Square Hammer

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| title1 = Square Hammer

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{{track listing

| headline = Side A

| title1 = Square Hammer

| length1 = 3:59

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{{track listing

| headline = Side B

| title1 = He Is

| note1 = radio edit

| length1 = 3:31

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The music video was directed by Zev Deans and stars Brendan McGowan as Cardinal Copia, Papa Emeritus III, and himself. It was filmed in Brooklyn, NY.

The camera travels through a green-lit city during a lightning storm. Papa Emeritus III takes a paper from a hawker. He reads about a Mysterious Spectre who has seized power. He also reads about his role in the first ever moving picture. The picture "Square Hammer" is set to premiere at the Meliora Grand that very night. He exits the limo and waves to his fans. He and his Nameless Ghouls enter the theatre. They greet fans and take their seats in the front row.

The silent film starts with a man holding a torch amidst a dark and stormy landscape, also during a lightning storm. He finds a tunnel. A portcullis raises, revealing Papa Emeritus III as a mysterious spectre. He conducts the man inside, showing him a stone coffin, which starts to open, revealing more lightning within. Back in the theatre, Papa Emeritus III appears surprised about this part and the projector starts to spark. In the film, a squared hammer surrounded by electric arcs is revealed. The intertitle refers to it as the "Square Hammer". The man picks it up as the mysterious spectre makes mystic passes. The Hammer glows and emits lightning, and the mysterious spectre's left eye glows.

Suddenly, the mysterious spectre puts his hand through the screen. It arcs with power. Papa Emeritus III sees it, but the others appear unconcerned. Then the mysterious spectre bows and becomes a cloud of bats, which chase everyone except Papa Emeritus III and the ghouls outside the theatre. An afterimage of the mysterious spectre glows blue on the screen.

Outside, the bats ascend into the night sky and congeal into a giant spectre, silhouetted against the full moon. Inside the theatre, the projector sparks even more violently and shows an image of a red cardinal on top of a cross before the film melts. Papa Emeritus III has had enough and leaves. Outside, the blue image of the spectre glows against the sky. A spotlight passes over it and its left eye glows. Papa Emeritus III's left eye begins to glow before the cut.

• Director – Zev Deans
• VFE Director – Madeline Quinn
• Starring Brendan McGowan

MetalSucks gave the video a positive review.{{cite web|url=http://www.metalsucks.net/2016/09/16/ghosts-square-hammer-video-masterpiece/|title=Ghost's "Square Hammer" Video is a Masterpiece|date=September 16, 2016|author=Emperor Rhombus|work=MetalSucks|accessdate=6 November 2016}} Metal Injection gave the song a positive review.{{cite web|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/av/new-ghost-song-square-hammer-revealed-it-will-get-stuck-in-your-head|title=New GHOST Song, "Square Hammer" Revealed & It Will Get Stuck In Your Head|author=Robert Pasbani|date=September 12, 2016 |work=Metal Injection|accessdate=6 November 2016}}

Loudwire named "Square Hammer" the best metal song of 2016{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/20-best-metal-songs-2016/|title=20 Best Metal Songs of 2016|author=|date=|website=Loudwire}} and awarded the video as Best Metal Video in their 6th Annual Loudwire Music Awards in 2017,{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/6th-annual-loudwire-music-awards-complete-winners-list/|title=6th Annual Loudwire Music Awards: Complete Winners List|author=|date=|website=Loudwire}} leading the vote with 39.27% over videos such as Avenged Sevenfold's "The Stage" and Slayer's "You Against You".{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/vote-best-metal-video-6th-annual-loudwire-music-awards/|title=Best Metal Video - 6th Annual Loudwire Music Awards [Vote]|author=|date=|website=Loudwire}} Also in December 2019, Loudwire named it the Metal Song of the Decade.{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/ghost-square-hammer-metal-song-decade/|title=Ghost's 'Square Hammer' Is the Metal Song of the Decade|date=December 16, 2019|author=Graham Hartmann|work=Loudwire|accessdate=September 25, 2020}}

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=Ghost|title=Square Hammer|award=Gold|relyear=2016|certyear=2021|access-date=16 September 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=single|artist=Ghost|title=Square Hammer|award=Gold|relyear=2016|certyear=2022|access-date=6 June 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Ghost|title=Square Hammer|award=Platinum|relyear=2016|certyear=2025|access-date=14 February 2025}}

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{{Portal|2010s|Rock music|Sweden}}

• 2016 in Swedish music
• Ghost discography
• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 2010s

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web|url=https://gbhbl.com/2016/09/15/single-review-square-hammer-ghost/|title=Single Review – Square Hammer – Ghost|work=Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life|date= September 15, 2016|author=unholydarklotus|accessdate=6 November 2016}}
• {{cite web|url=http://blog.siriusxm.com/2016/09/12/ghost-debuts-new-song-square-hammer-exclusively-on-octane/|title=Ghost debuts new song 'Square Hammer,' exclusively on Octane|author=Caitlin Carter|date=September 12, 2016|work=SiriusXM Blog|accessdate=6 November 2016}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-ghost-video-for-new-single-square-hammer/|title=Watch Ghost's Video For New Single 'Square Hammer' |work=Blabbermouth.net|date=September 16, 2016|accessdate=7 November 2016}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/listen-to-new-ghost-song-square-hammer/|title=New GHOST EP 'Popestar' Due This Friday; Listen To 'Square Hammer' Song|date=September 12, 2016|work=Blabbermouth.net|accessdate=8 November 2016}}

• {{YouTube|OyYA8FlfBd0|Square Hammer}}
• {{Discogs release|9056351|Square Hammer|type=album OR single}}

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Category:2016 songs

Category:2016 singles

Category:Ghost (Swedish band) songs

Category:Loma Vista Recordings singles

Category:Spinefarm Records singles

Category:Songs written by Tobias Forge

Category:Song recordings produced by Tom Dalgety