Ghost's 2010 Debut Album Opus Eponymous on Colored LP.

A daringly beautiful combination of satanic rock music with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility, 2010's Opus Eponymous (Latin for self-titled work) is where it all began for the beautifully dark global phenomena Ghost! Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes, the nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating heavy rock music and romantic lyrics, which glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious. The simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find: Entertainment. This is black metal at it's most original and deceiving; compositions such as "Ritual" and "Death Knell" majestically weave their melodic spell of evil through the senses until the listener finds themselves utterly possessed and open to any diabolical suggestion.

Formed in 2008 in Linköping, Ghost began playing underground shows and sharpening their sound. Given their occult ritual-styled performances, their popularity with metal fans in their home country flourished. In 2010, they issued a three-track demo, followed by the single "Elizabeth", and both quickly sold out. Their debut album, Opus Eponymous, on Rise Above Limited, defied expectations with a surprisingly welcoming melodic sound, weaving together '60s psychedelia, '70s doom, and '80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and their reputation spread. They took to the road, touring internationally. They were forced to take the Ghost B.C. moniker in the U.S. because another band had laid claim to the name. Though it was a tad confusing, it didn't hurt their reputation for wildly theatrical performances, and their identities remained cloaked in mystery. After a long legal battle, they won the right to their name without the suffix.

Just how long Ghost's musicians will manage to keep their identities a secret even as their notoriety grows remains to be seen. A fan search of the Swedish Performing Rights Society's website revealed that Tobias Forge, formerly of Repugnant, has songwriting credits under the pseudonym "A Ghoul Writer."