For the past four decades, James Hetfield has been one of the most influential Heavy Metal musicians in the world, as Metallica has been one of the biggest bands in the genre during that time.
Throughout his career, he has witnessed the rise of many incredible bands in Heavy Metal and has even helped some of them by taking them on tour. He has shared his opinion on many of those prominent bands, including Ghost, led by the Swedish musician Tobias Forge.
What is James Hetfield’s opinion on Ghost
James Hetfield is a huge fan of Ghost since he heard their debut album “Opus Eponymous”, released in 2010. “I’m in their fan club. (Laughs) I had no idea what they looked like until I saw the video. I heard the music first and thought it was very great. Very unique, very melodic and a breath of fresh air for Metal. Reminds me a little bit of the 70s kind of Rock that I liked as well. So yeah, I love the band,” James Hetfield, wearing a shirt of Ghost’s first album, told SVT in 2011.
The following year, Metallica invited Ghost to be part of the lineup for the first edition of their own festival, Orion Music+. James himself introduced the band on stage, saying they were one of his new favorite bands. When the Swedish band played for the first time in San Francisco back in 2012, James went to their show at a small venue that held only 350 people. “James came to see us at our first San Francisco show in this tiny venue, which was more like a coffee shop. We stood backstage in our underwear. It probably wasn’t the best way to meet your idol for the first time.”
He continued:
“Then he came by after the show. Of course, we were in our underwear again. Come to think of it, I’ve met James many times in my underwear. It’s crazy. The guy is like royalty to us,” a Nameless Ghoul (That’s how the other members of Ghost were called) told Music Radar in 2015.
Later on, in 2019, Metallica took Ghost on the road with them across Europe as their opening act. Two years earlier, they had also toured extensively with Iron Maiden. On a day off in Canada, James went to see one of their shows and was filmed air drumming to Ghost’s “Cirice”.
James Hetfield played Ghost’s “Cirice” during Metallica rehearsal
Metallica have always shared personal footage of the band rehearsing and between songs. Some of the members, like James, are often fooling around with their instruments and playing parts of songs they like. In one particular video from 2018, Hetfield can be seen playing the guitar riff of “Cirice”, from Ghost’s acclaimed album “Meliora” (2015).
Tobias Forge, the mastermind behind the band commented about that video, saying: “Awesome. Of course. I guess that’s the ultimate sort of circle. Hetfield, everything he’s done, basically… He was a very early influence for me and keeps on being one. And going from a childhood hero to now a mentor and friend and colleague, if you will. Then having that sort of… receive back in the form of that flattery is amazing, of course. That humbles you,” Tobias Forge said in an interview with 93x radio in 2023.
In 2021, Metallica invited Ghost to be part of “The Metallica Blacklist”, a tribute album released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their acclaimed “Black Album”. They covered “Enter Sandman” on the record, which also featured other special guests like Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Weezer, PG Roxette, and Juanes.
Tobias has said many times that Hetfield’s support at the beginning of their career was fundamental in helping them gain exposure and be accepted. He also described their relationship as a kind of mentor-and-student dynamic with the Metallica frontman.
Tobias Forge said James Hetfield is one of the best guitarists of all time
Forge is a huge Metallica fan and in his opinion James is one of the guitar players in the world. “James Hetfield is definitely one of the best guitar players that have walked this earth. Even though I know sort of theoretically how to play ‘Master of Puppets’, it’s impossible to play downstrokes the way that he does from start to finish for seven minutes (laughs). (It’s) truly mindblowing,” he said in an interview (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Ghost’s most recent album “Skeletá” was released in 2025 and it’s being praised as one of their greatest records.
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