who accumulated 'second-best employee of the month' certificates and didn't quite know how to behave before his superiors. He was the absolute opposite of Papa I's solemnity or Papa II's sexuality. On stage, however, Copia was pure energy. His hip movements—even more exaggerated than the Terzo's—his physical humor and his tendency to break the fourth wall with the audience quickly made him one of contemporary rock's most entertaining performers. Fans adopted him immediately, and many consider him the performative peak of Tobias Forge as a frontman. Prequelle (2018) was the album of his era and possibly Ghost's most ambitious to that point. Conceptually set in medieval Europe devastated by the Black Death, it used the plague as a metaphor for existential chaos, the inevitability of death and the search for meaning in horror. 'Rats', 'Dance Macabre', 'Faith', 'Witch Image', 'Pro Memoria' and 'Life Eternal' demonstrated that Ghost could simultaneously be a radio phenomenon and a band with real conceptual depth. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200. This era also introduced the Ghoulettes: for the first time, the live lineup included female musicians—Laura Scarborough, Mad Gallica and Sophie Amelkin—breaking the exclusively male composition of previous Ghouls. Papa Nihil joined the live show playing saxophone during 'Miasma', adding a completely new theatrical dimension. The A Pale Tour Named Death (2018-2019) was grueling and triumphant. Ghost toured the world for over a year, cementing themselves as a first-tier attraction. The Seven Inches of Satanic Panic EP (2019) included 'Kiss the Go-Goat' and 'Mary on a Cross'—the latter would go massively viral on TikTok in 2022, accumulating over 1 billion streams and introducing Ghost to an entirely new generation. On March 3, 2020, at the tour's final show at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City—the only concert of the year before the pandemic paralyzed the world—Cardinal Copia was anointed Papa Emeritus IV in an onstage ceremony. Papa Nihil executed his saxophone solo in 'Miasma', collapsed and 'died' onstage, and a group of Sisters of Sin surrounded Copia to ritually transform him before the audience. It was one of the most memorable moments in Ghost's live history.
Albums
Prequelle
Seven Inches of Satanic Panic
Members
Relive all the historic concerts throughout the years and lineups