''Popestar'' is the second
EP by the Swedish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
.
It consists mainly of
covers and was produced by
Tom Dalgety.
The EP was released on 16 September 2016,
by
Loma Vista Recordings
Loma Vista Recordings is a record label founded by Tom Whalley, former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Executive of A&R at Interscope Records. The label was initially a joint venture with Republic Records and is based in Beverly Hill ...
.
The band began the
Popestar Tour of North America following its release.
Background
''Popestar'' consists almost entirely of covers. Ghost chose unexpected songs that differed from their own musical style.
The only original track on the EP, "
Square Hammer
"Square Hammer" is a song by Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released as the lead single from the group's second EP ''Popestar''. The song peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart in January 2017, making the band the first Swed ...
", was conceived at the end of the sessions for the band's ''
Meliora'' album. Because the concept of the album was already in place and the song had a different feeling, the band decided not to include it on the album.
"Square Hammer" was released as a single on 12 September 2016, prior to the EP.
Reception
''Popestar'' debuted at No. 1 on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''s
Top Rock Albums chart, becoming the first EP to reach the chart's top position. It sold 21,000 copies in its first week.
Track listing
Personnel
Ghost
*
Papa Emeritus III
Tobias Forge (; born 3 March 1981) is a Swedish singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the leader and primary songwriter of the masked rock band Ghost, performing live as their vocalist under the stage names Papa Emeritus and Cardinal Copi ...
* A Group of Nameless Ghouls
Additional personnel
* Sofia Kempe – backing vocals on "Missionary Man" and "Bible"
* Brian Reed –
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
on "Missionary Man"
Technical
*
Tom Dalgety –
production,
engineering,
mixing
* Niels Nielsen – additional engineering, programming
* Markus Crona – assistant
*
Joe LaPorta
Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/
Career
Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Univer ...
– mastering
* Necropolitus Cracoviensis Zbigniew Bielak II – cover artwork
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2016 EPs
Ghost (Swedish band) albums
Albums produced by Tom Dalgety
Loma Vista Recordings albums