Ghost’s Tobias Forge Looks Up to Rammstein: “I See [Them] As The Guidepost That I’m Working Towards”
Back in November, Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe said that occult rockers Ghost were “not a stadium band.” Some might think that Ghost frontman Tobias Forge would fire back angrily — which I think we can all agree would be the wrong way to play this. So it’s refreshing and to his credit that Forge has said the opposite, claiming that the German industrial metallers’ stature is what he’s working towards.
In an interview with The Pit, Forge claims that he aspires to bands like AC/DC — but also makes it clear that Rammstein are definitely an act he admires:
“If there’s a comparison to make, it’s better for us to compare ourselves to more contemporary bands rather than my idols. All those 60s bands, it feels like they were 100 years ago now, with a completely different set of rules and a different world. But even talking about AC/DC, Metallica or Iron Maiden, it was a different time and age.
“But if I compare us to a band that’s at least a little bit closer to me, generationally, it would be Rammstein. I have no intention of sounding like them, but as a visionary, it’s motivating for me to see how a band that were doing arenas up until a couple of years ago now play stadiums. Remember that it’s one thing to play arenas, and it’s another thing to sell out arenas. They’re also a fictional sort of band, highly themed, and they put on a show, as opposed to Pearl Jam, who go up in normal street-wear and play on a carpet, and who seem like your down-to-earth, well-educated bros. Ha ha! So I’d see Rammstein as the sort of guidepost that I’m working towards.”
Good on Forge for recognizing real. Ghost are definitely huge, but Rammstein are a live band like no other, and working your way up to that stature is an admirable goal.
European fans can catch Ghost at one of the dates listed below:
European and UK
4/9 – Manchester, UK – Arena [tickets]
4/11 – London, UK -O2 Arena [tickets]
4/13 – Glasgow, UK -Hydro [tickets]
4/15 – Birmingham, UK -RWA Arena [tickets]
4/17 – Rotterdam, NET – RTM Stage Ahoy
4/18 – Paris, FRA – Accor Arena
4/19 – Cologne, GER – Lanxess Arena
4/21 – Leipzig, GER – Quarterback Immobillen Arena
4/22 – Frankfurt, GER – Festhalle
4/24 – Prague, CZE – Arena
4/27 – Tampere, FIN – Nokia Arena
4/29 – Stockholm, SWE – Avicii Arena
4/30 – Oslo, NOR – Spektrum
5/1 – Malmo, SWE – Malmo Arena
5/3 – Brussels, BEL – Forest
5/5 – Milan, ITA – Mediolanum Forum
5/7 – Barcelona, SPA – Olympic Arena Badalona
5/8 – Madrid, SPA – Vistalegre Arena
5/11 – Vienna, AUT – Stadthalle
5/13 – Zurich, SWI – Hallenstadion
5/15 – Hannover, GER – ZAG Arena
5/16 – Munich, GER – Olympiahalle
5/18 – Budapest, HUN – Arena
