Tobias Forge recently revealed details about his song selection process for Black Sabbath’s farewell concert. He shared insights about his original preferences in an interview with Hello Rayo.
The Ghost frontman explained the practical challenges he faced when choosing which Black Sabbath songs to perform. He particularly focused on songs with extended instrumental sections.
‘There are a lot of Black Sabbath songs that have vocals, and then there’s two minutes of not-vocals, and then there’s a vocal bit,’ Forge said. ‘I’m not trying to make fun of anyone but I can’t just stand there like that for two minutes [miming clapping along to the music]. So that had to play a part in my choice of songs, when we were figuring out what I was gonna do.’
Forge described the selection process as challenging. Many of his preferred choices were unavailable.
‘I was figuring out what I was gonna do,’ he continued. ‘I was, like, ‘Can I do this?’ ‘No.’ ‘Can I do this?’ ‘Already taken.”
The musician revealed that one of his top choices was a deeper cut from the Black Sabbath catalog.
‘[One] of the songs that I wanted to do was ‘Am I Going Insane,’ stuff like that,’ Forge said. ‘Because that, for me, that’s my childhood, songs like that.’
Forge ultimately performed ‘Bark at the Moon’ during the farewell concert instead of his preferred choice.
Forge’s experience reflects the complexity of organizing such a massive tribute event. The event brought together numerous artists to celebrate Black Sabbath’s legendary career.
Louder Sound reported that the farewell concert featured a diverse lineup that included bands like Mastodon, Rival Sons, Anthrax, Halestorm, and Lamb of God. Each band performed at least one Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne cover. The event showcased the band’s widespread influence across multiple generations of metal and rock musicians.
The concert also featured various supergroups with notable artists such as David Draiman and Nuno Bettencourt. This demonstrated the collaborative spirit of the tribute. WMMR noted that the event included video tributes from artists like Def Leppard and Marilyn Manson. These tributes added another layer of recognition to the farewell celebration.
The scale and organization of the tribute concert required careful coordination to avoid song overlaps. This explains why Forge faced limitations in his song choices. Audiophix documented that multiple artists participated in covering Black Sabbath’s extensive catalog. Song selection became a strategic process to ensure variety throughout the evening.
Forge’s preference for deeper cuts like ‘Am I Going Insane’ reflects his genuine appreciation for Black Sabbath’s broader discography beyond their most commercially successful tracks. This approach aligns with the concert’s mission to celebrate the full scope of the band’s influential career. The band’s career spans decades of groundbreaking heavy metal music.
