Tobias Forge

Forge as Cardinal Copia (2018)

Forge as Papa Emeritus III (2016)

Tobias Jens Forge (born March 3, 1981 in Linköping ) is a Swedish rock musician . As the front man and singer of the masked heavy metal band Ghost, he embodies the characters Papa Emeritus I, II, III, IV and Cardinal Copia and was singer and guitarist of the death metal band Repugnant under the pseudonym Mary Goore . In addition, he was active in several other groups that serve different genres.

Life

Tobias Forge grew up in Linköping with his mother and his half-brother 13 years older, while his father lived with a new family near Norrköping . The little money the family had at their disposal was invested in cultural assets in the form of sound carriers , books, and visits to the theater and the opera. This is how Forge came into contact with music at an early age and developed a preference for bands such as Metallica , Iron Maiden , KISS and Mötley Crüe . At a young age he was allowed to watch all radio programs as well as adult films such as Fritz the Cat or The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle . While he suffered from his fatherless childhood, he found a role model in his brother Sebastian, who, despite the great age difference, took him to many parties and a trip to England .

After the ninth grade, he moved to Stockholm with his mother and graduated from school at the age of 19. In 2006 he returned to Linköping after several years in various bands, where he met his future wife Boel. In December 2008, Boel gave birth to twins . In order to be able to take care of his family, Forge worked as a telephone operator in the support of a cell phone company . Shortly before Ghost's commercial breakthrough, Brother Sebastian succumbed to a congenital heart defect in 2010 . Forge now lives with his family in Stockholm.

Career

Musical beginnings

During his time in Stockholm, Forge began playing guitar in the black metal band Superior in the mid-1990s . 1996 appeared Underground - Demo Metamorphis on which his name appears as "Leviathan Forge". He then played with "Sweden's most secret band" Uncle Kånkel , who was known for their obscene punk rock ( Könsrock ) and turned out to be a solo project by Håkan Florå (1962–2009). Forge was particularly impressed by the way Florå managed to maintain his anonymity and took this feat as a model for his most successful band, Ghost. He made his living doing odd jobs during this period, but was unemployed most of the time .

In 1998 he founded the death metal band Repugnant , in which he acted as singer and lead guitarist under the pseudonym Mary Goore . After two demo recordings and an EP , the band released their debut album Dunkel Besatthet in 2002 as a split with the Dutch band Pentacle . After the dissolution in 2004, the group was briefly active again in 2010 with a new line-up. He also played on the first three demos of the glam metal band Crashdïet (2000-2001).

Despite his roots in the metal scene, Forge was also active in the genres of alternative rock and power pop . In 2002 he founded the band Subvision, with whom he recorded three records as a singer and guitarist. The debut album So Far So Noir was released in 2006 after two EPs on the Swedish label Kooljunk. Until 2010 he played as guitarist and bassist in the group Magna Carta Cartel, before he focused on his next band project, Ghost.

Ghost

→ Main article : Ghost (band)

In early 2010, Forge recorded a demo album with a friend in a Stockholm studio, which he released on MySpace and promptly brought the new band a record deal . Because he could not find a singer despite numerous inquiries, he moved away from his original plan of only playing guitar and recorded the vocal parts himself. Ghost should be theatrical and, like Uncle Kånkel, anonymous.

Papa Emeritus III with Mitra live in Strasbourg (2016)

The band, which combines heavy metal and doom metal with progressive rock and satanic lyrics, appears masked . Singer Tobias Forge embodied the character "Papa Emeritus" for years, while the other band members are known as "Nameless Ghouls". Papa Emeritus appeared, leaning on King Diamond , wearing a black and white face mask that was supposed to be reminiscent of a skull. He wore a miter on his head and the rest of his robes were modeled on those of a church dignitary. Papa Emeritus appeared in different incarnations (I to III), each with a slightly different appearance, giving the impression that the singer was regularly replaced. On September 30, 2017, Papa Emeritus III was removed from the stage by two suit wearers at a concert in Gothenburg and a successor heralded the beginning of a new era as Papa Emeritus Zero. Before the band's fourth studio album was released, Forge slipped into the role of "Cardinal Copia" for the first time live in April 2018.

