Ghost is one of the best gateway bands in modern metal.
Even though the Satanic aesthetic might be strange, Tobias Forge makes some of the most pop-friendly hard rock of the modern age.
Now that Ghost is viral, Forge isn’t sure that’s a good thing yet.
When speaking to Metal Hammer, Forge mentioned getting both love and hate from Ghost’s songs on social media saying,
“It’s a bit of a crap-shoot as well. We are not a big mainstream act, so obviously there’s going to be a mixed bag of reactions. Because people in general are kind of strange to a lot of these aesthetics of rock, and especially the darker aspects of it.”
Although Ghost have their devotees, Forge remembers getting a harsh pushback to their sound online saying,
“There have been people who might have come on to the track, and as soon as they see what the band is about – or what they perceive the band to be about – there’s backlash, because it’s like: ‘Oh my, God fearing hater!’ ‘I don’t like it!’ ‘This is communist bullshit!’”
Despite fronting a metal band, Forge has never been a snob about metal music saying,
“I like music that moves me and makes me feel things and, more than often, it’s music that falls within a certain sort of pattern. But that could be anything from Fleetwood Mac to Venom.”
Forge does practice what he preaches as well. On a Ghost record, fans are served everything from cathedral-style metal to the poppy side of “Square Hammer.”
While Ghost might not be as heavy as Emperor, Forge is content as a gateway artist saying,
“It’s a great bonus if we can get new people, especially kids, into liking rock music or other things, or if it makes them feel in any way better-informed if you will.”
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