Will we get new Ghost music this year?

Ghost’s Tobias Forge — (Image credit: Katia Ogrin)

Ghost's critically acclaimed fifth studio album Impera only landed last year, but according to a tantalising tease by band mastermind Tobias Forge in a recent interview, it might not be too long before we hear new Ghost music once again.

While speaking to French radio platform Oui FM in a show broadcast on March 10, Forge was asked whether he'd ever consider doing a 'by request' tour like the one Metallica did back in 2014, enabling fans to vote for their favourite songs for the band to play live at each show. In his response, he suggests that by the time Ghost head back out on tour, there may be new music released.

"Even though we’re obviously changing things . . . it’s more from a practical point of view," he explains. "This tour that we’re starting . . . [will see us] changing a few things around. . . . The thing is that we always try to change things around, and now just because there has been – there are going to be a few changes. There might be, between now and then, there might be new music. Um, I’m just saying!"

With Ghost set to play dates in Europe this summer and head out to North American with Amon Amarth soon after, if new music was indeed to arrive before their next shows, it would be with us within a matter of months, if not weeks.

"It's going to be a different setup," he adds of the shows themselves. "If we ever do a 'by request' – in a way, I wouldn't be against doing a poll of what people want to hear. But, on the other hand, it's like, songs that we aren't playing regularly, there might be a reason for them not being played. Because of, usually, from a practical point of view that they're . . . when I'm saying, 'hard to play,' that is not a dare to online YouTube guitar players [who’re] saying, 'They're not hard at all!' That's not the point. Sometimes, a song can be hard to play well, so it sounds good. So it feels good. So it fits well in the set.

"In the future, there might be an alternative that we’ve discussed...where it might come a time where we do a set that’s completely different from the one we have now. Then, you can rework so that it’s fluent with just the odd numbers."

Watch the full Oui FM interview below.

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.