Skip to content
News

Members of Ghost B.C. Keep Identities Secret Through Bribes

ghost b.c.

Ghost B.C. gave a sermon on Reddit Monday (April 15), pulling back the curtain on their pomp and circumstance during an Ask Me Anything session. No, the notoriously secretive Swedish metal group — made up of frontman Papa Emeritus II and his backing band of Nameless Ghouls — didn’t reveal their actual identities, but the six-piece did share some of the methods used to keep their names and faces hidden in an increasingly privacy-averse world. Papa Emeritus II signed onto Reddit but remained silent; instead, one of the Nameless Ghouls came forward for a brief (and belated) Q&A with fans. Find the highlights below:

How do the Nameless Ghouls sign autographs? “We actually have our own individual stamps that we use for signing records and stuff like that. Papa signs with his autograph though.”

It must be tough to hang onto that anonymity — how do the Nameless Ghouls do it? “We hand out a lot of bribes. Where do you think that whole advance went?”

Why not have the entire band be faceless? “For us, and therefore everybody else, [to be] able to “understand” the concept of the band — it needed a face. First we wanted it to be completely faceless, but the human psyche needs a focal point. So we got our own [version of Iron Maiden’s] Eddie, singing.”

Is it tough to know who’s who while performing? “After 120+ shows together we’ve gotten to recognize whatever little body language there is.. Several of us were friends before the band, so we knew each others’ individual moving patterns.”

Do the members of Ghost B.C. ever break character while on tour? If so, do tourmates just agree not to share their true identities? “We rely on them not to expose us. If we would stay in character all the time, we would go COMPLETELY insane.”

Do the Nameless Ghouls symbolize anything in particular? “They represent the four elements (wind, fire, water, earth) and the fifth (ether).”

Where is Ghost B.C.’s church located? “In the deepest crypts of Linkoeping, Sweden.”

What came first: the concept for Ghost B.C. or the songs? “The concept came to shape pretty early after the first songs came together. The material spoke in overtly satanic manner, painting a picture of the theatrical concepts of what was to become Ghost.”

Ghost B.C.’s upcoming LP, Infestissumam (out April 16) sounds “less metal” to this Reddit user‘s ears — was that change intentional or did it happen more organically? “The idea of Ghost, musically, has always been to be playful and not be too conscious about what genre this or that riff would be from. Of course there are some dos or don’ts, but we try to be open minded. This modus operandi was the same on the two albums, but I think that ‘getting away’ with a lot of the shit we pulled (from a metal underground mind set) on the first album, gave us the courage to take it one step further on the new one.”