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Ghost’s Tobias Forge favorite ABBA songs

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tobias forge and ABBA

Decades have passed and no new metal bands have been born yet to storm the world as Ghost has done. With talented artists such as Tobias Forge, the band has taken a lead in the world of metal.

Opus Eponymous was the debut album of the Ghost. The 2010 album stole the heart of many fans and above that, it won the heart of many audiences, they have also managed to influence many other artists and is often compared to Blue Öyster Cult and The Doors.

Their first album influenced a wide range of audience and attracted many fans but it was the second album that did the magic. After the release of Infestissumam, we could see the band being in one piece and becoming much bigger than they were already before.

They started to work with bigger production houses and did unique musical arrangements and complex structures. They continued to walk through this through Meliora and Prequelle, the third and fourth records.

The sound of Ghost is filled with ambitions, the song they release is true work of art and that could also be seen in their new album, Impera. They are so breathtaking that they are still considered one of the best to this date.

“I guess what makes my work different to your average rock band is that I’m just about an able guitar player, I peaked a long time ago, which is why I don’t practise enough anymore! I hit a wall where my fingers didn’t really obey,” says Tobias Forge.

“These days I’m more of a songwriter and conceptual creator, to be honest. I can handle a guitar, a bass, drums and also sing. I can make a song sound basically how I want it to myself, with a nice sketch of what a solo should be temperamentally.” 

Tobias tells that Rock the Night is a perfect example note-perfect solo. He points out that the 80s hair metal hit song was just the perfect one that many of us can take lessons from it. And he also praised guitarist John Norum for the taste he had for the guitar. Well, he also stated that Norum’s replacement, Kee Marcello is also one of the best soloists out there.

“There’s only one hard bit in that Rock The Night solo, but it’s the perfect spot to shine,” he continues; “And, as much as I love John Norum’s playing on tracks like that, I always felt when Kee joined for [1988 album] Out of This World, he sounded truly out of this world! Still to this day, I cannot believe how good he sounds on that record.”
“I always want solos to feel like their own little composition. For me, the whole ‘come in and noodle’ thing does not work. They need to be thought-out, like complete little journeys within the track.”
He continues; “That’s the great thing about working with Fredrik Åkesson. He was patient with my explanations, because we all know his ability is absolutely off the charts, and he understood when I was asking him to avoid overplaying, unless there was a point where it called for something outrageous. 
“It’s like dramaturgically structuring the solo to start in one place – and I’m paraphrasing what Kirk Hammett said in A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica where he noted, ‘You start over here and then you take them to this other place and then you go to a third place that’s even higher!’ I told Fredrik I wanted to have a Kee Marcello approach to these leads. He was graceful enough to take direction.”
From this, we can witness the passion that Tobias has for solos, but it is not the only solo part that is his favorite. He is also a huge fan of the renowned band, ABBA.
Tobias Forge is also open to sharing the love he has for ABBA. He was asked to name his favorite song of ABBA while he was in an interview with Metal Hammer, let’s take a look at what music he picked as his favorite!

“Right now, ‘I Have A Dream’ [the 6th single off the band’s 1979 album ‘Voulez-Vous’]. It involves three chords, and the third chord comes in at such a brilliant moment at the third section of the song.”

“The first two sections are the same two chords, back and forth. Then all of a sudden, the third chord comes in, and… they should be getting a Nobel Music Prize for that one because it’s so fucking brilliant.”

It didn’t take much for ABBA to create a history of being the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with “Waterloo”. they did several groundbreaking hits and the band finally dissolved in 1982.
Tobias was asked if Ghost would be following in the same footsteps as the legendary band, and he quickly refused it;
“I wouldn’t want to do it because it’s usually the end of your career. If you already have an established career, then don’t do it. Although Måneskin [Italian rock band that won Eurovision’s 2021 edition] proved it could be done. I hope there are a lot of 14-year-olds out there in Europe and the world who see that as an inspiration and start playing drums, bass and guitar.”

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