Ghost are Working on a Film, Next Album Will Be “Darker, Heavier”
After an incredibly successful year following the release of their latest album Prequelle, what’s next for Ghost? A film, sayeth Tobias Forge in a recent interview with Revolver.
While he was short on details, the unspecified project seems like it will be a dramatic film that will incorporate the live release he’d previously mentioned. Satan knows there is no shortage of material in the band’s mythology around which a cinematic narrative could be constructed. Sez Forge / Papa / Cardinal:
“If it wasn’t for the fact that I ended up finally being a musician, the one thing I really, really want to do in my life is cinema. Any chance I can have to do that, I’m definitely grabbing it.”
“Most films about bands are biographical, and I see no reason to tell our story yet,” says Forge, who still considers Ghost to be in its early years. “It’s a little bit like premature ejaculation. You have to have a career first and then you can tell the real story, so that was never an option. And when you yank away that, what do you have? Well, that would be a fictional story.”
Though not quoting Forge directly, the Revolver article says “the story of the film has now been figured out, and would partly take place around a live concert,” and that Forge hopes to have it filmed by the end of 2019:
“The cog wheels are turning on that one. We’re just trying to figure out a lot of the practicalities. Making a film is a big endeavor. Another problem that I have had over the course of my career is that I don’t have a shit-ton of time. I am also a father of two kids and I’m married. I try to not to break my back. I’ve been so close so many times to overworking and I said yes to everything just because I was so keen on not losing momentum. I’ve learned over the years that it’s really important not to do everything at once.”
Later in the piece, Forge spoke in measured tones on the future of Ghost’s music, conceding that Prequelle was “a little ballad-heavy:”
“I want to make a different record from Prequelle. I want it to feel different. If I dare to say heavier, people think that it’s going to be Mercyful Fate all the way … but I definitely have a darker, heavier record in mind.”
Color me pessimistic, but haven’t we heard that line from Forge before? Besides, Ghost’s recent output has been fantastic; there’s no need for Forge to make an effort to be heavy just for the sake of pleasing a few grumpy metalheads.
