Paul Di’Anno Blasts Ghost’s “Phantom of the Opera” Cover: “I Just Don’t Think Tobias F*cking Tried Hard Enough”
Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno let us know how he felt about Ghost‘s cover of the Maiden classic, “Phantom of the Opera,” earlier this month with the words “fkn sucks” and a few vomit emojis. He’s since gone into more detail about his feelings on the track in a new interview with Loaded Radio, specifically mentioning frontman Tobias Forge.
“The music’s great. I just don’t think Tobias fucking tried hard enough vocally. He sounds a bit plain… And he changed the lyrics slightly… That was a bit weird.
“When I first heard it, I was probably in a bad mood that day. I said, ‘This is fucking bullshit.’ But I’ve listened to it about three or four times. [The music is] pretty damn good, actually, to be honest with you. But as I said, I just feel like Tobias didn’t give it some welly, as we say… Give me some fucking welly.”
Despite his strong feelings about Forge’s vocal performance, Di’Anno says he doesn’t have an issue with Ghost. Just Forge’s vocals. He really doesn’t like the vocals.
“Regardless of what you think of Ghost, I’m very happy for them. Maybe I was just pissed off with life [that day], as usual. The older I get, the grumpier I am. Fucking great. Once you get over 50, you’ve got every fucking right to say what you want.
“As I said, I just wish he’d put a bit more effort into the vocals. That’s all.”
Di’Anno might not be into it, but you could potentially hear one of Ghost’s many covers on tour this summer.
“Re-Imperatour” 2023 tour dates with Amon Amarth:
Wed Aug 02 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
Fri Aug 04 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 05 – Airway Heights, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest
Mon Aug 07 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Tue Aug 08 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre *
Fri Aug 11 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 12 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Mon, Aug 14– Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Tue Aug 15 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Wed Aug 16 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
Fri Aug 18 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sat Aug 19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Sun Aug 20 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Tue Aug 22 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
Wed Aug 23 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Thu, Aug 24 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Fri Aug 25 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Sun Aug 27 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Tue Aug 29 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
Wed, Aug 30 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
Thu Aug 31 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat Sep 02 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Sun Sep 03 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Tue Sep 05 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Thu Sep 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Fri Sep 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Mon Sep 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum ^
