From an overlooked B-side to a billion-stream phenomenon. Ghost’s unlikely hit has officially joined Spotify’s exclusive Billions Club.
Well, that’s quite a milestone. Ghost’s Mary On A Cross has officially surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, making it the latest heavy music track to reach the ten-digit mark.
Originally released in 2019 as part of the two-track EP Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, the song wasn’t initially intended to become one of the band’s defining moments. In fact, it was the other track, Kiss The Go-Goat, that received much of the attention at the time.
But fast-forward to 2022 and things took an unexpected turn.
A slowed-down, reverb-heavy version of Mary On A Cross began circulating on TikTok, picking up enormous momentum through fan-created videos and edits, including those inspired by Netflix’s Stranger Things. Suddenly, a song that had been sitting quietly in Ghost’s back catalogue was reaching millions of people who might never have otherwise discovered the band.
And what a gateway track it turned out to be.
There’s something quite amusing about a band built around occult imagery, theatrical performances and a healthy dose of heavy metal theatrics finding one of its biggest audiences through a song that leans heavily into psychedelic pop and vintage rock rather than their heavier material.
It’s also a testament to Tobias Forge’s songwriting. Beneath all the elaborate costumes, satanic imagery and elaborate stage production, Ghost have always understood the importance of a bloody good tune.
Mary On A Cross now joins an exclusive club of heavy music tracks to have surpassed one billion Spotify streams, alongside songs such as Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters, System Of A Down’s Chop Suey! and Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train.
To celebrate the achievement, Ghost have also released a retrospective featuring director Sean Donnelly, looking back at the making of the song’s animated music video.
Whether you’re a fan of the band’s earlier, heavier material or prefer the more accessible direction they’ve taken in recent years, it’s difficult not to appreciate the achievement.
One billion streams. Not bad for a B-side.
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