A New Chapter for Ghost: Who is Papa V Perpetua?
It’s been three years since Ghost released Impera, and while frontman Tobias Forge and his team have worked hard to drip-feed teasers and other projects in the interim, everything on the Ghost front seemed to have waned for a little while there. However, as fans will know, with new album cycles comes new surprises, which means we’re almost ready to meet the next leader: Papa V Perpetua.
Being a Ghost fan often means accepting accessive waiting. While there’s a lot to play with—five studio albums and 18 chapters of the online series, to mention the basics—the latest string of silence and preparation has barely diminished part of the excitement that surrounded the last album and subsequent tour. And as anticipation for the next leader of the ministry looms large, the band has finally teased what’s to come next.
With the band’s latest frontman, Papa IV, Forge likely didn’t entirely anticipate his popularity, but his off-kilter, oftentimes innocent ways immediately made people feel connected, and not in the same way that initially drew attention to the previous enigmatic figurehead, Papa Emeritus III (or as fans adoringly call him, “Terzo”). So when it became more obvious that IV’s outing was coming to an inevitable end, the expectancy felt somewhat bittersweet.
Nobody knows who the next frontman will be, what he will be like, or even what he will look like. But after the latest movie, Rite Here Rite Now, reinforced its hints about the band’s next evolution, speculation went through the roof. Aside from one nail-biting teaser in the form of a silhouette, Ghost made it clear they weren’t ready to reveal anything concrete—until recently. Details have now emerged on the band’s social media through their signature cryptic announcements from the clergy about Papa V Perpetua.
Who is Papa V Perpetua?
Tomorrow, Perpetua will be officially welcomed into Ghost lore via a “phantasmagoric spectacle”, as confirmed by a post and video showing a billboard with smoke peering out from the top. “We wish to inform you that our Sin City council is complete,” reads the caption. “Papa V Perpetua’s ascension is imminent. So let’s gather together at 12am EST on Wednesday, March 5. All are welcome to escape the travails of daily life and to become one with the phantasmagoric spectacle.”
Signing up for the live stream takes you to a YouTube link titled ‘Satanized’, which already has many people suspecting it to be a new single. This suggests that, while Papa V was teased more prominently last month with the band’s involvement in Black Sabbath’s upcoming farewell concert, the new frontman will lead this year’s tour, heading up the operation in place of Papa IV’s previous leadership.
For those with access to email notifications, the announcement was also accompanied by an offer to pre-order a new collection titled Blasphemy, Heresy, Mystery. Whether attached to the new cycle or not, it’s clear this will signal and celebrate the new era of Ghost with a limited collectable item that will become clearer in time. As the band put it: “Much more will be revealed in time […] A new Papa isn’t exactly anointed every day now, is one!”
Whatever lurks on the horizon, therefore, it’s clear Ghost seems eager to deviate, perhaps subtly, from the reign of the previous Papa Emeritus, with the new Perpetua character signposting something new, something a little bit different from what we’ve had before. One can only hope he has as much charm and appeal as the previous leader, with a fresh twist that makes up for all of the excessive waiting and speculation.
