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Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Ghost

21 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Hard Rock

Choose a Ghost Song to Play

Respite On The Spitalfields - Guitar Tab Guitar Tab

Respite On The Spitalfields - Guitar Tab

YouTube Stats: 81K · 2.2K

StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab
Rats - Guitar Tab Guitar Tab

Rats - Guitar Tab

YouTube Stats: 77K · 1.6K

Guillaume Vrac Guitar Tab
Cirice - Guitar Lesson Guitar Lesson

Cirice - Guitar Lesson

YouTube Stats: 282K · 6.5K

GuitarLessons365SongLessons Guitar Lesson
Mary On A Cross - Guitar Lesson Guitar Lesson

Mary On A Cross - Guitar Lesson

YouTube Stats: 105K · 2.5K

GuitarLessons365SongLessons Guitar Lesson

Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Ghost is a Swedish rock band formed in Linköping in 2006, led by Tobias Forge as the theatrical frontman Papa Emeritus and later Cardinal Copia. The anonymous Nameless Ghouls deliver guitar work blending classic Hard Rock, doom metal, pop hooks, and 1970s prog. Their influences span Blue Öyster Cult, Mercyful Fate, ABBA, and film scores, creating instantly memorable riffs built on sophisticated harmonic choices and meticulous arrangement.

Playing Style and Techniques

Ghost guitar parts combine power chords, palm muted downpicking, and clean arpeggiated passages in rhythm work. Lead playing features tasteful bends, minor pentatonic runs, and melodic phrasing that emphasize precision over speed. Tracks like Cirice and Call Me Little Sunshine showcase this approach. The band favors melodic lines often harmonized in thirds with Iron Maiden influence, where every part serves the song rather than showcasing technical prowess.

Why Guitarists Study Ghost

Ghost offers an ideal curriculum for developing musicality and tone awareness. The clean, deliberate arrangements expose sloppy technique immediately, pushing players toward precision and discipline. Lead lines reward careful phrasing over flashy speed, while rhythm work demands solid groove and clarity. Studying Ghost teaches guitarists to play parts exactly as written, understanding how arrangement details and harmonic choices create impact within theatrical contexts.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Ghost sits comfortably at intermediate difficulty with no sweep picking or tapping required. Players need clean technique, solid rhythm fundamentals, and strong tone control to execute the parts correctly. The low technical barrier entry makes Ghost accessible to advancing players, while the compositional sophistication and precision demands ensure meaningful learning. This balance makes them excellent for guitarists transitioning from beginner fundamentals to more nuanced, arrangement focused playing.

What Makes Ghost Essential for Guitar Players

  • Ghost's rhythm guitar style relies heavily on precise palm-muted downpicking with clean power chord transitions. Songs like "Rats" and "Square Hammer" are excellent for building your right-hand stamina and timing at moderate tempos, think Metallica-style downpicking but at a more accessible BPM.
  • Lead guitar in Ghost songs is all about melodic phrasing and vibrato control. The iconic solo in "Cirice" uses a combination of minor pentatonic bends and sustained notes with expressive vibrato, if you can nail that solo cleanly, your lead playing fundamentals are in great shape.
  • Clean tone work is essential for Ghost. Many songs shift between overdriven riffs and shimmering clean arpeggios ("Mary On A Cross" is a prime example), so you'll need to master your guitar's volume knob and your amp's clean-to-crunch threshold to handle their dynamic range.
  • Harmonized guitar lines are a Ghost signature. Tracks like "Faith" and "Cirice" feature dual-guitar harmonies in thirds and sixths that recall classic Iron Maiden but with a more restrained, doom-inflected feel. Learning both parts is a fantastic ear-training exercise.
  • Ghost frequently uses chromatic movement and unexpected chord voicings borrowed from pop and prog. "Square Hammer" features a deceptively catchy riff built on a simple minor progression, but the voicings and rhythm give it a hook that teaches you how arrangement and note choice matter more than complexity.

Did You Know?

The main guitar tone on Ghost's studio recordings often comes from layering multiple guitar tracks with slightly different amp settings, one tighter and more midrange-focused, one wider and scooped, creating that massive but clear wall of sound you hear on albums like Meliora.

Tobias Forge has cited Blue Öyster Cult's Buck Dharma as a primary influence on how Ghost guitar solos should sound: melodic, singable, and never longer than necessary. Every Ghost solo is essentially a vocal melody played on guitar.

The riff in "Cirice" was reportedly one of the first things Forge wrote for the Meliora album, and it won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2016, making it one of the most commercially recognized metal riffs of the 2010s.

Ghost's cover of Genesis's "Jesus He Knows Me" stays remarkably faithful to the original guitar arrangement, showing that the band's clean pop-rock chops are just as polished as their heavier material. It's a great lesson in how to cover a song without overplaying.

Live, the Nameless Ghouls have been spotted using a variety of guitars including Gibson SGs, ESP Eclipses, and Hagström Fantomens, the latter being a custom model designed specifically for Ghost, featuring a sharp body shape inspired by their occult aesthetic.

The guitar intro to "Mary On A Cross" went massively viral on TikTok in 2022, years after the song's original release. Its simplicity, just a few clean chords with a slight chorus effect, proves that tone and feel can make a bigger impact than technical complexity.

