Tobias Forge said that he looks at Metallica’s career when planning moves for Ghost.
Forge told Kerrang, “I regard Metallica as colleagues and friends now, but they’re still Metallica. I am an ambassador and they are presidents. But when I look to Metallica for influence, I’m looking at what they did in 1988. We’re on our fourth album, as they were on the Damaged Justice Tour, so the next stop is The Black Album.”
Forge wasn’t talking about making a more commercial album like James Hetfield and company did — he’s focused on making an album that can sustain them for a long time. “That doesn’t mean to expect riffs. It’s two different things — what the record sounds like and knowing to put yourself in the right spot at the right time.”
He added, “When I had nothing, and lived in a small apartment that cost very little because the ceiling leaked, the dream was to be able to live off making music. When I had kids that became even more important. Now it’s about something else. I’m responsible for showing my wife and my kids that all these years of waiting for me have been worth it. And that goes beyond money, because at the end of the day that’s just seasoning. One day my kids will be grown up and I have to be able to show them that all this time playing rock shows had a real purpose.”
