At the end of 2020, Ghost resurfaced on social media with a lengthy message from one of the band’s Nameless Ghouls. “We are working diligently on several big things for next year, so please do not confuse our silence with inactivity,” the statement promised.
One of those things appears to have been a collaboration with fellow Swedish rockers the Hellacopters.
Last night (January 22nd), Ghost’s newly minted Papa Emeritus IV (formerly Cardinal Copia) joined the garage-rock outfit, led by former Entombed/current Lucifer member Nicke Andersson, on Swedish TV quiz show På Spåret to perform a cover of the Rolling Stones‘ “Sympathy for the Devil.” Watch below:
The song is an important one for Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge. In a 2018 cover story with Rolling Stone, he spoke about how his older brother, Sebastian, helped introduce him to satanic rock & roll. “Sebastian gave me Shout at the Devil by Mötley Crüe,” he recalled.
“That was a record that actually scared me. I loved it, but I found it very, very terrifying — especially the intro. A little bit later, I also started liking the Rolling Stones a lot, and with their discography, you had ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and Their Satanic Majesties Request.”
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2021
