Cleopatra Records has announced the signing of synthwave act Priest, featuring former members of Grammy Award-winning Swedish rock act Ghost.

Hailing from the same icy darkness of the Scandinavian inland that birthed Ghost, Priest consists of a trio of musicians - vocalist Mercury, who was known as Water when he played bass for Ghost, keyboardist Salt, formerly known as Ghost keyboardist Air, and programmer/ keyboardist Sulfur - who came together in 2017 and started releasing their own unique brew of electronic music that bears little sonic resemblance to their former band yet still shares the same creative DNA. But whereas Ghost borrowed their theatrics from old school horror and ‘80s rock, Priest comes steeped in cyberpunk and industrial music.  

Cleopatra owner Brian Perera declares, “We’ve been living in this genre since the ‘90s so we have a pretty good feel for when bands do it right, and as soon as we heard Priest, we knew they were something special. We see an extremely bright future ahead for the band and are thrilled to be partnering with them to make that happen!”

Priest concurs saying, “Signing with such a legendary label like Cleopatra will probably be the biggest step in our career. With great knowledge of the genre we’re in, we can't think of a better match for Priest. Our next album is by far the best yet and we can't wait to unleash it to a wider and more diverse audience!”

Watch for Priest’s new full-length album, produced by another Ghost alumni Simon Söderberg (Ghost guitarist and producer/engineer of debut album Opus Eponymous) as well as a full-scale US tour in summer 2022.

(Photo - Marisol Correa)