GHOST: 'We Are A Very Humorous Bunch'

In a brand new interview with Glide Magazine, one of the Nameless Ghouls from the Swedish occult rock band GHOST spoke about the group's crossover success since the release of GHOST's latest album, "Meliora". He said: "For our everyday life, especially on tour, it doesn't really change our lifestyle much, because we tour all the time. What it does change is what you see every night. The venues are getting bigger, the crowds are getting bigger.

"I must say, and I'm trying to say this in a very non-prejudiced way, if you go from a very hardcore background to something more of like a mainstream turn, sometimes you change your audience from a bunch of record-collecting dudes to, I don't know, the opposite? Ever since we've started touring, especially here in America, where we really started touring heavily, it seems like the crowd is basically the same demographics, they're just more. So we still have a lot of people coming that are clearly not there for the mainstream elements of what we're doing.

"Obviously, when you're being played on the radio and you're on TV, you will end up having a few fans that might not have heard your first or second record, or at least not until recently. We're not really that kind of band that just has that one song on the radio, but as long as people are enjoying the full show and are not just there waiting for that one song, I'm really fine with having people coming that have just heard our songs on the radio or on Spotify or whatever. I feel that our mainstream success is definitely not negative."

The Nameless Ghoul also talked about the element of playfulness and humor that exists in everything GHOST does. He said: "In all anonymity and in everything that we're concealing, I think that there's a lot of personality that sort of leaks through. I think that, generally, we are a very humorous bunch; I think that's the crack where the light goes through. Also, I think that even philosophically, and I know that we spoke about this early on in our career, for some reason, especially in the more philosophical circles of underground metal, there is some sort of misunderstanding that everything diabolical is far from humor. It's supposed to be very serious and I beg to differ. I think that if we want to be super-Biblical, it's laughter and fun and satire that's definitely anti-Christian. Obviously, from a modern point of view, we can debate this forever. But from a hardcore, super-Christian point of view, satire and laughter is a tool of the Devil to trick people into not focusing on their suffering.

"I've always found that humor in music is very natural, not because of the diabolical, not because of the Devil in it, but it's very organic. We are trying to — and I think we've done somewhat of a good job — make the records little bit more straight and our live shows and the way we sort of carry ourselves in the media might be a little more tongue in cheek. That's where the humor sort of takes a bigger part. There is a big difference between the recorded GHOST, what you hear on the record and the pictures that you see on the records, and when you see it live. Usually the record's a little bit more serious."

GHOST's new EP, "Popestar", sold 21,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The effort landed at position No. 1 on both Billboard's Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts.

"Popestar" was released on September 16. The effort includes covers of songs from bands like ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN and EURYTHMICS along with "Square Hammer".

"Popestar" was helmed by English producer Tom Dalgety, who has previously worked with ROYAL BLOOD and KILLING JOKE, among others.

GHOST kicked off the "Popestar" U.S. tour on September 16, with dates scheduled through November 12 in Brooklyn, New York.