It was January 2022, and we found ourselves sitting in the empty lobby of a snug Seattle hotel, overlooking the sunset over Puget Sound while soft rock wafted through the PA system. Across from us was Ghost frontman and mastermind Tobias Forge, and we spent nearly two hours talking about music, family, dogs and the steady ascension of Ghost from spooky Swedish underground band to arenafilling titans. But mostly we were there to talk about Impera – their fifth album, then still two months away from release.
In the run-up to an album coming out – particularly one with a highly acclaimed predecessor, like 2018’s – artists tend to convey palpable anxiety as they prepare to relinquish control of their work to the world. Not so with Tobias, who radiated ease and comfort. had not yet seen the light of day, but he had already moved on. Looking back at that
