Ghost's bombastic, critically acclaimed new record Impera is on course for the band's biggest ever debut in the UK album charts, following its release on Friday. It was revealed today by the Official Charts Company that the fifth studio album from Tobias Forge's spooky crew, their first for four years following the similarly lauded Prequelle, is currently sitting at number two in the UK midweek chart, with only the new album from bedroom pop artist Rex Orange County, Who Cares?, ahead of it.
Anything higher than tenth in the final UK album chart positions, which will be revealed on Friday afternoon, will represent their highest ever debut in this country. Prequelle debuted at 10 upon its release in 2018.
Speaking to Metal Hammer about Impera in our exclusive cover feature, out now, Tobias Forge revealed that legendary British rockers Def Leppard were one of his key inspirations in writing the album.
“I thought I would see if I could do it a little more like Def Leppard did it," he notes, "where every song starts with one thing, and then there’s a verse, then there’s a pre-chorus that feels like a chorus, and then there’s another pre-chorus and after, like, five different sections, comes the chorus, in a completely different key. It’s such a riot! I’m not saying that as a surprise – I think they were great.”
Impera is out now. Ghost tour the UK next month. The brand new issue of Metal Hammer, featuring Ghost on the cover, is out now.
