In a new interview with legendary music journalist Nardwuar, Tobias Forge, the mastermind behind the Swedish theatrical rock band Ghost, opened up about a wide variety of topics. While digging through stacks of rare vinyl at Neptune Records in Vancouver, Forge discussed the deep occult roots of his band, the surprising origin story of the Ghost logo, and his profound knowledge of underground Swedish punk and metal.
The conversation kicked off with Nardwuar presenting Forge with an original wax recording of Aleister Crowley, prompting the frontman to acknowledge the infamous occultist’s direct influence on the band’s aesthetic and music.
He said in part (as transcribed by Metal Stop): “In short, because you brought up the connection, of course, ‘call me Little Sunshine’ is a quote from Alistair Crowley… There’s this pretty iconic picture of him when he’s sitting in the same sort of position with the with the fists like that, you know, he’s he’s from the old world. So there wasn’t that many pictures of him. And that is one of the few. And it’s pretty iconic, especially within the, you know, the elusive world of occultism.”
One of the most surprising moments of the interview came when Nardwuar produced an old promotional stand-up featuring the band’s logo. Forge revealed that he actually designed the now-iconic, shadowed text while working a boring desk job long before the band achieved international fame.
“So I was working at a… As a tech support on a call center, yes. So it was like an open, what do you call it, like an open office landscape, where everybody was sitting in front of a computer and a little headset. Which was very annoying, because I like sitting with my back to a wall, so no one sees what I’m doing. Not a good worker. But they had placed me, because my boss knew that I was up to doing other things. I had a plan.”
He went on to explain his makeshift, low-tech process for creating the logo’s 3D effect while actively fielding customer service calls:
“I had a vague idea of what I wanted the logo to look like. But because of the logo having that sort of 3D effect, the shadow, the easiest way to achieve that… Well, the absolute easiest way to achieve it is just to sort of draw something, and then you just start drawing lines. But if you want it somewhat correct, you need two copies of the logo. You need the original and a copy. So I made the first one, and then the first sketch of the actual letters. And then I was like, can you hold on for a second? And then I just put the customer on hold, went and printed a logo. Another one. Or no, I made a copy of it, of course. It was like a Xerox machine. I got that one. Okay, I’m back. Cool. I just needed to check something technical. And then I just continued sort of drawing it, but with, you know, you place the other one underneath like that, your paper, and you’ll see a vague, vague little shadow of it. And you just fill in the lines. And then you take a thicker pencil and just make it black.”
As the interview progressed, Nardwuar pulled out obscure records from Swedish bands, testing Forge‘s knowledge of his country’s musical history. Forge effortlessly rattled off facts about local punk, hardcore, and death metal acts, crediting his older brother for his expansive musical education.
When discussing the highly influential Swedish punk band Ebaggron, Forge explained their impact:
“Ebaggron was a Swedish answer to The Clash, I think it’s fair to say. A punk band, very much so. Not maybe the first band, but they were definitely the biggest punk band in Sweden. And very Clash-like, not only because they were inspired by them, but they were very musical. They were not dimwits in any way. They were not just like punk, fake it till they make it. They were good musicians.”
He also shed light on the peculiar world of “Dansband” music, specifically referencing the eccentric group Max Fenders. Forge detailed how these working-class entertainment groups operated in the 1970s and 1980s:
“In Sweden we have something called Dansband and that’s exactly what it sounds like. Dance band. That’s a genre of music where bands are kind of like DJs. They are clearly an entertainment group who are booked to play a lot of music for people to dance to. And especially in the countryside for the last 50, 60 years, it’s been like that’s how kids are made.”
He even explained the bizarre reason behind the famously outrageous outfits worn by these dance bands during that era:
“Because in the 70s, they got tax credits if the clothes they were wearing on stage had a unreal character. If they had suits, no benefits. But if they were like… Their getups in the 70s are the craziest thing you can ever imagine, like creations.”
The conversation eventually shifted to the global underground metal scene and its deep respect for legacy acts. Recalling a festival gig where Ghost shared a bill with the legendary Canadian muscle-rocker Thor, Forge praised the underground community’s dedication to its roots:
“Their whole thing is to call up bands that have probably not been around for the last 30 years. Hello? Oh, you want to come play Muscle Rock? What? Okay. And then they come and play and there’s like 2,000 kids there just like worshipping them because the metal, underground metal, the underground metal scene has always been very, very good at taking care of our elders, let’s put it that way.”
Before leaving the record store, Forge made sure to shout out one of his favorite local Vancouver bands, the extreme metal pioneers Blasphemy:
“This is definitely well, let’s go back to the early 90s. This was one of the nastiest records [Fallen Angel of Doom] I ever heard at a certain point.”
You can listen to the full interview down below.
