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Ghost frontman Tobias Forge has terrible memories of a concert in Leeds ten years ago. He had a panic attack during a performance on stage, which ultimately led to the concert being canceled.
In an interview with “Metal Hammer”, Forge recapitulated the moment that also meant a rethink for the musician.
“During my years of wearing masks, I developed an unpleasant claustrophobia,” he said. “It’s the feeling of having something over your neck, of being completely enclosed, completely enclosed.”
Tobias Forge also thought about the Bataclan terror
The path from claustrophobia to panic was apparently very short when Ghost played at Leeds Beckett University in 2015: In the middle of the song “Con Clavi Con Dio”, Forge left the stage and also took off his costume. The singer also had the attack on the Bataclan in Paris in November 2015 in the back of his mind.
“This had never happened to me before, but when I walked into the venue it was all very close to the Bataclan attacks,” he said. “We entered the venue and it was pouring rain outside. I was told there was only one entrance to the venue; you had to walk along the right side of the stage, past the stage and then into the backstage area.”
Forge continued: “So basically you couldn’t get out. You were locked in. And I didn’t think about it until during the show I suddenly thought, ‘I need to know where the door is… I can’t get to the door. Stop! Stop! Take the mask off!’ I had to tear everything down and start over.”
Specifically, Forge was then led by a security guard to a second exit of the venue. So the musician was able to calm down. For concerts, the 44-year-old now ensures how many entrances and exits there are and where they are in the arena. “I need to know how to get out. As long as I know how to get out, everything is fine.”
Since the Leeds incident, Forge has not suffered another panic attack, as he made clear in the interview. He is also no longer restricted by claustrophobia because his new mask is less tight.
Ghost’s new album is called “Skeletá”. The next live dates on their world tour are in January and February in North America.