Ghost’s Tobias Forge Makes Rare Unmasked Appearance, Joins Lars Winnerbäck On Stage (Video)

In a rare and unannounced public appearance without his signature mask or face paint, Ghost leader Tobias Forge joined Swedish singer-songwriter Lars Winnerbäck on stage last night in Linköping, Sweden. The surprise guest spot saw Forge perform backing vocals and guitar on Winnerbäck‘s 2003 track “Dunkla Rum,” a move that continues the slow, public evolution of his persona since his identity was officially revealed in 2017.

The performance at the SAAB Arena on Friday, October 10, is one of the few instances where Forge has performed publicly as himself, outside the theatrical confines of his Papa Emeritus or Cardinal Copia characters.

For years, the identities of Ghost‘s members were a closely guarded secret, a core part of the band’s mystique. That anonymity was shattered in 2017 when former members filed a lawsuit against Forge, forcing him to legally attach his name to his work. Forge talked about his mixed emotions regarding the loss of that anonymity, which he saw as a central paradox to the band’s mission.

“I felt for a long time that it kind of defeats the purpose. It’s a paradox working actively towards making your band bigger and more popular whilst remaining less known,” he said. “So for a long time it really felt like this paradoxical, like, ‘What are we doing? Why are we doing this?'”

He also explained that, on a personal level, he never felt completely anonymous, especially within the niche metal scene he came from.

“I never felt really anonymous before, because in a micro format, I was, to a certain degree, known within a really, really, really niche little group of people who liked old-school death metal, who knew who I was,” he explained. “And that group stays together. They all talk. So as soon as Ghost happened, all of them knew who was in Ghost … I’m not a known person. Maybe a lot of people know about Ghost , but people in general do not know who I am.”