Ghost members are enjoying the massive success that ‘Impera’ has brought them. The album, which took its place on the shelves last spring, soon climbed to the top of the charts. Speaking about this release in his recent interview with Revolver, frontman Tobias Forge compared their albums to Metallica’s 1991 self-titled albums known as the ‘Black Album.’
“I admit, I didn’t really think it was [our] ‘Black Album,’” said the frontman when he was asked about his earlier comparison of Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ with their latest effort. ‘I was saying that being album No. 5 for us, if there is numeral importance, I think it has to do with growth and maturity. Not necessarily saying that you grow more mature, but it’s just a succession that anything that’s done in a sequence, there is a natural way to grow from a debut record that you have all the time in the world to write to a second one.”
He continued, “And then on a third, something happens, and on the fourth, something happens. And then, on the fifth, usually something happens. And historically, you can look at a lot of bands and see that. So, at one point, I was just saying that since this is our fifth record, I can’t help but be reminded that some previous really good fifth records are records that I hold dearly with high regard, not only for the records but also the ensuing album cycles and where the bands were at the time.”
“And I mentioned obviously the ‘Black Album’ and the tour that Metallica made after that,” exclaimed the musician, “and also Iron Maiden and Powerslave and the World Slavery Tour that resulted in Live After Death, which is such a pivotal moment of hard rock at its prime, in terms of theatrical arena rock.”
According to him, their success has raised the bar for their subsequent albums. Tobias added, “I was just sort of thinking out loud of how important it is not to phone it in, even though ‘it’s just another record.’ It’s never just another record. But obviously now, after the fifth record, it’s hard to… I mean, it’s the difficult sixth record that I have to make. [Laughs]”
Ghost’s latest album ‘Impera’ is considered one of the most influential albums that brought fresh blood to the metal scene in recent times. As you remember, Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ had a similar function for them: it was the turning point that secured the place of the four horsemen in the metal world. This analogy of Tobias Forge is based on the meanings of these two albums for the musical journeys of the bands.
Like Ghost’s other albums, their latest effort also follows a thematic line: ‘The rise and fall of empires.’ When they finally decided to realize this idea that Forge had in mind for a long time, they made the right call. The album, which successfully melted the heavy metal, arena rock, and glam rock subgenres together, became the album through which the band proved themselves in the metal scene.
