Ghost’s Papa Emeritus IV Makes First TV Appearance, Sings the Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’

Ghost are officially back! The character of Papa Emeritus IV made his first public appearance today (Jan. 22) on Swedish television, performing a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” with rock band the Hellacopters.

Mexico City got the first taste of Papa Emeritus IV in early 2020, just days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the planet. During the final show of Ghost’s Prequelle cycle, Papa Nihil mysteriously died midway through his “Miasma” saxophone solo and singer Cardinal Copia was transformed into Papa IV onstage.

After a lengthy hibernation, the lore of Ghost now continues with Papa Emeritus IV, who dressed in a regal purple suit on Swedish TV show På Spåret (On The Track) while performing the Rolling Stones classic. Papa IV’s singing style was an eerily calm baritone before morphing into an energetic rock ’n’ roll bulldozer as “Sympathy” kicked into its second half. [via Blabbermouth]

"The idea is for the album to be recorded in January,” Tobias Forge told Sweden Rock Magazine in October. “The actual recording will last around six weeks and then there's two to three weeks of mixing and mastering. So sometime in March the record should be finished, but it won't be released until after the summer. "As it looks now, knock on wood, we will then go on tour," said Forge, who also noted, "We won't release an album until we know that we are actually going on tour. The album release will coincide with the start of a tour."

Watch Papa IV’s television debut in the video below.