Ghost claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. Credit to Mikael Eriksson/M Industries.
Los Angeles, California (May 7, 2025)- Swedish hard rock band Ghost has made a thunderous return, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time in their career with their latest studio album, Skeletá. The album, released via Loma Vista Recordings, earned 86,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. during its first week, ending May 1, according to Luminate. This marks not only a career-best for Ghost in terms of both units and traditional album sales, but also a landmark moment for their label, which sees its first-ever chart-topper.
Of the total units earned, a staggering 77,000 came from traditional album sales, driven heavily by vinyl enthusiasts. With over 44,000 vinyl copies sold, Skeletá not only delivered Ghost their largest vinyl sales week to date, but also posted the biggest week for a hard rock album on vinyl in the modern era since Luminate began tracking such data in 1991. This figure places the album third overall for any rock album on vinyl, behind only blink-182’s One More Time… and boygenius’ The Record.
Ghost’s success with Skeletá also extends to digital platforms. The album achieved 9,000 streaming equivalent album (SEA) units, translating to 12.45 million on-demand official streams—another personal best for the band, topping the 9.11 million streams earned by their previous release, Impera, in its debut week. The minimal contribution from track equivalent albums (TEA) rounds out the total.
This is Ghost’s ninth entry on the Billboard 200 and their fifth to reach the top 10. They previously peaked at No. 2 with Impera in 2022. Since their first appearance on the chart with Infestissumam in 2013, which landed at No. 28, the band has steadily climbed the ranks of the rock world, culminating in this historic achievement.
Skeletá is more than just a commercial triumph—it’s also a critical and cultural milestone. The album’s lead single, “Satanized,” became the band’s 10th top 10 hit on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in April and climbed as high as No. 3 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart in March. Two other tracks from the album, “Lachryma” and “Peacefield,” also made waves on the same chart, reaching No. 3 and No. 13 respectively. The album continues the momentum from Ghost’s viral 2022 success with “Mary on a Cross,” which earned them their first-ever entry on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
Notably, Skeletá is the first hard rock album to top the Billboard 200 in over four years, and the only rock, hard rock, or alternative album to reach No. 1 in 2025 so far. The last hard rock album to achieve the feat was AC/DC’s Power Up, which reached No. 1 in November 2020. The last rock album to lead the chart was Coldplay’s Moon Music, which hit the top in October 2024.
Beyond its impact on the charts, Skeletá also represents a milestone for Ghost’s label, Loma Vista Recordings. While the label previously reached No. 2 with Impera, this is its first No. 1 album. It also marks the first chart-topper for the broader Concord Label Group in nearly a decade, following James Taylor’s Before This World in 2015.
As Skeletá dominates the top spot, the rest of the Billboard 200 features familiar names. SZA’s SOS holds steady at No. 2, followed by Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Bad Bunny. Shaboozey’s Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going surges into the top 10 at No. 8 following a deluxe edition reissue. Playboi Carti and Morgan Wallen round out the top 10 at Nos. 9 and 10 respectively.
Ghost’s No. 1 debut with Skeletá is not just a moment for the band—it’s a seismic statement for hard rock as a genre in 2025, reminding the music world that powerful riffs, theatrical storytelling, and vinyl-fueled fandom still have a commanding place in the modern music landscape.
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