The Official Ghost Thread v. summer 2023 US tour

[MirrorMask]

Cardinal Copia and Papa III were pretty vulgar characters, but they are essentially the same character. He says the same stuff as he did as Papa III. Papa I and II barely talked, but the papal robes with the cross staff were pretty damn intimidating in person and that alone had stage presence. Shows were fun back then too when they had minimal lighting and backdrops. They just have great stage presence.

Yeah, I understand that bands grow and evolve and I enjoyed a lot to see them opening for Metallica (even though they're not a band for daylight), but sometimes I miss the earlier era as well. The show, from what I've seen even in a reduced way with Metallica and by YouTube videos, is very cool, and I would have loved to see the full show with two sets from them, but Papa Emeritus II, with the tiara and the cross staff, was a sight to behold. There's nothing wrong with the masks and the red cardinal outfit but having an actual "dark pope" with full regalia singing was definitively something to behold (which I did only once..... once again in daylight, at a Sonisphere festival  )

Can't imagine however Emeritus II singing Dance Macabre while holding a staff 

[SystematicThought]

Papa II was depicted as having intense sexual charisma offstage, so maybe it would work

Off topic, but I think I've mentioned it before, I keep forgetting how annoying the Ghost Reddit page is. It used to be entertaining to visit years ago, but since Square Hammer and now Dance Macabre, it's just a bunch of new fans who dismiss Opus and Infestissumam as forgettable albums and boring and talk about how sexy Cardinal Copia is and how cute Tobias is. They keep trying to connect everything to the "Lore" of Ghost. I read one the other day where they said: "Maybe they dropped Monstrance Clock from the setlist because Sister Imperator was pregnant with Copia and now the antichrist is here with Copia. The lyrics talk about that."
No, they probably dropped it because they are playing arenas and needed a solid rocker to close the set, not the theatrical Monstrance Clock. You can't connect lyrics from six years ago to what's happening now. Tobias has said before the story he's doing now is because the record label wanted a story, so he threw something together.

Luckily, I think the Ghost reddit, is a small group of Ghost fans

[cramx3]

Doesn't sound that different than the DT side of this forum sometimes   

[MirrorMask]

I like the mythology of Ghost, but we're speaking of a wacky satanist cult where a cardinal gets "Employee of the Month" awards and goes around on a trycicle, while the head of the organization re-releases non-existant albums from 50 years ago. I mean, it's cool and all but I wouldn't spend too much time trying to figure it all out like if it was season 1 of Westworld or something 

Anyway, you're on a Ghost roll, you want to hear all the albums but don't have time? no problem, listen to the whole albums in 2 minutes each! There's a guy who does a lot of acoustic and mellow stuff on YouTube, and he created medleys for Ghost's entire discography! check them out, they're very cool:

Opus Eponymus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjW14hzEiZw
Infestissumam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cobaGOEa1KY
Meliora: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkBgrjjXoVU
Prequelle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61gkhlEsnlE
7 Inches of Satanic Panic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpO1mmp_JnI

And the playlist which I found out only when I copied and pasted all the links  :

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXmYAgnLvf-2gEoiiBSCOyDh8yLqgYTpG

[Zydar]

The next Ghost album will be fronted by Papa Emeritus IV.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/next_ghost_album_will_be_fronted_by_papa_emeritus_iv_tobias_forge_announces.html

So no Cardinal Copia then.

[MirrorMask]

What about Cardinal Copia being elected Papa Emeritus?

Come on, this is such a long time coming that it will be a huge missed opportunity if they don't turn the cardinal into a pope, and especially if they don't do it live on stage.

Tobias said they'll play only one show in 2020 - could this be the show for the DVD he wants to film? at the end Papa Nihil could come out, like he did when he booted Emeritus III, and instead do the Habemus Papam:

Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum; habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Copia,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Emeritus Quarti!

(They could switch Eminentissimum and Reverendissimum with latin terms for, dunno, blasphemous, demoniac and whatever)

Then Tobias could come out dressed as Emeritus IV giving something to wait for to the fans until the next album in 2021.

Come on, they're already a spoof of the catholic church, they have a cardinal and they want to have a pope - if they don't do their own version of the Habemus Papam, I'll be pissed 

[SystematicThought]

Just came back from seeing Ghost at The Armory here in Minneapolis. The band as usual was on fire. They get more and more entertaining each time they pass through. So much fun to see. It was great seeing them live with a bigger lighting rig, pyro, smoke, explosions, etc. It added to the overall show.

