Tobias Forge wants Ghost’s next album to be “darker” and “heavier” than Prequelle

(Image credit: Sergione Infuso/Corbis - Getty)

Ghost vocalist Tobias Forge has given an indication of what we can expect from the band’s next studio album.

He reported in February that work had already begun work on the follow-up to 2018’s Prequelle, telling Billboard that he had “tons of bits and pieces” written.

Now, in a new interview with Revolver, Forge says that Prequelle was “a little ballad heavy” and wants their fifth album to lean more towards 2015’s Meliora.

Forge says: “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.”

But he cautions: “I have always pushed myself to write the songs that we don't have instead of going back. It maybe would've been a smart move to just try to replicate Opus Eponymous.

“I can regurgitate. I grew up with metal. It's in my DNA, so I can formulate death-metal lyrics easily. But I try not to repeat myself on that.

“I like to make the Metallica comparison – where Kill 'Em All is a little bit more crude, on Ride The Lightning they started writing about more real things. It had more depth.

He adds: “I’m not going change everything and just talk about politics, but I believe that if you have people's attention, you have responsibility to weigh with your words a little. Sometimes that's hard. I find that harder than the musical challenges.”

Ghost are currently on tour with Metallica across Europe.

Ghost: Prequelle

Ghost: Prequelle
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Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.