"He was saying that it was overwhelming for him. He was very vulnerable." Ghost mainman Tobias Forge reveals the surprising conversation he had with a member of Black Sabbath at the metal legends' final show

Ghost leader Tobias Forge has revealed the moving interaction he had with a member of Black Sabbath while backstage during the build-up to the metal legends' final show in Birmingham in July. Forge, who appeared on stage as Papa V Perpetua at the Back To The Beginning concert at Villa Park on July 5 to sing Ozzy Osbourne classic Bark At The Moon, says he managed to catch a word with all four members of the band.

“I spoke to each and every one," he confirms. "The one that I spoke to the least was Ozzy, but he was obviously very courted, and I also felt like there were so many people around me that were not only close and old friends of his, but that worked with him or played with him. I just sort of tapped him on the back, like, ‘Hey, man, happy to be here!'

“The one that I met most is Geezer [Butler, bass]," Forge continues, "and he's very switched on, like, extremely; he should not retire at all. Bill [Ward, drums] had been out of the circuit for a little while and I’d never met him, so I went up and introduced myself.

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The frontman goes onto reveal that even members of one of the most celebrated metal bands of all time can get a little overawed from time to time, especially if they've been out of the game for a while - Ward has remained largely inactive as a live drummer in recent years.

"He was saying that it was overwhelming for him," Forge says. "He was very vulnerable. I remember seeing interviews with him when I was a kid and he was this gruffy man, hammering drums. He looked like someone's dad. And now, he’s this little man, standing there with drumsticks, just uncertain as to how to feel about this whole thing. And you know what? That's beautiful, too.”

Forge was speaking exclusively to Metal Hammer for our special end of year issue, which includes our top 50 albums of 2025, more new interviews with members of Iron Maiden, Babymetal. Slipknot and President, plus a bonus Iron Maiden pin badge, heavy metal calendar and Halestorm laptop sticker. Get your copy here.