Tobias Forge, of the metal band Ghost, has recently revealed that he believes many other bands that change or cancel their tour dates due to COVID-19 are lying in their true reasoning. Forge made these remarks on a recent episode of the Drinks With Johnny podcast hosted by Johnny Christ.

“Well, the problem now is that a lot of these bands find the bottom line not to be satisfactory,” Forge notes. “They don’t go out and say, ‘Look, we’re not making as much money as we wish, so we’re going to cancel or we’re going to postpone till the stars are aligned and the marketplace looks better.”

Forge continues to explain how he sees these “farce” cancellations as a deterrent to fans from attending other shows due to the selfish actions of others, as Forge sees it.

When Christ began to challenge Forge on this claim, he doubled down saying “No, it becomes that. That is what it becomes. If one band decided to go and say like, ‘No, [it’s] because of safety, it’s not safe to tour because of COVID.’ Of course, you’re sending a message to the crowd that ‘Oh, maybe it’s not [safe].”

These comments come as Ghost has their European tour coming to a close. Ghost has long rocked the metal genre ever since their debut album Opus Eponymous in 2010.

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

Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz