Ghost introduce “new” frontman Papa Emeritus Zero

End of an era: Papa Emeritus III
End of an era: Papa Emeritus III (Image credit: Getty)

Ghost officially ended the Papa Emeritus III era of the band at their show in Gothenburg on Saturday night.

Frontman Tobias Forge takes on a new persona for each album cycle, and with their touring commitments for 2015’s Meliora and their Popestar EP now over, two security guards stepped in to drag Papa Emeritus III from the stage at the end of the band’s set in the Swedish city over the weekend.

Moments later, an elderly version of Emeritus appeared, complete with walking stick and oxygen mask and told the crowd: “I am Papa Emeritus Zero. The party is over and now a new era begins. The Middle Ages begin now.”

Ghost later released video footage, which can be watched below.

The introduction of a “new” frontman comes just weeks after Forge reported that the band were looking to release their new studio album in April 2018.

He said: “We’ve been in the studio for about a month now and by the end of the year, if everything goes according to plan, we’re going to have a new album. Not out, but we’re going to have a new record mixed and delivered. Hopefully that means that we’re going to have a new album out by April.”

Last month, Ghost released a video for Meliora track He Is.

Ghost: New album will be more apocalyptic than Meliora

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.