Ghost’s Tobias Forge has told NME that the band’s signature lore may be coming to an end in the near future.
The metal frontman was speaking ahead of the band’s highly anticipated sixth studio album ‘Skeletá’, which is due to be released on April 25. It has been previewed with its anthemic lead single ‘Satanized’, and it is the first to feature Forge’s new persona Papa Perpetua.
Forge has inhabited a series of different characters during his time fronting the Swedish occult band, taking on a different incarnation for every new touring cycle. After the demise of Papa Emeritus IV, who led them on the tour supporting 2022 album ‘Impera’, Papa Perpetua is their latest leader.
However, it appears that this aspect of the band’s identity may be nearing its final chapter. When NME asked him about his end goal for the band’s journey, he said: “I think that there might be an end to the storytelling because it’s not productive to have this endless soap opera. If fans need the lore in order to like the band, then that element will probably be over quite soon.”
“If there is a way where the music can be enough and remains enjoyable, though, I am just as needy as any other artist in the sense of milestones that I want to achieve. There are still places that I want to play and still things I want to do that will be another feather in my hat. I am very lucky that I’ve been able to achieve many of those things, but there are still levels of success that I want.”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Forge said Ghost are “living proof” that the concept that “rock is dead” is not true. “I’m not saying that you can become a new AC/DC, but we are living proof that you still can do it,” he said. “There are more recent bands around, like Sleep Token, who are succeeding, so obviously, you can become a bigger band.”
Ghost are one of the many bands that are playing a slot at Black Sabbath’s upcoming final show at Villa Park in Birmingham. “ Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne have been a tremendous influence on me,” Forge said. “Ozzy as a frontman and Ozzy as a solo artist is something I put a divide between, because I grew up in the ‘80s where he was much more of a rockstar than Black Sabbath were.
“I gravitated towards that, but I also grew up listening to the old Black Sabbath records. Nowadays, I love most Black Sabbath releases. Even the ‘80s and ‘90s albums, I love them for what they are, and the Dio era also has a very special place in my heart, too.”
Ghost are heading on their own tour around the UK, Europe and the US later this year, starting in Manchester’s AO Arena on April 15. Find the full list of dates here and any remaining tickets here.
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