Ghost: Tobias Forge points to Rammstein as a motivational guidepost

Ghost vocalist Tobias Forge is always an artist to provide interesting conversation. In a recent interview with the Ghost vocalist by We Are The Pit, Tobias Forge spoke to how he doesn’t keep up with that much new music; however, he did share in an another interview, with Metal Hammer, one modern band that serves as an inspiration of sorts to him.

During the interview with the Ghost vocalist, he is asked about the band’s trajectory; specifically, what band he would most like to most emulate. Ghost have reached a level of stadium rock/metal popularity that has taken the heavy music world by storm. The Ghost vocalist speaks to an act he looks to as a sort of guidepost when it comes to theatrical aspirations – and it isn’t Metallica or Iron Maiden.

If there’s a comparison to make, it’s better for us to compare ourselves to more contemporary bands rather than my idols. All those 60s bands, it feels like they were 100 years ago now, with a completely different set of rules and a different world. But even talking about AC/DC, Metallica or Iron Maiden, it was a different time and age.

But if I compare us to a band that’s at least a little bit closer to me, generationally, it would be Rammstein. I have no intention of sounding like them, but as a visionary, it’s motivating for me to see how a band that were doing arenas up until a couple of years ago now play stadiums. Remember that it’s one thing to play arenas, and it’s another thing to sell out arenas. They’re also a fictional sort of band, highly themed, and they put on a show, as opposed to Pearl Jam, who go up in normal street-wear and play on a carpet, and who seem like your down-to-earth, well-educated bros. Ha ha! So I’d see Rammstein as the sort of guidepost that I’m working towards.Tobias Forge

When asked if he still believes if there’s still a sense of “danger” in rock music, he replied with the following:

I feel under-equipped in a way to talk about other bands, because I’m just not generally very in-tuned with what’s going. I don’t listen to a whole lot of new music. I think that one band that is new and contemporarily cool, but still embracing a lot of old fashion entertainment values, is the band we brought on the American tour – and will bring onto the European tour – which is Twin Temple. Technically they are a doo-wop, sort of ‘60s [sounding] band, so I guess they aren’t bringing a whole lot of new influences into it. They are very entertaining and very good at what they do. So it’s like old-school, traditional fun.

Tobias Forge