Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge has discussed the impressive levelling-up that the band has achieved on their most recent album cycle, particularly when it comes to their profile in North America. Speaking to Metal Hammer in their latest issue, Forge reveals that in some of the cities the Swedish spooks visited on their most recent tour, they played venues over twice the size of their previous stop-offs there.
“On this last tour, you can tell that something has happened,” he explains, referring to the North American leg of the Imperatour, which promoted Ghost's acclaimed 2022 studio album, Impera. “There’s a lot more kids at the show. The last time we played Detroit, we played in front of 4000 people. This time, it was over 10,000. We’re doubling everywhere.”
The gigs weren't only at bigger venues; they also featured an expanded live show, including more technical upgrades and even the addition of backing dancers.
“We opened Pandora’s Box,” says Tobias. “We were adding all these other elements to the show that a lot of people – myself included – thought, ‘That would be cool to do all the time.’ Which is kind of complicated, because with something like the dancers, you’re essentially adding another team of performers. It’s another set of people who need to train and be in shape and travel and be fed.”
When asked if the extra live flourishes mean Ghost have to pay extra attention to the budget sheets, Tobias replies: “There are still budgetary issues, absolutely. Every cool idea you can ever come up with is really expensive. It always costs money and money is what controls everything. You have to pick and choose.”
You can read more from Tobias in the latest issue of Metal Hammer, out now. Latest Ghost album Impera is out now via Loma Vista. In his 9/10 review for Hammer, critic Dave Everley wrote of the album: "Impera wins on bolshiness, bravado and skyscraping songs alone. Ghost have turned in a modern metal classic with an arena rock heart. It turns out the devil doesn’t have all the best tunes. Tobias Forge does."
