Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge recently sat down with Metal Hammer for a variety of fan-submitted questions. One fan asked Forge what he thinks metal is missing in 2022 and his answer is pretty dead on. Forge said metal is largely missing acts that aren't regarded as a novelty or underground treasure, and it's missing acts that can make it past that initial stage of mainstream recognition.
"It would be cool if there were newer, young bands regarded as more than a novelty, or an underground treasure. More organic rock bands of 20-year-olds recognised on a little bit more of a… I hate to say mainstream, but above the pub level. I'm all about underground, I come from the underground, and I worship the underground music, but for the resurgence of rock, we need that.
"I'd love if there were more bands that went through a similar recognition [channel] to Måneskin, actually. I think they're really cool. They won Eurovision because they're great, but they're one of the few exceptions of it not being the end of their career. That's usually what happens if you're a band."
The "young bands regarded as more than a novelty" bit is an interesting one because we absolutely do see that now in the present day. There are death metal choirs on America's Got Talent and plenty of folks using heavier music as nothing more than shock value, but it doesn't necessarily equate to the wider enjoyment of the music.
Ghost will hit the road for another tour in North America this summer, and they'll be joined by Spiritbox and Mastodon. Get those dates below.
8/26 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego [Tickets]
8/27 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center Arena [Tickets]
8/30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center [Tickets]
8/31 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center Arena [Tickets]
9/2 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center's Propst Arena [Tickets]
9/3 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena [Tickets]
9/4 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena [Tickets]
9/6 – Tampa, FL – Yuengling Arena [Tickets]
9/8 – Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Fest (no Mastodon) [Tickets]
9/9 – Trenton, NJ – CURE Insurance Arena [Tickets]
9/10 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena [Tickets]
9/12 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center [Tickets]
9/13 – Bangor, ME – Cross Insurance Center [Tickets]
9/15 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre [Tickets]
9/16 – Laval, QC – Place Bell [Tickets]
9/17 – Toronto, ON – Coca Cola Coliseum [Tickets]
9/19 – Saginaw, MI – Dow Event Center [Tickets]
9/20 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre [Tickets]
9/21 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena [Tickets]
9/23 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center (w/ Carcass, no Mastodon) [Tickets]
