RIFFOLOGY
Prequelle by Ghost, album cover
Album

Prequelle

by Ghost
Released1 June 2018
LabelLoma Vista Recordings
Popularity75.5
hard rockheavy metalgothic metalgothic rockrock
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Podcast cover

Prequelle is the fourth studio album by the Swedish band Ghost, released on 1 June 2018 through Loma Vista Recordings. It followed Opus Eponymous, Infestissumam and Meliora, and was produced by Tom Dalgety. Its themes reach back to medieval times and the Black Death, while also touching on more contemporary subjects. It came with five versions of the cover art, each placing the rider and horse in a different position.

The record gave Ghost their biggest debut to that point, entering the Billboard 200 at number 3 with 66,000 copies sold in its first week. "Rats" spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and "Dance Macabre" later reached the same peak for two weeks. Its mix of hard rock, heavy metal and gothic rock earned a Best Rock Album nomination at the 61st Grammy Awards, plus a Swedish Grammis nomination for hard rock/metal.

Prequelle: tracklist, credits and charts

10 tracks · 41:48

Tracklist

  1. 1AshesA Ghoul Writer1:21
  2. 2RatsTom Dalgety and A Ghoul Writer4:22
  3. 3FaithTom Dalgety and A Ghoul Writer4:30
  4. 4See the LightDalgety, Writer, Tikovoï4:05
  5. 5MiasmaA Ghoul Writer5:18
  6. 6Dance MacabreFakir, Writer, Vincent3:40
  7. 7Pro MemoriaFrisk, Writer, Hudson, John5:39
  8. 8Witch ImageDalgety, Writer, Shinn3:30
  9. 9HelvetesfönsterA Ghoul Writer5:56
  10. 10Life EternalFakir, Writer, Vincent3:27
Produced by
Tom Dalgety
Recorded at
Artery Studios (Stockholm, Sweden), Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California), Psalm Studio, Bath, England
Recorded
2017–2018
Mixed by
Clif Norrell, Andy Wallace
Mixed at
Westlake Recording Studios
Engineered by
Tom Dalgety, Davide Rossi
Labels
Loma Vista Recordings, Loma Vista
Length
41:48

Line-up

  • Salem Al Fakir · piano, keyboard
  • Tom Dalgety · percussion
  • Ludvig Kennberg · drums (drum set)
  • Steve Moore · synthesizer
  • Nameless Ghoul · bass, drums (drum set), keyboard, guitar
  • Tobias Forge · lead vocals
  • Deryn Edwards · choir vocals
  • Minou Forge · vocals · guest
  • Mark Williams · choir vocals
  • Gavin Fitzjohn · saxophone · guest
  • Group of Nameless Ghouls · guest
  • Christopher May · choir vocals · guest
  • Mikael Åkerfeldt · acoustic guitar · guest
  • Vincent · choir vocals · guest

Singles

  • “Rats” · 13 April 2018
  • “Dance Macabre” · 18 May 2018
  • “Faith” · 20 December 2018

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 20183
UK Albums Chart · 201810
Finnish Albums · 20181
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) · 20181
Norwegian Albums · 20181
Swedish Albums · 20181
UK Rock & Metal Albums · 20181
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) · 20181
US Top Rock Albums · 20181
German Albums · 20182
All 26 charts
Swiss Albums · 20182
Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 20184
Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 20185
Spanish Albums · 20185
Austrian Albums · 20186
Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 20186
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 20187
Scottish Albums · 20187
Portuguese Albums · 201810
Dutch Albums · 201814
Czech Albums · 201818
Danish Albums · 201822
Hungarian Albums · 201826
Irish Albums (IRMA) · 201833
Polish Albums · 201833
Italian Albums · 201836

Certifications

RegionCertification
Norway · 2022Gold
Sweden · 2018Platinum
United Kingdom · 2024Silver

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

75.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
9.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
87k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
—
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Popestar (2016)Seven Inches of Satanic Panic (2019) →

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Full discography →
Opus Eponymous by Ghost, album cover
Opus Eponymous
2010
Infestissumam by Ghost, album cover
Infestissumam
2013
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2013
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2015
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2019
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2022
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2023
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2023
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2024
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Skeletá
2025

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz1 June 2018
Wikipedia infobox1 June 2018
Wikidata1 June 2018
US release1 June 2018earliest US date
UK / Europe release1 June 2018earliest UK or European date
31 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054530original
1 June 2018—Loma Vista Recordings0888072054868original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054585original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records888072054844original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567627227original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records888072054905original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567627241original
1 June 2018AUSpinefarm Records888072054578original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054936original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records888072054851original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records888072053885original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054561original
1 June 2018DKUniversal Music AB00602567627401original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054400original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567627210original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings8880720584996original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records0888072054837original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567627234original
1 June 2018XWLoma Vista Recordings00888072054592original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567627289original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054899original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings8880720545881original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings602567570073original
1 June 2018CALoma Vista Recordings00888072054875original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054547original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072053670original
1 June 2018XESpinefarm Records888072054554original
1 June 2018USLoma Vista Recordings888072054936original
1 June 2018CALoma Vista Recordings00888072054608original
1 June 2018SEReaktor Recordings0602567627395original
27 September 2019USLoma Vista Recordings888072112995other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1414x1414, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓1414×1414upscaled: minor: best source 1414x1414, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled