Given Ghost's thrilling ascendancy into metal's premier league one might imagine that all the rock n' roll dreams Tobias Forge nurtured growing up have now been fulfilled. But in a new interview in Classic Rock magazine, the Satanic Swedes' svengali reveals that there are certain dreams which are likely to remain cruelly out-of-reach, at least until some bright spark invents a time machine.
Reflecting on the huge success his band have enjoyed in 2022, and the impact made by their fifth studio album Impera, a thankful Forge tells Classic Rock's Polly Glass, "I feel like I managed to do a lot of things I set out to do" and says that he and the Nameless Ghouls are "recharging" ahead of what is likely to be a busy 2023.
In the course of the interview, referencing a previous statement from Forge where he admitted that he'd like to be able to play more guitar, Glass asks the 41-year old musician: 'If you could be the guitarist for a day in any band, which would it be?' His answer? The Rolling Stones in their prime.
"I would have loved to be what Mick Taylor was in 1969, coming into the Rolling Stones at their best era – but I would have stayed around!" he replies. "That would have been a great experience. Very fun music to play. Definitely within the limits of what I can play really well. I spent a lot of time as a kid learning how to play guitar."
As a second pick - because it's always good to have a back-up - Forge says, "Otherwise I would love to play in the Red Hot Chili Peppers" adding "I love what John Frusciante does."
You can read the full interview with Forge in the new issue of Classic Rock, which is on-sale now.
If Ghost's mainman picks up a copy for himself, he'll doubtless be delighted to see that CR staff and writers have voted Impera the second best album of 2022. In Metal Hammer, the album polled even higher, emerging as the magazine's Album Of 2022.
