Abstract
This paper is an inquiry into a contemporary heavy metal band from Sweden called Ghost. Ghost released its first studio album in 2010 and, while there is some discussion as to what their genre is exactly, they immediately became a rising star in the metal scene. Yet what is of particular interest from a storytelling point of view, especially with regard to theological answers to philosophical questions in popular culture, is that the band presents itself as a satanic version of the Catholic Church through their stage act and lyrics. This made me curious whether they are trying to convey a message and, if yes, what that message might be. For the present paper, I have focused on the latter by performing a non-exhaustive textual analysis of the lyrics in a selection of songs from each of the four studio albums released so far. Ghost turns Christian liturgy on its head by utilizing devout language that is normally reserved for God and Christ to describe Satan and the Antichrist, a strategy I have called the ”satanification” of Christian doctrine, and in doing so their songs evoke imagery of a satanic faith community at prayer. The band then uses this radical inversion of traditional Christian themes to criticize certain elements of society, especially those aspects they associate with organized religion.
Highlights
As the first notes echo through the concert hall, the curtains are drawn, revealing the raised marble platforms and steps from where musicians in black are playing their instruments, their identities hidden by horned silver masks
In the present paper I shall attempt to answer the following research question aimed at the exploration of this mythos: What message is the Swedish metal band Ghost trying to convey by presenting itself as a satanic version of the Catholic Church?
What are they preaching exactly? Opus immediately set the tone for a truly satanic theatre band, and as a whole, the album evokes imagery of a faith community. This is done mainly through what I have in this paper described as the satanification of Christian doctrine; by replacing God and Jesus with Satan and the Antichrist the band is able to write songs that resemble prayer
Summary
As the first notes echo through the concert hall, the curtains are drawn, revealing the raised marble platforms and steps from where musicians in black are playing their instruments, their identities hidden by horned silver masks. Founded in 2006 in the city of Linköping, Ghost was first introduced to the world in three videos posted on MySpace in May 2010 and started recording its debut album a few months later (Hartmann 2017; Bennett 2018) His identity has since been revealed, frontman Tobias Forge felt he did not look the part of a singer in a satanic metal band and chose to style himself Papa Emeritus by dressing in papal regalia and donning ghostly face paint (Weiderhorn 2013; Bennett 2018). Since the present paper will be focused on the band’s lyrics and they seem to borrow heavily from Catholic liturgy, the paper will combine religious studies with some insights from Catholic theology and communication linguistics The latter is that of the implied reader, an imagined ideal recipient who possesses all the knowledge necessary to see, understand and interpret every reference contained within a text. The paper will end by taking stock of the discussed subjects and presenting some preliminary findings, followed by a conclusion in which an answer to the research question will be provided
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