Tobias Forge claims that, despite appearances, a lot of Ghost’s music isn’t actually about the Devil.
Since debuting with 2010’s Opus Eponymous, the Swedish hard rock/heavy metal outfit have presented themselves as a subversive church with a skeletal “pope” singer, portrayed by Forge, and an ensemble of druid-like backing musicians called “nameless ghouls”. Their back-catalogue also includes such songs as Devil Church, Depth Of Satan’s Eyes and the new single Satanized.
However, Forge says in a new interview with Metal Hammer that that seeming fascination with The Great Horned One is only skin-deep. “With most of the things I’ve written, including parts of the first record, there’s this misconception that they’re about the Devil, and they aren’t really,” he insists.
So what do Ghost’s songs actually discuss? “They’ve always been about mankind’s relationship with the concept of life and death,” Forge continues, “and God and divine presence or absence. Some songs are expressed with more specificity at a certain individual or a certain aspect of society. I just felt that I wanted this new record to be… about being human. Being alive.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Forge talks about Ghost’s ‘new’ frontman Papa V Perpetua, who replaces the outgoing character Papa Emeritus IV (even though it’s still the same man beneath the mask and mitre). He admits that he doesn’t know much about the new singer’s personality yet and that it will reveal itself once he starts playing live.
“I’ve always felt that it was a scary thing,” he adds. “On one hand, I’m trying to make the ‘product’ that is Ghost an entertaining thing for our fans. On the other, I try to do that as pleasantly as is possible for myself as well.
“When I decided to introduce Cardinal Copia into the mix [for 2018 album Prequelle], it felt very uncomfortable because he was going to be thrown out there as someone who hadn’t become [a Papa Emeritus] yet: ‘Wow, this is going to be a little different.’ But what I did know was that I didn’t have to go through the process of introducing a new character for the next album. Now, I do!”
Ghost release their new album, Skeletá, on April 25 via Loma Vista. The band will start the six-month Skeletour world tour to promote the release in Manchester, UK, on April 15. See dates and details of the shows below.
Ghost are the cover stars on the new issue of Hammer. As well as an in-depth interview with Forge, the magazine comes with two Ghost-inspired patches and an art print, plus conversations with Cradle Of Filth, Wardruna, Lamb Of God, Atreyu, Harper and many more. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door!
Ghost 2025 tour dates:
UK:
Apr 15: Manchester AO Arena
Apr 16: Glasgow OVO Hydro
Apr 19: London The O2
Apr 20: Birmingham Utilita Arena
Europe:
Apr 22: Antwerp Sportpaleis, Belgium
Apr 23: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Apr 24: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Apr 26: Lyon LDLC Arena, France
Apr 27: Toulouse Zenith Metropole, France
Apr 29: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal
Apr 30: Madrid Palacio Vistalegre, Spain
May 03: Zurich AG Hallenstadion, Switzerland
May 04: Milan Unipol Forum, Italy
May 07: Berlin Uber Arena, Germany
May 08: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
May 10: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
May 11: Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
May 13: Paris Accor Arena, France
May 14: Oberhausen Rudolph Weber Arena, Germany
May 15: Hannover ZAG Arena, Germany
May 17: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
May 20: Tampere Nokia Arena, Finland
May 22: Linköping Saab Arena, Sweden
May 23: Sandviken Göransson Arena, Sweden
May 24: Oslo Spektrum, Norway
USA:
Jul 09: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
Jul 11: Atlanta State Farm Arena, GA
Jul 12: Tampa Amalie Arena, FL
Jul 13: Miami Kaseya Center, FL
Jul 15: Raleigh PNC Arena, NC
Jul 17: Cleveland Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, OH
Jul 18: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA
Jul 19: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA
Jul 21: Boston TD Garden, MA
Jul 22: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Jul 24: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI
Jul 25: Louisville KFC Yum! Center, KY
Jul 26: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN
Jul 28: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
Jul 29: Milwaukee Fiserv Forum, WI
Jul 30: St Louis Enterprise Center, MO
Aug 01: Rosemont Allstate Arena, IL
Aug 02: Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center, MN
Aug 03: Omaha CHI Health Center, NE
Aug 05: Kansas City T-Mobile Center, MO
Aug 07: Denver Ball Arena, CO
Aug 09: Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, NV
Aug 10: San Diego Viejas Arena, CA
Aug 11: Phoenix Footprint Center, AZ
Aug 14: Austin Moody Center ATX, TX
Aug 15: Fort Worth Dickies Arena, TX
Aug 16: Houston Toyota Center, TX
Mexico:
Sep 24: Mexico City Palacio De Los Deportes
