“I have two film projects that I’m working on … I was recording another album with another thing”: Ghost’s Tobias Forge is taking a big break from touring the world, but he’s by no means idle

Tobias Forge onstage as Papa V Perpetua — (Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Now that Ghost have completed the 2026 leg of their Skeletá world tour, frontman Tobias Forge is ready to take a hiatus from the road.

He makes the revelation in a new interview with Full Metal Jackie, where he says that he wants to spend more time with his wife and children and “get some new inspiration” for other musical projects.

“I’ve had two kids waiting at home with my wife for 15 years,” says the singer, who performs onstage as Ghost’s masked leader Papa V Perpetua (via NME). “And maybe that says something about me that it wasn’t a pushing enough factor during those years. Believe me, I felt bad, but I’ve definitely come to a point where I feel, physically and mentally, I need to be home. [My kids are] 17; they’re not gonna be around for an eon.”

He adds that the only way for him to get new musical ideas is “to just step away” from the tour bus. His creative plans for his downtime include completing work on two undisclosed film projects and putting out a new album from a non-Ghost-related musical outlet, which he recorded before the start of the Skeletour last year.

“I have tons of stuff lined up [for] the coming years,” he says. “And also hobbies that I have put aside because for the last 15 years Ghost has been force majeure.”

Forge spoke about the hobbies he wants to explore further during an interview with Metal Hammer last year, when he revealed that he wants to take up scuba diving. He hopes that the pursuit would help him battle his claustrophobia, which he’s sometimes struggled with while wearing his Papa mask at shows.

“I’ve always wanted to do that, for all my life!” he said of scuba. “But I didn’t have any money and couldn’t afford it. Then my next problem was I didn’t have time. Now I’m like, ‘I need to do that.’ I need to make sure that I get to terms with my claustrophobia. I’ve always been very ‘maritime’ and drawn to the ocean. In my alternative life, I’m a wreck diver!”

The Skeletour kicked off with a European leg in April and May 2025, shortly after Skeletá came out. A run of North and Central American shows took place from July to September, and the band made their second way around those continents earlier this year.

The tour was notable for being a phone-free run: fans had to have their mobile phones placed into magnetically-sealed Yondr pouches before they entered the auditorium. The only way the pouches could be unsealed was by a member of security as the attendee left the auditorium. Forge explained why he was banning phones during a Planet Rock interview in March.

“If you have 10,000 people at a concert and 8,000 of them are holding a phone, there’s something deeply disconnected,” he said. “When it comes to the actual live show, my calling, my reason for being there, is the connection between myself and everybody that I brought with me that are working in tandem to give you an experience. That experience is completely decocked if everybody’s just filming. Am I wrong? Am I right? I don’t know. That’s how I, and we, felt.”

Forge has led his masked band since 2006. In 2017, he was outed as the man behind the group, when he was named in a lawsuit by four disgruntled ex-members. The singer reflected on that period earlier this month, calling his unmasking “a relief”.

Tobias Forge | Full Metal Jackie | February 21, 2026 - YouTube

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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