Ghost's Tobias Forge Compares Metallica Song to Death Metal

Speaking to Apple Music on Thursday (July 8), Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge correlated Metallica's classic Master of Puppets track "The Thing That Should Not Be" with the subgenre of death metal.

The Ghost bandleader, also known as the mysterious frontman Papa Emeritus and/or Cardinal Copia, did so by suggesting that the particular Metallica song is likely the closest in style to death metal as the thrash legends have come. He drew the comparison while including "The Thing That Should Not Be" on Ghost's Apple Ride the Lightning Playlist, specifically curated to draw attention to the upcoming Metallica Black Album tribute collection The Metallica Blacklist.

Listen to the playlist near the bottom of this post.

"This is one of Metallica's darker songs, almost more in line with death metal," Forge said of "The Thing That Should Not Be." "Definitely not the norm if you listen to the [entire Metallica] catalog. It's slightly different in tonality, which makes it stand out, and makes it super heavy and evil. Very Lovecraftian lyrics. This song has been a huge inspiration of mine for over 30 years."

The Metallica Blacklist arrives on Sept. 10, the same day a 30th anniversary remastered reissue of the parent album emerges. Among the covers album's stacked tracklist of Metallica songs reimagined by others, Ghost compete with alt-rockers Weezer to see who can deliver the most distinctive take on The Black Album's 1991 lead single, "Enter Sandman." But they aren't the only ones — Mac DeMarco, Juanes, Rina Sawayama, Sam Fender, and Alessia Cara and the Warning also contribute "Sandman" renditions.

The Metallica Blacklist "celebrates the enduring influence of Metallica with an unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut," Metallica's website explains.