Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge recently reflected on the significant shift in his public persona following a 2017 lawsuit by former band members that forced his identity into the open. In a new conversation with Aziz Bentot of Dealer 2 Metal, Forge discussed the paradoxical nature of striving for band success while trying to maintain personal anonymity.
He elaborated on the inherent conflict and how he eventually reconciled it, referencing other famously masked or enigmatic musical acts (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“I came to, at a certain point, even though there was, obviously, a literal process that sort of forced me to put my name on to my work, which is itself is kind of not very strange, 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. So for a long time it really felt like this paradoxical, like, ‘What are we doing? Why are we doing this?’ I mean, maybe not so much now, but in the past. Obviously, one of the greatest examples here in France is Daft Punk. But people know who they are. Everybody knows who they are. If you’re interested in Daft Punk, you know who they are. And another band that people have often referred to when they were talking about us was The Residents… But only f**king record collectors listen to The Residents. I have their records. I like The Residents, but people in general don’t know what the f**k they are. So that’s easy. It’s easy to remain anonymous if you’re like this really small niche band. And I’m sure there are a lot of Residents fans who know exactly who they are, because that’s what fans do. So I sort of gave that up.”
Forge also suggested that perhaps fans and those around him were more concerned about preserving the mystique than he was. He noted that, within certain circles, he was never truly unknown:
“I think that a lot of fans and a lot of people around me were way more upset or more anxious about those things remaining or how to maintain that than I was, because I felt… 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. And that group stays together. They all talk. So as soon as Ghost happened, all of them knew who was in Ghost. And so I never felt as, ‘Oh, before the spring of 2017, I was completely unknown. And then I became a really known person.’ I’m not a known person. Maybe a lot of people know about Ghost, but people in general do not know who I am.”
The catalyst for Forge‘s public unmasking was the lawsuit filed in April 2017 in Linköping, Sweden. Four former Ghost members – Simon Söderberg (Alpha), Mauro Rubino (Air), Henrik Palm (Eather), and Martin Hjertstedt (Earth) – accused Forge of cheating them out of their share of band profits, alleging a partnership agreement existed where Forge managed the band’s affairs.
Forge strongly contested these claims, filing a response in June 2017 asserting that no legal partnership was ever formed. He maintained that the plaintiffs were hired musicians tasked solely with performing the music and image he created, for which they received a fixed salary, and were not involved in the band’s formation or business decisions. The former members countered again in August 2017, rejecting the “solo project” narrative and stating Forge had always presented Ghost as a collaborative venture until a 2016 contract proposal attempted to redefine their roles.
Following a six-day trial, the Linköping District Court dismissed the case entirely on October 17, 2018. The court also ordered the four ex-members to cover Forge‘s substantial legal costs.
In the years since resolving that legal battle, Ghost has continued its ascent. The band recently released its latest album, Skeletá, on April 25, 2025, via Loma Vista Recordings. The album’s arrival was preceded by the lead single, “Satanized,” which dropped in early March.
Skeletá track listing:
- “Peacefield“
- “Lachryma“
- “Satanized“
- “Guiding Lights“
- “De Profundis Borealis“
- “Cenotaph“
- “Missilia Amori“
- “Marks Of The Evil One“
- “Umbra“
- “Excelsis“
Ogorthul: Immersed in the bone-shattering world of death metal and beyond. I’m here to excavate the latest news, reviews, and interviews from the extreme metal scene for you.
