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.
