Swedish metal band Ghost has cultivated a passionate worldwide following thanks to their powerful songs and theatrical live shows. Despite having an otherworldly presence onstage, frontman Tobias Forge is very human – and he recently recalled a scary incident that took place during one of the band’s shows in 2015.
“Throughout my years in in masks, I’ve developed a not comfortable claustrophobia,” the singer explained to Metal Hammer. “It’s the idea of having something over your throat, being completely engulfed, completely enclosed.”
That claustrophobia – coupled with a new sense of fear following the tragic Bataclan shooting in Paris – led to a panic attack during Ghost’s 2015 stop in Leeds.
“It had never really happened to me before, but I was walking into the venue, and this is, this is very close to the Bataclan shooting,” he noted. “We went into the venue, and it was raining outside, big surprise, absolutely pissing down. I was told there was only one entrance into the venue; you had to walk in on the right side of the stage, past the stage, and then into a backstage area.”
He continued: “So, essentially, you couldn’t get out. You were locked in. That was what I was told. And I didn’t think of it until during the show, when all of a sudden I was like, ‘I need to know where the door is… I can’t get to the door. Stop! Stop! Get the mask off!’ I had to get everything off. Restart the whole thing.”
Forge’s fears were alleviated once a security guard showed him a second exit at the venue.
“There was absolutely a way out,” he said. “And then it became a thing [for future shows]: I need to know where the door out is. I need to know how I get out. As long as I know how to get out, we’re good.”
Though Forge hasn’t had a panic attack since then, the incident did lead to a change in costuming. His current Ghost outfit as Papa V Perpetua covers less of his face, mouth, and throat area.
Ghost will return to the U.S. for a mont of performance beginning January 21 in Orlando.