Ghost are heading into the 2026 Grammis with serious momentum. The theatrical rock powerhouse has landed six nominations at Sweden's equivalent of the Grammys, set for April 29 at Annexet in Stockholm – including the coveted Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for 2025's Skeletá.
In addition to those top-line nods, the band is also in contention for Hard Rock & Metal, while mastermind Tobias Forge, alongside Max Grahn, Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir, earned recognition in the Producer, Songwriter and Lyricist categories for their work on the album. They are:
- Årets Artist / Artist Of The Year
- Årets Album / Album Of The Year
- Årets Hårdrock/ Metal / Hard Rock & Metal
- Årets Producent / Producer
- Årets Kompositör / Songwriter
- Årets Textförfattare / Lyricist
The nominations add to an already decorated Grammis history. Ghost have previously won the Hard Rock & Metal award four times – for Infestissumam, Meliora, the Popestar EP and Impera.
Skeletá has also proven a commercial juggernaut. In May 2025, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 86,000 equivalent album units in its first week, 77,000 of which were traditional album sales. Vinyl accounted for more than 44,000 copies – a striking figure that underscored the band's physical sales power. Notably, Skeletá became the first hard rock album to top the Billboard 200 since AC/DC's Power Up in 2020.
As Ghost continue their global Skeletour, Forge has been candid about what comes next – or rather, what doesn't. Appearing on Full Metal Jackie's radio show on February 21, he admitted the band currently has "nothing else planned" beyond the ongoing run.
"All the above," Forge said when asked about hobbies and downtime. "One, I have my family. Duh. Of course, everybody knows that. I've had two kids waiting at home with my wife for 15 years… I've definitely come to a point where not only do I need – I feel physically and mentally I need to be home, simply because they're 17; they're not gonna be around for an eon."
He described leading Ghost as an all-consuming endeavor: "Imagine you being a house builder… you draw up houses, great ideas, but you're also doing the permits and you're also doing the tiles and you're building everything… I don't simply have an idea. And I'm out of tiles. I'm out of wood. I just don't have it."
For Forge, the fix is simple: "So the only way for me to come up with a new idea and get some new inspiration is to just step away. It is as simple as that."
That doesn't mean inactivity. Forge revealed he has "two film projects" in development and had been recording another album with a different project before the current tour began. "I have tons of stuff lined up for me [for] the coming years," he said.
Reflecting on years of touring, Forge spoke about the emotional toll of leaving home. "There were a lot of moments where you had to sort of sneak out before they woke up… when you jump into the car. And that was not easy. But when you're driven by a conviction… I was convinced, and I am still convinced, that I did the right thing."
Now, with his children nearing adulthood, the dynamic has shifted. "We're very connected. We're very good friends… And now they're the ones sort of pushing me, like, 'Yeah, it's only three weeks left.'"
As this chapter of Ghost winds down, Forge says the timing feels right to reset. "When I come back, we'll start this new chapter, this new reality."
