Ghost: Papa Emeritus III Replaced by Papa Emeritus Zero

Sooner or later, the time comes when every Papa Emerti must go from being a Ghost to being a ghost. Over the course of the past 2+ years, Papa Emeritus III has had a great run — but he was forcibly removed from the stage during a performance in Sweden earlier tonight, presumably never to be heard from again. His successor is not, as you might imagine, Papa Emeritus IV, but, rather, a much older Papa, ‘Papa Emeritus Zero.’

“A festa è finita, il medioevo comincia ora,” the new-old Papa told the crowd in Italian after introducing himself. That translates in English to “The party is over, the Middle Ages begin now.” Presumably, this means that the next Ghost album, tentatively due for release next spring, will have some sort of Middle Ages theme to it (or will be outright called The Middle Ages… although that seems like too-straightforward of a name for a Ghost record).

You can watch video of the latest Changing of the Papas below. It will be interesting to see how having an old Papa who needs a cane and an oxygen tanks works out; he won’t be nearly so athletic live as PEIII, that’s for sure.

[via Metal Injection and Rock Feed]