Satanized (song)
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| "Satanized" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ghost | ||||
| from the album Skeletá | ||||
| Released | March 5, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Loma Vista | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Gene Walker | |||
| Ghost singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Satanized" is a song by the Swedish rock band Ghost. It was released on 5 March 2025 through Loma Vista Recordings as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Skeletá. The song was produced by the band's leader Tobias Forge under the pseudonym "Gene Walker" and debuted at number six on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
On the day before the release of "Satanized", Ghost livestreamed a billboard in Las Vegas reading "V IS COMING", teasing the band's new frontman character, Papa V Perpetua, portrayed by lead vocalist Tobias Forge.[1] The single was released at midnight (EST) along with a music video.[2][3] In collaboration with Jason Zada, the band also launched a web app called "The Satanizer" that allows users to transform themselves into characters from the video.[4]
Themes and composition
"Satanized" blends rock and hard rock into an energetic, 1980s-inspired 6
8 rhythm, featuring driving guitars, punchy drums, layered harmonies, and catchy hooks that give the song anthemic appeal.[5] Stephen Andrew Galiher of Vice described it as "a catchy goth-rock epic".[3]
Lyrically, "Satanized" shifts from Ghost's typical devil-worship themes toward a more introspective reflection on the struggle between sin and salvation, with religious imagery centering on themes of blasphemy, heresy, and a desire for redemption.[6]
Music video
The music video, directed by Amir Chamdin and starring David Dencik, depicts a frustrated monk in a confessional while two nuns mock him. Around him, members of the clergy, possibly portrayed by the unmasked members of Ghost,[7] play cheerfully.[8][9] At the end of the video, without the support of his church, the monk transforms into the band's frontman character, Papa V Perpetua, revealing the group's new look, with Perpetua wearing purple and silver makeup and attire.[9] Additionally, Tobias Forge's new mask covers only half of his face, whereas previous masks were full-head prosthetics.[10]
