Scandinavian metal icons Ghost have been rocketing toward superstardom since rising from the darkness of their hometown of Linköping, Sweden back over a decade ago.
Ghost deftly combines the bombast and spectacle of 1980’s era arena legends such as Iron Maiden, the shock and horror of fellow Norseman King Diamond as well as the mystery, humour and playfulness of bands such as KISS.
Beyond tactfully positioning themselves to reign as the ghoulish kings of metal for years to come, along the way Ghost have also established this incredibly unique, intimate and unbending bond with their ever-growing legion of fans.
After three studio recordings, which included a 2016 Grammy win for Best Metal Performance for the single, “Cirice,” Ghost are on the precipice of releasing their fourth and most highly anticipated record, Prequelle, early next month.
Ghost began the North American leg of their “Rats on the Road” tour back in late April. The current trek concludes early next month before the band travels back across the pond for a slew of summer festival dates.
Ghost – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – Asheville, NC – 5/22/18
Prior to returning to the shores of Europe Ghost thankfully took the time to make a pit stop in the North Carolina mountain enclave of Asheville, North Carolina for a ruckus performance held within the confines of the legendary Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
Ghost’s production levels seem to behave dialed back a bit on the initial run of Prequelle dates. Outside of some of the band’s trademark ecclesiastical imagery, a hefty dose of their magniloquent personas and a dash of confetti here and there, Ghost’s performance in North Carolina remained primarily rooted in the music and their organic connections with their fans.
Opening the show with the lead single off of Prequelle, “Rats” the band would go on to deliver two hours of sheer metal bliss that had patrons mesmerized, laughing and gleefully dancing with another throughout its entirety.
The setlist on the evening featured six of the ten tracks from the upcoming Prequelle alongside ample doses of established hits such as “Con Clavi Con Dio,” “From the Pinnacle to the Pit,” “Year Zero,” “Square Hammer” as well as a confetti-drenched rendition of “Mummy Dust.”
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Ghost’s performance in Asheville was simply the countless laughs and personal moments the band shared between themselves and the audience from the first notes played until the curtain fell to conclude the night.
Ghost frontman Tobias Forge, aka “Cardinal Copia” and his troupe of Nameless Ghouls have to be considered one of the premier live acts touring in the rock and metal genre today.
The fact that the band can trim back it’s live show in terms of explosions, lights and bombast and still have their performance come off larger than life as ever, speaks to the two things that continue to separate Ghost from most of their contemporaries.
One, their music is not only catchy, it’s damn fucking good. And two, following any Ghost performance fans walk away from the venue feeling more like their best friends just played a show for them, versus some band from the remote southern town in Sweden.
Prior to Ghost taking to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium stage for their requisite encore, Forge quipped to the western North Carolina audience, “I want you to promise that when all of you go home tonight, you’ll either give yourself or someone else an orgasm, are you up for it?”
Of course, the audience’s reaction to Cardinal Copia’s query was more than enthusiastic, leading the lead singer to continue on with his line of hysterical deviant musings.“Coincidentally our last song is about how to achieve the female orgasm, which in certain societies is still considered a craft of the devil.”
Ghost – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium – Asheville, NC – 5/22/18
And with that one last moment of levity Forge, the Nameless Ghouls and Ghost brought an end to the night’s musical festivities with a cracking rendition of fan favorite, “Monstrance Clock.”
Talented, relatable, intelligent, humorous and humble seem to ultimately be the characteristics most critics and fans associate with the band Ghost. Not bad for a bunch of Scandinavian musicians that dress up as a malevolent Pope and band of demonic musical ghouls. Not bad at all.
