Ghost are back to their old tricks, teasing the arrival of their next frontman: Papa V Perpetua.
The name first popped up on the poster for Black Sabbath’s final show in Birmingham this July, tucked in among a lineup of metal heavyweights.
Fans clocked it fast, and Ghost wasted no time confirming the hype with the cryptic post below:
That’s it. No photos. No theatrics (yet). Just a black-and-purple swirl with the Roman numeral “V” slapped in the middle.
Since day one, Tobias Forge has led Ghost under a rotating cast of “Papas,” each new version marking a shift in the band’s era. We’ve had Papa Emeritus I through IV—now we’re on to V. The “Perpetua” bit adds a twist. Eternal? Unstoppable? Overly dramatic? Probably all three.
Ghost’s lore is half the fun though. The band is quite literally an evolving, dark soap opera dressed up in satanic robes and anti-religious pageantry. Speaking about it, RITE HERE RITE NOW director Alex Ross Perry said, “Ghost as a band is like a planet, and the story is like the moon. The songs orbit the story, but it’s not a rock opera. It’s like getting two meals instead of one.”
Forge summed it up more bluntly: “The family we’re talking about is just the manifestation of a very common occurrence within mankind’s struggle to live life. The idea of being fearful of death is very common.”
Translation? Ghost are here to entertain—and mess with your head.
They’re also gearing up for a 2025 world tour kicking off this spring. Odds are we’ll see Papa V make his grand entrance before then, but with Ghost, nothing’s ever straightforward. For now, we wait. And speculate. Because that’s exactly how Ghost like it.
