If you've been a fan of Ghost since they burst onto the rock scene in the mid-2000s, you know that the group has gone through multiple iterations of its vocalist, always played by Tobias Forge. Whether he's the grizzled Papa Emeritus or the disturbingly unreal Cardinal Copia or his current persona, Papa V Perpetua, Forge, 44, is completely transformed thanks to the full-face mask he wears.
And for a while, maintaining the illusion that Forge was not Papa Emeritus was part of the fun. But as he said in a recent interview with Metal Hammer, there was one show where the fun stopped: ten years ago, he suffered a terrifying panic attack that would change how he would perform with Ghost going forth.
Photo by Paul Bergen on Getty Images
"Throughout my years in in masks, I've developed a not comfortable claustrophobia," Forge told Metal Hammer. "It's the idea of having something over your throat, being completely engulfed, completely enclosed."
But there was a moment when the claustrophobia got too much for him: a December 2015 show at Leeds Beckett University. As he was midway through performing "Con Clavi Con Dio," Forge said he had to walk offstage and, for the first time, take off his Papa Emeritus costume.
"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," said Forge.
A month prior to the Ghost show, a series of terrorist attacks rocked Paris, France. In one horrifying instance, three terrorists stormed the Bataclan theatre as the American rock band, Eagles of Death Metal, performed. The gunmen opened fire, ultimately killing ninety people and wounding hundreds.
With the massacre still fresh in his mind, Forge inspected the University venue, only to find one entrance into the hall. "So, essentially, you couldn't get out. You were locked in. That was what I was told," said Forge.
"And I didn't think of it until during the show," he added, "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."
A security guard soon came and showed Forge that there was another exit to the venue that he didn't know about. The panic subsided, and he was able to finish the show.
Forge said that after that instance, he always develops an exit plan before going on stage. "I need to know how I get out," he said. "As long as I know how to get out, we're good."
Tobias Forge of Ghost performs in concert during the band's Skeletour at the Moody Center on August 14, 2025Photo by NBC on Getty Images
Forge has since done "hundreds of shows" without a panic attack. Metal Hammer noted that Forge previously acknowledged that he has also changed his mask to help with his claustrophobia His current getup as Papa V Perpetua covers less of his face and throat.
Ghost released Skeletá, their sixth studio album, on April 25, 2025. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Not only was it the band's first No. 1 album, but it was the first hard rock album to top the charts in four years. It was also the second time a performing Swedish act reached No. 1, following Ace of Base'sThe Sign in 1993.
Related: 'Stranger Things' Star Discusses 'Panic Attack' They Suffered on Set of Season 4
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