Ghost recordings often feature subtle keyboard layers that double the guitar harmonies, which is why some parts sound fuller than expected when you try to play them solo. Recognizing which frequencies are guitar versus synth is key to getting an accurate transcription.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Meliora album cover
Meliora 2015

This is the essential Ghost album for guitarists. "Cirice" offers a masterclass in building tension with palm-muted riffs and delivering an emotionally charged solo, while "He Is" teaches clean arpeggio work and dynamic control. "From the Pinnacle to the Pit" is a doom-groove riff workout that will sharpen your downpicking and timing. The production is pristine, making it easy to hear every guitar part clearly for learning purposes.

Spotify Apple Music
Prequelle album cover
Prequelle 2018

"Rats" and "Faith" are the standout tracks here for guitar practice. "Rats" features one of Ghost's catchiest riffs, a great exercise in rhythmic precision and palm-mute dynamics, while "Faith" delivers chugging doom-metal verses and harmonized lead lines. "Dance Macabre" is perfect for working on clean funky strumming and pop-rock chord progressions with a rock edge.

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Impera album cover
Impera 2022

The most guitar-forward Ghost album. "Call Me Little Sunshine" has a sinister, grinding riff and an arena-rock solo that's perfect for intermediate lead players. "Kaisarion" opens with a blazing dual-guitar harmony run, and "Twenties" features some of the most aggressive riffing in the Ghost catalog. If you want to push your technique beyond the basics of their earlier work, start here.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

The Nameless Ghouls are most closely associated with the Hagström Fantomen, a custom signature model designed for Ghost featuring a sharp, angular body, set neck, and 22 frets. Gibson SG Standards and ESP Eclipse models have also been used extensively both live and in the studio. The Fantomen's slim C-profile neck and dual-humbucker layout make it versatile enough for both the chunky rhythm work and melodic leads Ghost requires.

Amp

Ghost's guitar tone lives in the classic crunch-to-moderate-gain territory. Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers and Mark series amps have been used for heavier tones, while Fender-style cleans handle the arpeggiated passages. Live rigs have included Fractal Audio Axe-Fx units for consistency. The key is a tight, mid-focused overdrive that stays clear even with palm muting, think gain around 5-6 on a tube amp, not fully saturated modern metal distortion.

Pickups

The Hagström Fantomen ships with Hagström-designed Custom 58 humbuckers, which deliver a medium-hot output similar to a PAF with a bit more bite, warm enough for clean arpeggios but with enough push for crunchy riffs without getting muddy. The balanced output (around 8-10k ohms) keeps dynamics intact, which is essential for Ghost's contrast between clean and driven passages. Some Ghouls have been spotted with Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz combinations in their ESP guitars.

Effects & Chain

Ghost's effects are restrained but purposeful. A chorus pedal (Boss CE-2 or similar) is essential for their shimmery clean tones, you'll hear it all over "Mary On A Cross" and "He Is." A subtle reverb (plate or hall) adds depth without washing things out. For leads, a slight delay (300-400ms, low mix) gives solos that spacious, atmospheric quality. An overdrive pedal like a Tube Screamer is used to tighten the rhythm tone and push the amp into crunch. There's no heavy modulation or wah, Ghost's effects philosophy is "less is more, but what's there must be perfect."

Recommended Gear

Gibson SG Standard
Guitar

Gibson SG Standard

Ghost's Nameless Ghouls use the SG's sharp body and bright tonality for cutting through dense production with articulate rhythm work. The guitar's natural sustain helps their chunky riffs maintain clarity without modern metal muddiness.

ESP Eclipse
Guitar

ESP Eclipse

The Eclipse provides Ghost with a versatile platform for both studio recordings and live performances, offering the tight response needed for their mid-focused crunch tones. Its sleek design and reliable electronics support their atmospheric lead passages seamlessly.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

This amp delivers Ghost's signature mid-heavy crunch at moderate gain levels, staying clear and tight during palm muting without descending into saturated distortion. The Dual Rectifier's natural breakup at 5-6 gain is perfect for their contrast between clean and driven passages.

Seymour Duncan JB
Pickup

Seymour Duncan JB

Ghost's ESP guitars benefit from the JB's aggressive high-end bite and punchy output, cutting through the mix during heavier sections. This combination bridges the gap between their clean arpeggios and crunchy, riff-driven moments with powerful definition.

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

The TS9 tightens Ghost's rhythm tone and pushes their amp into responsive crunch without adding unnecessary coloration. This classic overdrive pedal is essential for maintaining their clean-to-driven dynamic without sacrificing the clarity they demand.

Boss CE-2 Chorus
Pedal

Boss CE-2 Chorus

The CE-2 creates the shimmery, dimensional quality throughout Ghost's atmospheric passages like Mary On A Cross and He Is. Its subtle modulation adds depth to clean arpeggios while respecting the band's minimalist effects philosophy.

How to Practice Ghost on GuitarZone

Every Ghost song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Cirice - Guitar LessonPractice Mary On A Cross - Guitar LessonPractice Respite On The Spitalfields - Guitar Tab