Ghost’s “special ghoul,” frontman Tobias Forge, recently spoke with CBS Philadelphia about the group. During the interview, the ghoul, who has been in Ghost since the beginning, revealed he sees Ghost as more of a solo project than a band.

Ghost are on a dream run of shows at the moment, opening up for Iron Maiden in arenas across North America. It’s not all easy street for Tobias Forge (Papa Emeritus) though. As of April, Forge is being sued by four of Ghost’s former musicians for unpaid compensation. This suit doesn’t include Martin Persner, who was the first nameless ghoul to reveal his identity.

Speaking about Ghost’s rotating lineup, which has seen “10 to 15” changes, Forge shared, “Luckily for me, since I've written most of everything, of the patterns, I can teach anyone coming in, 'This is how the bass line goes, and this is how the guitar riff goes, and this is how the keyboard goes and this is how the drums go.' So it's not very hard for me to make my stamp rub off on anyone coming in and playing that instrument. But that also adds to the friction over the years. Because it's never really been a band in the classic sense that you have someone who plays his or her instrument and that she or he is the only person in the world that can make it sound like that. People have a tendency to want to feel that they're very important for something, and if it's not crucial that they're there, there will also be a little bit of a friction there."

When asked if he views Ghost as a solo project with rotating members or a band, Forge responded, "I actually refer to it as the earlier of the two options. Even though I've never wanted it that way, but at the end of the day, that is what it is. So I think it speaks clear for itself. I mean, I started it in 2006, and no one that was ever in the band in 2016 was even on the first record. Call it solo, if you want to, but I call it a project."

Forge also revealed Ghost will begin recording their fourth studio album in August, hoping for an early 2018 release date. For all of Ghost’s current North American support dates with Iron Maiden, click here.

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