Ghost, a Grammy-winning Swedish doom metal band, had an air of mystique about them until 2017. The singer performed (at the time) as a satanic priest named Papa Emeritus, and the other band members wore horned, mouthless masks and were referred to only as "Nameless Ghouls." The real names of the band members weren't known. The veil dropped when four former Ghouls — Simon Söderberg, Martin Hjertstedt, Henrik Palm, and Mauro Rubino — sued Papa Emeritus, aka Tobias Forge.
As reported by the New York Post, the former members' lawsuit made Forge out to be a boss from Hell who'd argue with them during tours and even make them clean his dank, musty costumes. Of course, he also stiffed them when it came to sharing the band's profits, and the former Ghouls sought 200,000 kronor (around $22,000) to remedy that. In response, Forge stated that all Ghouls perform following his specific instructions, and that they're merely salaried session musicians. The former members claimed they were never told this.
In 2018, a judge ruled against the former band members. Per Blabbermouth, they were ordered to pay 1.3 million kronor ($146,000) for Forge's legal fees. The Ghouls appealed, accusing the judge of bias, as both he and Forge were Freemasons. That appeal was denied in February 2019, but the Ghouls have appealed again, according to Loudwire. Meanwhile, Forge has appealed the original ruling as well, as he wanted 2 million kronor ($225,000) for his legal fees.
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