Action for damages

Although Tobias Forge's identity as a ghost singer and face behind Papa Emeritus has been suspected for a long time, for example Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå (a Swedish collecting society ) has already led him as a songwriter for the first ghost album, it was only in the course of 2017 officially known. Four former band members filed a lawsuit against him at the Linköping District Court in April , demanding that they subsequently be given equal shares in album sales and concert revenues. Forge responded by revealing his personality and identifying himself as the sole permanent band member as well as songwriter and authoritative studio instrumentalist. He also stated that Ghost was never formed as a band and was more like a solo project with changing studio musicians in the style of Bathory .

In retrospect, Forge described the idea of ​​anonymity as naive:

“The original idea of ​​being anonymous was a great, naïve idea on paper in 2008, not knowing to what degree we'd be touring or to what extent this was going to be a professional operation. That regime is very hard to live by. What I hadn't foreseen was the fans and their willingness to embrace that and play along. I guess that's the whole thing with showbiz and magic tricks: It's like you have a silent agreement with your audience. "

“The original idea of ​​being anonymous was a great, naive idea on paper back in 2008, not knowing how much we're touring or how much it was going to be a professional job. It is very hard to live like this. What I hadn't foreseen were the fans and their willingness to get involved and play along. I guess that's the whole show business and magic tricks thing: it's like you have a silent agreement with your audience. "

- Tobias Forge

Views

Tobias Forge developed a fascination for the occult during his puberty and described the devil as a “finger pointer” that helped him deal with his youthful anger. Although he admitted that today he would like to believe in many things, he criticized religion . He claimed that written texts, even if based on true events, could not be anything other than "fantasy". Without explicitly naming a religious script , he said that their goal was not only to convey small wisdom, but also entertainment and ultimately money-making, and named the fictional Star Wars universe as a comparison. He also criticized the "linear religious thinking" with the central question of where people go after death without worrying about where they are during life. He is also hostile to the modern indulgence trade .

Forge has a large collection of records from various bands and artists. He is particularly interested in early and rare pressings . When asked about the success of Swedish pop and rock music, he praised the Swedish welfare state , without which the positive development would not be possible.

Discography

Ghost

→ Main article : Ghost (band) / discography

Repugnant

→ Main article : "Discography" in the article Repugnant

Superior

• 1996: Metamorphis (demo)

Crashdïet

• 2000: Demo 1 (demo)
• 2000: Demo 2 (demo)
• 2001: Demo 3 (Demo)

Subvision

• 2003: Pearls for Pigsnawps (EP)
• 2004: The Killing Floor EP (EP)
• 2006: So Far So Noir

Magna Carta Cartel

• 2008: Valiant Visions Dawn (EP)
• 2009: Good Morning Restrained

Web links

Commons : Papa Emeritus  - Collection of Images

• Tobias Forge at Discogs (English)
• Radio interview with Forge (Swedish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Interview with Tobias Forge of Ghost (subtitled). Värvet / YouTube, May 29, 2018, accessed June 13, 2018 (Swedish). 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} English translation of the radio interview with P1. Reddit , August 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Radio interview with Tobias Forge. Sveriges Radio , August 17, 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 (Swedish). 
4. ↑ Manuel Berger: "Ghost will reach a limit". laut.de , June 1, 2018, accessed June 2, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Superior - Metamorphis Demo I '96. Discogs , accessed May 4, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Chad Childers: Ghost's Papa Emeritus III plays final show, transition to new 'Papa' begins. Loudwire , October 1, 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
7. ^ Ghost: Cardinal Copia for the first time live on stage. Metal Hammer , April 9, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Ghost Frontman's Identity Revealed? Metal Insider. In: Metal Insider. August 22, 2011, accessed May 15, 2020 (American English). 
9. ↑ Robert Pasbani: The Entire Ghost Lawsuit Document Leaks, More Info On Why Former Nameless Ghouls Are Suing Papa Emeritus. Metal Injection, April 7, 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Tobias Forge (aka Papa Emeritus): 'Ghost Was Never Formed as a Band'. Blabbermouth.net , April 22, 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
11. ↑ Greg Kennelty: Ghost's Papa Emeritus Officially Responds to Lawsuit, Claims Nobody Outside Himself Is Crucial. Metal Injection, June 8, 2017, accessed May 4, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Steve Appleford: Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge reports from studio in first "unmasked" US interview. Revolver , February 2, 2018, accessed May 4, 2018 .