Ghost’s Tobias Forge never rests. Following the blockbuster success of 2022’s Impera album – Metal Hammer’s album of the year – Tobias enigmatically told us that 2023 will hold “a change” for the band.
Now it appears that something is stirring in the world of Ghost. According to a post on Reddit, a billboard has appeared Hollywood featuring Papa Emeritus IV’s face and the words “Jesus is coming.”
What does it mean? Well, everyone’s favourite masked occult-metal icon could be trumpeting the return of the messiah, but our money is on new Ghost music in one form or another.
The band have a habit of dropping covers EPs and stand-alone singles in between albums, with 2013‘s If You Have Ghost EP, 2016’s Popestar EP and 2019’s Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic (the single that spawned Mary On A Cross) following Infestissumam, Meliora and Prequelle respectively.
The ‘Jesus is coming’ reference could suggest some irreligious activity around Easter, which falls on April 9 this year. Of course, it could be teasing a new tour, or even the latest iteration of Papa Emeritus. But the presence of the logo of the band’s label, Loma Vista, on the billboard could point to new music.
New EP? New tour? The return of the actual Jesus? We’ll have to wait and see…
