A petition is going around on Change.org asking Swedish heavy metal group Ghost (Ghost B.C.) as they’re labeled in the U.S. to disband simply because they are not a “real metal band.”
The petition, formed by Sven Armdacht states: “We petition against Ghost of the heavy metal genre that continues to make albums and tour. Many people getting into metal think that they are the real deal and that we should forget the real bands like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc. They wish to destroy real metal with their carnival music nonsense. Seriously, is a song like If You Have Ghost actually something that a real metalhead would listen to? They are not metal. People also make the erroneous claim that they are so directly inspired by King Diamond/Mercyful Fate, which is just wrong. They are, in fact, a watered-down version of BOC. We the people oppose Ghost continuing as a band, and they should be split up as soon as possible.”
The petition has so far received 998 signatures and is looking to reach its goal of 10,000 signatures. Due to the coverage on sites like Metal Underground, Metal Injection and Metal Sucks and the backlash it has received from Ghost fans, Armdacht responded:
“Fellow supporters have messaged me about this petition being reported in Metal Sucks, Metal Injection, Metal Underground and some other smaller metal news sites! Even some petitions to stop THIS petition have been created! This shows that the whole world is aware that there is a cause to get Ghost to split up. We still have a lot to go but progress has been great! I recommend all to share this petition, get the word out. Thanx to all who are supporting this petition. Ghost is not metal! Cheers!”
Ghost has released two albums and are in the process of recording their third album with a new singer that will most likely be named Papa Emeritus III due to the band’s onstage persona of being “Nameless Ghouls.”
