"Meliora", the latest album from Swedish occult rockers GHOST, has been certified platinum in Sweden for sales in excess of 40,000 copies. (Note: The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry [IFPI] in Sweden has revised the sales requirements for albums to reach platinum status in the country three times in the last 20 years — from the pre-1996 level of 100,000 to the current 40,000.) The biggest-selling Swedish hard rock album of all time is believed to be "The Final Countdown" by EUROPE, which shifted more than 100,000 copies back in Sweden in the late '80s. On the metal side of things, CLAWFINGER's debut LP, 1993's "Deaf Dumb Blind", reportedly moved 65,000 or 70,000 copies in Sweden but wasn't certified platinum due to the platinum sales requirement being 100,000. More recently, SABATON's "Carolus Rex" album was certified platinum in Sweden in 2013 after selling more than 40,000 copies. "Meliora" was released in August 2015 and debuted in the U.S. at No. 1 at Independent Retail, No. 2 at Rock, and in the Top 10 (No. 8) on The Billboard 200 chart. The band capped off a landmark 2015 with their late-night television debut on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"'s Halloween show on CBS with a rousing performance of their offering "Cirice", which reached No. 3 at radio at Active Rock and Mainstream Rock. GHOST's latest EP, "Popestar", was released on September 16 by Loma Vista Recordings and is available online and in record stores on CD, vinyl, and digital. The surprise five-track offering features leading psalm "Square Hammer" and also contains covers of selections by ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, EURYTHMICS and IMPERIET. "Popestar" was recorded by Papa Emeritus III and his Nameless Ghouls in Linköping, Sweden and produced by Tom Dalgety (PIXIES, ROYAL BLOOD, OPETH). Additionally, GHOST released a deluxe version of "Meliora". "Meliora Deluxe" contains the "Popestar" EP as a bonus disc (CD or LP or digital). The arrival of the "Popestar" EP coincided with the launch of the band's 41-city U.S. headlining "Popestar" tour, which kicked off on September 16.
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