Prequelle is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 1 June 2018 and produced by Tom Dalgety. The album's first single, "Rats", was released ahead of the album on 13 April, and as of 28 July, had peaked at number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The second single, "Dance Macabre", later topped the same chart for two weeks as well. The album marked the band's strongest selling debut to date, landing at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week, with 61,000 of those being "traditional" album sales. The album's themes include medieval times and the Black Death, along with more modern subject matters. "Prequelle" was nominated for the Best Rock Album Grammy Award at the 61st annual awards ceremony and the Swedish Grammis Award in the category of Hard rock/metal. The album was released with five different versions of the cover art, each with the rider and horse in the foreground placed in a different position. Three singles were released for the album, "Rats" on 13 April 2018 (Nominated for 'Best Rock Song' at the 61st Grammy Awards), and "Dance Macabre" on 18 May 2018, and "Faith". Prequelle is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 1 June 2018 and produced by Tom Dalgety. The album's first single, "Rats", was released ahead of the album on 13 April, and as of 28 July, had peaked at number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The second single, "Dance Macabre", later topped the same chart for two weeks as well. The album marked the band's strongest selling debut to date, landing at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week, with 61,000 of those being "traditional" album sales. The album's themes include medieval times and the Black Death, along with more modern subject matters. "Prequelle" was nominated for the Best Rock Album Grammy Award at the 61st annual awards ceremony and the Swedish Grammis Award in the category of Hard rock/metal. The album was released with five different versions of the cover art, each with the rider and horse in the foreground placed in a different position. Three singles were released for the album, "Rats" on 13 April 2018 (Nominated for 'Best Rock Song' at the 61st Grammy Awards), and "Dance Macabre" on 18 May 2018, and "Faith". false 2023-01-16 09:55:58 Prequelle 9 2018 2018-06-01 2018-06-01 42 Arena Rock Gothic Metal Gothic Rock Hard Rock Heavy Metal Pop Rock 113291 2399532 d896851c-98a4-400e-af28-4e3d9d78ed7f 2bcf2e02-5bc3-4c76-bf76-41126cb11444 1f25d940-89e2-4813-a86f-955b0e99c391 /config/metadata/library/ae/ae3d4036c2f53d4f688e31f4198526f6/folder.jpg Ghost Ghost 1 1 Ashes 01:21 1 2 Rats 04:21 1 3 Faith 04:29 1 4 See the Light 04:05 1 5 Miasma 05:17 1 6 Dance Macabre 03:39 1 7 Pro Memoria 05:39 1 8 Witch Image 03:30 1 9 Helvetesfönster 05:55 1 10 Life Eternal 03:27 Ghost is a Swedish rock band known for its distinctive blend of theatricality, heavy metal, and arena rock. Formed in Linköping in 2006, the band first gained attention with their 2010 three-track demo, followed by the 7-inch vinyl "Elizabeth" and their debut album, Opus Eponymous. This album, nominated for a Grammis and featuring the song "Ritual"—listed by Kerrang! as one of "The 50 Most Evil Songs Ever"—catapulted them to international recognition. Their 2013 major label debut, Infestissumam, topped the Swedish charts and won a Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album. Ghost's ascendancy in the rock world continued with their 2015 album Meliora, which reached number one in Sweden and number eight in the US. The album's lead single, "Cirice", earned them the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Renowned for their unique on-stage presence, Ghost's members, except for the lead vocalist, are known as "Nameless Ghouls" and perform in matching, face-concealing costumes. Until a 2017 lawsuit filed by former members of Ghost, the band's frontman, Tobias Forge, performed incognito under the persona of "Papa Emeritus", a character known for its "demonic anti-pope" imagery. This theatrical element has been a hallmark of Ghost, with Forge adopting various incarnations of Papa Emeritus and other characters, such as "Cardinal Copia" for the 2018 album Prequelle and its supporting tour, A Pale Tour Named Death. Each character, marked by a prosthetic mask with black eye makeup and multi-colored eyes, adds to the band's mystique. In 2020, during the final show of this tour, Forge's Cardinal Copia character was promoted and transformed into "Papa Emeritus IV", a persona he continued with for the 2022 album Impera and the corresponding Imperatour.