The past year has been nothing short of monumental for Ghost. They conquered the US leg of their Imperatour, culminating in two sold-out nights at the iconic Los Angeles Kia Forum. These weren’t just any metal shows; they were full-blown spectacles, with costume changes galore, a haunting string quartet, and even a troupe of dancers adding an extra layer of macabre elegance to the proceedings.
But the main course wasn’t just about spectacle. It was also about evolution. Whispers of Papa Emeritus IV‘s demise swirled around the “Ghost – Chapter” mini videos, but instead of a fresh-faced server taking over the kitchen, Tobias kept his cards close to his chest. “At some point between now and when the next album comes, there will have been a change,” he teases, leaving fans hungry for more. “That’s all I will say.”
And the Ghost‘s kitchen isn’t closing anytime soon. Tobias has already started simmering the next album, and while he’s keeping the ingredients under wraps, he drops a tantalizing metaphor: “I’ve started writing for the next album,” he reveals to Metal Hammer. “I like to compare what I’m doing to being a chef, a chef with a few different interests and specialties,” he explains. “So you might start a few different restaurants – an Italian one, a Greek one, an Asian Fusion one. But what they all have in common is the seasoning, the decor, and the interior design… the secret sauce. With me, each record, each new cycle, is a new restaurant, but I don’t have to sit with an empty paper and come up with something new every time because the secret sauce is the same. If it comes from my notebook, it will sound like Ghost.”
That secret sauce? It’s the essence of Ghost, the je ne sais quoi that makes every album, every show, an intoxicating blend of melody, theatricality, and just a hint of the occult. And what about taking the Ghost experience to the next level, Rammstein-style, with mind-blowing stadium shows? It seems to be Tobias‘s ultimate goal (although he’ll happily skip the unpredictable weather buffets of outdoor gigs, thank you very much).
“They were doing really well before, but since they’ve been doing the outdoor thing over the last three or four years, they’ve really upped the standard. They’re friends and colleagues, but I look at what they’re doing and it’s so inspiring to see. They definitely prove you can make that jump from being an arena-selling band to playing to 55,000 people a night. But you do need to put a lot of effort into it. ” Forge explains.
“The one thing that goes against that dream for me is that I really don’t like outdoor shows, because you’re up against the elements. Outdoor shows are great when it’s slightly overcast, 20˚C out, no wind or anything. But if it’s windy or raining or too hot, it just fucks with my control tendencies.”
