Ghost — Prequelle Exalted: The Deluxe Prequelle Nobody Talks About

The Deluxe Prequelle Nobody Talks About — the Vault Deep Dive on Ghost — Prequelle Exalted (2018).

The Story

By 2018 Ghost had shed the last of its anonymity. A Swedish court case had unmasked Tobias Forge as the mind behind the Nameless Ghouls, and rather than retreat he leaned into the theater. Prequelle arrived that June, a concept record circling the Black Death, plague, and the human urge to keep dancing while the world ends. Cardinal Copia stepped forward as the new frontman persona. This lavish box set, Prequelle Exalted, gathered that album with an arena tour photo book documenting the campaign that pushed Ghost from clubs to headline sheds across the world.

The Sound

Prequelle is Ghost at their most gleaming and radio-aware, trading blackened chill for melodic sweep. Big choruses, layered vocal harmonies, and shameless classic-rock hooks sit beside a pair of instrumentals. There are pipe organs and orchestral flourishes, arena-sized guitar leads, and a saxophone break that no metal purist saw coming. The production is clean and stadium-ready without losing the campy menace that defines the band. Melody carries everything here; the songs are built to be sung by thousands, which is exactly what happened once the touring cycle caught fire and the persona took hold.

The Sessions

Forge wrote and shaped the material with producer Tom Dalgety, who had worked with the band previously and understood the balance between pop polish and heaviness. Sessions leaned on real players brought in to serve Forge's arrangements rather than a fixed lineup, keeping the Nameless Ghoul mystique intact even after the unmasking. The instrumentals were treated as full compositions, not filler. That saxophone feature became a talking point, an unlikely detour that fit the record's carnival-of-death mood. Everything served the songs, with Forge steering as the singular creative force behind the whole production.

The Legacy

Prequelle turned Ghost into a genuine arena act. It charted strongly worldwide and its singles became setlist anchors for the tours that followed, cementing Copia as a fan favorite before his later evolution. The record proved a theatrical Swedish band in robes and skull paint could cross over without diluting the concept. This Exalted edition is the collector's monument to that moment, wrapping the album in documentation of the very tour that made the argument. It stands as a snapshot of the exact year Ghost stopped being a cult secret and became a headliner.

Why This Copy

This is Prequelle Exalted, a numbered deluxe box hand-marked 1607 of just 5000 machine-numbered copies. It houses a 60-page arena tour photo book bound in hardwood and wrapped in black gator skin, four 12x12 live photo prints bound in, and the Prequelle artwork with a 12-page booklet of brand-new illustrations. The bonus 7-inch carries two previously unreleased songs. In Mint condition, it's a complete, untouched example.

What the pressing tells us

The part most listings skip. This is how we grade and how you can tell copies apart:

• US Loma Vista deluxe box, machine-numbered 1607 of 5000 copies.
• Prequelle Exalted edition: 60-page hardwood book wrapped in black gator skin.
• Includes four bound 12x12 live prints and 12-page illustrated booklet.
• Bonus 7-inch holds two previously unreleased songs.

Session file

• Produced by Tom Dalgety, a returning Ghost collaborator.
• Tobias Forge wrote and directed the entire record.
• Released June 2018 on Loma Vista Recordings.
• Album balances pop polish against classic heavy arrangements.
• Features an unexpected saxophone break amid the instrumentals.

Who played on it

• Tobias Forge — Songwriter, vocals, creative director
• Tom Dalgety — Producer

Vault Trivia

1. Which persona fronted Ghost during the Prequelle touring cycle?

1. Cardinal Copia
2. Papa Emeritus II
3. Papa Emeritus III
4. Papa Nihil

Reveal the answer

Cardinal Copia — Cardinal Copia debuted for Prequelle before later ascending to Papa Emeritus IV.

2. What legal event preceded Prequelle's creation?

1. A royalties lawsuit by former Ghouls
2. A trademark dispute over the logo
3. A record label breach of contract
4. A concert venue liability suit

Reveal the answer

A royalties lawsuit by former Ghouls — Former band members sued Forge over royalties, forcing his public unmasking as the mastermind.

3. Which producer helmed Prequelle for Ghost?

1. Tom Dalgety
2. Klas Ahlund
3. Nick Raskulinecz
4. Andy Wallace

Reveal the answer

Tom Dalgety — Tom Dalgety produced Prequelle, continuing his working relationship with Tobias Forge.

4. What instrument features on a notable Prequelle break?

1. Saxophone
2. Violin solo
3. Harpsichord lead
4. Banjo passage

Reveal the answer

Saxophone — A saxophone solo appears, an unusual choice that became a widely discussed talking point.

5. Prequelle's concept centers on which historical subject?

1. The Black Death plague
2. The Salem witch trials
3. The Spanish Inquisition
4. The French Revolution

Reveal the answer

The Black Death plague — Prequelle explores plague, death, and the compulsion to celebrate amid catastrophe.

Come see it in person at the vault — this one won't wait for you.

Rare Collectibles Chicago grades and photographs every copy in-house — 20 years, 25,000+ sales. Browse the vault.