THE BEAST

GHOST's new album, "Prequelle", landed at position No. 3 on this week's Billboard 200 chart. The disc, which arrived on June 1, shifted 66,000 equivalent album units in the week ending June 7. Of that sum, between 61,000 were in traditional album sales.

GHOST's first week benefits from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer in association with the band's spring U.S. theater tour, as well as a pair of arena dates later this year.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

GHOST's last studio release, the "Popestar" EP, debuted at No. 6 with 21,000 sold in its first week back in September 2016. "Popestar" started as GHOST's second No. 1 on the Hard Rock Albums chart, following "Infestissumam", which reigned for a week (May 4, 2013). Meanwhile, 2015's "Meliora" also debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

"Prequelle" was tracked last year at Artery studios in Stockholm with producer Tom Dalgety (OPETH, ROYAL BLOOD) and mixed in January at Westlake Studios in West Hollywood, California with Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, SLAYER).

GHOST played the first official show of the "Rats! On The Road" U.S. tour on May 5 at Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California.

The band broke its show up into two sets, with the first featuring 12 songs and the second consisting of 11 numbers. The group spread out the new material across both sets, interspersed with fan favorites and hits like "Cirice", "From The Pinnacle To The Pit", "He Is", "If You Have Ghosts" and show closer "Square Hammer".

The band has expanded its onstage lineup to include at least eight musicians, not including a guest appearance from Papa Nihil, the aged "original" Papa Emeritus.