It's no secret that Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge is a multi-instrumentalist that plays quite a few parts on each record. However, Forge revealed in an interview with Loudwire that he didn't really have the time to practice and stay up to speed with guitar when recording Impera. So he turned to Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson to shred his way through the album.
"…I'm a little bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to actual playing. I'm an able drummer, a bass player, an able guitar player, but I'm not a virtuoso.
"This time around, I actually had another guitar player coming in, mounting the massive work of actually redoing everything. I've played guitar all my life, but, unlike most guitar players who are in successful bands, they play as they tour. I am doing a whole slew of other things, so, it almost feels like every time I saw start writing again, and demoing and doing pre-production, I quickly have to go up to par again.
"On, tour for example, I mostly play drums, actually, in a rehearsal room in the back that we usually do as a warm up. Part of my daily exercises, I play drums for an hour, but I tend to forget to play guitar. When making this record, the demos dictates what to play — you can always figure that out and there's always ways to redo, undo and piece things together.
"But when it came to actually performing, I had a friend of mine, Fredrik Åkesson, the guitar player from Opeth. He's the sort of person who plays five hours every day. He's so amazingly talented. He can play circles around anything that I put on tape and he can do it with flair."
This isn't the first time an Opeth member played guitar on a Ghost record either. Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt played acoustic guitar on the instrumental "Helvetesfönster" off the 2018 record Prequelle.
Ghost will release their new album Impera on March 11. Check out the single "Call Me Little Sunshine" below and make sure to catch the band on their extensive US and European tour.
w/ Volbeat & Twin Temple
1/25 – Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
1/27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
1/28 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Arena
1/29 – Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
1/31 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center
2/2 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
2/4 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
2/5 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
2/7 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
2/8 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center
2/10 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
2/11 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center
2/12 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
2/14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
2/15 – Toledo, OH – Huntington Center
2/16 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
2/18 – Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
2/19 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
2/20 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
2/21 – St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena
2/23 – Independence, MO – Cable Dahmer Arena
2/25 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
2/26 – Dallas, TX – Fair Park Coliseum
2/28 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center
3/1 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
3/3 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
w/ Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats & Twin Temple
4/9 – Manchester, Arena, UK
4/11 – London, O2 Arena, UK
4/13 – Glasgow, Hydro, UK
4/15 – Birmingham, RWA Arena, UK
4/17 – Rotterdam, RTM Stage Ahoy, Netherlands
4/18 – Paris, Accor Arena, France
4/19 – Cologne, Lanxess Arena, Germany
4/21 – Leipzig Quarterback Immobillen Arena, Germany
4/22 – Frankfurt, Festhalle, Germany
4/24 – Prague, Arena, Czech Republic
4/27 – Tampere, Nokia Arena, Finland
4/29 – Stockhom, Avicii Arena, Sweden
4/30 – Oslo, Spektrum, Norway
5/1 – Malmo, Malmo Arena, Sweden
5/3 – Brussels, Forest, Belgium
5/5 – Milan, Mediolanum Forum, Italy
5/7 – Barcelona, Olympic Arena Badalona, Spain
5/8 – Madrid, Vistalegre Arena, Spain
5/11 – Vienna, Stadthalle, Austria
5/13 – Zurich, Hallenstadion, Switzerland
5/15 – Hannover ZAG Arena, Germany
5/16 – Munich, Olympiahalle, Germany
5/18 – Budapest, Arena, Hungary
