Ghost Frontman Reveals Label Executive Pushed Band to Create Story Behind Personas

Tobias Forge discussed how a label executive convinced him to create the narrative that defines Ghost's identity. The Swedish rock band leader shared how Tom Whalley from Loma Vista Recordings insisted the group needed a backstory when they signed with the label in 2012.

"One of the first things he said, it was, like, 'I love your band,'" Forge said in an interview with the Associated Press on YouTube. 

"But he was, like, 'One problem, though, is the story. What is the story? I've never worked with anything that does not have a story that I can tell.' And I said, 'Well, that's gonna be a problem, because I'm anonymous, we're anonymous. There is no band. Besides, we've not been around. We don't have a story. Give us 10 years, and maybe we'll tell you about something at that point.' And he was, like, 'We have to work on this.' That's why there is a story. In short."

Forge started with Rise Above, a small London label run by Lee Dorrian. That partnership collapsed when both sides clashed over management decisions and tour plans. 

The band wrapped its U.S. Skeletour leg in August 2025 after touring Europe from April through May. The production featured a "Grucifix" lighting rig and stage design inspired by brutalist cathedrals. Video director Amir Chamdin led the first full-scale video production for a Ghost tour. The North American 2026 leg kicks off Jan. 21 at the Kia Center in Orlando. Shows run through Feb. 23 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Forge has performed as different Papa Emeritus characters across six studio albums. Papa Emeritus III gave way to Cardinal Copia in 2018. Papa Emeritus IV fronted the Impera album phase in 2022. Papa V Perpetua appeared in the "Satanized" video and fronted the 2025 touring cycle.

Skeletá hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in May with 86,000 units sold. The sixth studio album marked the first hard rock release to reach that position since AC/DC's Power Up in 2020.