Tobias Forge, the creative force behind Swedish occult rockers Ghost, is set to appear at the highly anticipated Back to the Beginning charity concert on July 5 at Villa Park in Birmingham, UK. The event marks a historic moment in rock history—the final performance of Black Sabbath’s original lineup and Ozzy Osbourne’s last-ever solo show.
Speaking on The Mistress Carrie Podcast, Forge expressed deep admiration for both Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, acknowledging their profound influence on his musical journey.
“First and foremost, it’s a huge honor since they have meant as much to me as most others, and from a very early age as well,” he said. He reminisced about Ozzy’s presence in the 1980s, noting how the singer was a dominant force in metal at the time.
“When I grew up in the ’80s, he was like the big star of the band. He was part of the mainframe of— I don’t know— your glitterati of heavy metal, sort of top 40, top 10, if you will, with big hits, like ‘Shot in the Dark’ and ‘Bark at the Moon’.”
While Ozzy stood out as a recognizable solo artist, Forge recalled that Black Sabbath was in flux during that era, particularly after Ronnie James Dio’s departure.
“It was hard to really track them in the ’80s, especially after the Dio years, because when Tony Iommi was going through all these different lineups, so you sort of paid attention, like, ‘Oh, that’s a new Black Sabbath record…'” However, by the early 1990s, his appreciation for the band deepened. “When I was, like, 10 years old and when I really started buying records, I grew to love a lot of the ’80s Sabbath stuff as well— I mean, even ’90s stuff. I remember when Dehumanizer came out and Dio was back, it was just, like, ‘What?’ A really cool record. It felt like they were a band to be counted on again.”
“I’m digressing here a little. But growing up with Ozzy and old Black Sabbath, it was hugely influential for me as a kid and onwards and just catapulted me into wanting to become a musician and write songs,” Forge added.
Forge credited Black Sabbath not just for their heavy riffs but for their more adventurous songwriting. “Just to stay on the subject of Black Sabbath, I must say that especially their more proggy records… When I’m talking about my Black Sabbath influence, especially on Ghost and as a songwriter, it’s much more their mournful, big ballady or their big songs of Vol 4, Sabotage, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, that sort of stuff, when they were really brave.”
He praised Geezer Butler’s lyricism, highlighting its emotional depth: “His lyrics were so deep and naked and not at all dark and gloomy.”
Despite Black Sabbath’s widespread recognition as the godfathers of heavy metal, Forge believes their softer, more introspective side is often overlooked. “The whole metal genre, all the big heavy bands, it’s always been, like, ‘Yeah, Black Sabbath. When I think about them, I think about keyboards, and I think about big, mournful ballads. Those were the deep things.” While he acknowledged their heavier classics— “I love ‘Symptom of the Universe.’ I love ‘Children of the Grave’ too”— he emphasized that the band was “so much more than that, so much more than that.”
For Forge, being part of Black Sabbath’s farewell is both an honor and a bittersweet moment. “If I’m just gonna say all the positive things, that’s a big honor. But, of course, it comes with the little backhand of the finality of the show, and what that means is heartbreaking in a way.”
