Page 6 - Metal Hammer Issue 334 - UK (May 2020)

THE BIG PICTURE

ENTER:

PAPA IV

IT WAS A moment we all knew would
come eventually, but we still weren’t
ready. Midway through the final show
of the Prequelle era at Mexico City’s
Palacio de los Deportes, after
apparently and unceremoniously
killing off the Papa Nihil character,
Ghost would finally anoint Cardinal
Copia as a Papa all of his own.
It came out of nowhere. A dozen
Sisters Of Sin besieged the stage,
swarming the Cardinal to strip him of
his suit as the onlooking crowd began
to holler in anticipation.
As the Sisters backed away, Ghost’s
frontman would emerge a man reborn.
Bedecked in a dazzling new set of Papal
robes and plastered in corpsepaint, it
was official: Cardinal Copia was history,
Papa Emeritus IV had arrived.
What this means for Ghost’s future is
anyone’s guess. They’re not due to play
again in 2020; Tobias Forge will likely
take a brief and well-earned rest before
holing up to record Ghost’s fifth studio
album. In the meantime, we’ll just have
to wait and see how Papa IV will fit into
the bigger picture. And stress over
who’s going to play that sax solo in
Miasma from now on…