Here's some videos I took. I'm no cram, but I do okay with my shots:

Dance Macabre/Square Hammer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzrqRZs03kI

Year Zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9GFo9yTf-w

The one thing I gotta say, and I knew this was going to happen with a bigger venue, and the fact that the band is getting bigger, but the crowd tonight....Every previous time I've seen Ghost, and it's a lot, the crowd is quiet throughout. I mean, they cheer and everything when it's an energetic song and give him a response when he asks for a loud cheer--normal concert stuff. But when the parts were quiet or the interlude like Spoksonat, Devil Church, the guitar battle before Cirice, the intro/outro to Year Zero, they would just stand there watching what was happening onstage. It was great, everyone was there to watch the show.

The crowd tonight. Talked loudly during the songs mentioned above and would talk over Tobias' talking parts. I knew this was going to happen once they moved into the arenas, but it was awful tonight. It was obvious plenty were there to only see Square Hammer and Dance Macabre. I felt bad for the guy standing next to me because the whole night, he stood against the rail, very respectful guy, would record some songs, but mostly just stood there and watched. During Square Hammer, he's filming it, and this lady behind him (who was loud all night and talked about her 2 year old at home loudly during the Cirice guitar battle) starts grinding up on him and putting her hands over the camera and touching him. It wasn't done in a flirtatious manner, it was done to annoy him. I heard him turn around and say to her to stop. She kept doing it. Why spend money on a ticket to hear two songs and talk through the rest. It's annoying.

I hate fan gatekeeping, but Ghost is way more than those two songs. Respect what came before, there were plenty of us there tonight who have been to plenty of shows and want to hear everything. Just because you haven't heard Zombie Queen before doesn't mean you talk through it. It was just annoying.

Overall though, I enjoyed watching the band and hearing the songs (Zombie Queen is so much fun live as is Satan Prayer). Tobias is quite the entertainer and is so theatrical. Even in the arena, they don't really lose that theatrical nature. I'm looking forward to seeing their stage setup evolve over time. Sadly, we won't see them pass through again until 2021 at the earliest. Looking forward to it!

[cramx3]

That's a nice big crowd for them, that's cool to see, but that lady annoying that guy would make me livid.  I can't say I've ever had anyone fuck with my phone or camera before.  I'd totally tell them to fuck off and make sure the camera was still rolling to record the encounter 

[twosuitsluke]

Ghost were so good tonight! They played for about 2 hours and I never lost interest at any point. The whole show was theatrical, the set was pretty much perfect and it was a 'show' in every sense of the word. I now appreciate songs such as He Is and Square Hammer way more. 

Next time they play near me I want to try an experiment and take along a friend, who has zero interest in this sort of music, and see what they think! Can't imagine anyone not finding something to enjoy 

[SystematicThought]

Cardinal became Papa IV tonight in Mexico and Papa Nihil is dead. The story never mattered to me, but at least the Prequelle tour cycle has ended and it’s time for the next album early next year!

[MirrorMask]

I've read that it happened during Miasma. They should have really done their version of the Habemus Papam, I'd figure that at the end of the show Papa Nihil would come out doing it, and then Cardinal Copia would have been introduced as the new Papa.

Anyway, the mythology is just a fun addition to the lore of the band, we all saw it coming that a cardinal would become a pope, now let's wait for the next album! what kind of style does inspire you the new outfit? it's hard to pinpoint, it's more.... dunno, "festive" than I expected.

[Zydar]

Nice! I suspect they will focus on writing and recording this year.

[Mladen]

I love all of this. 

[Zydar]

I grabbed some pics from their Instagram of the new Papa.

[SystematicThought]

Nice! I suspect they will focus on writing and recording this year.

He’s been working on it since January. The album will be done by the end of summer, he just doesn’t want to release it during the elections, or at least he’s saying that. He said Ghost won’t be dormant for the year, something’s gonna be released at some point unrelated to the new album. He said that awhile ago, so maybe something changed.

As for Mirror Mask’s question, I’m wondering the same thing as to what the new album will be like. He’s said it will be more riff oriented as Prequelle was top ballad heavy, so hopefully we get something heavier. I assume it’s gonna be another pop metal album as he said he can’t alienate the new fans he’s acquired. I’m really gonna miss Ghost in the small theaters....

But the new costume does look festive, you’re right! I’m gonna be happy with whatever they release, he’s never released a dud song or album.

[MirrorMask]

Miasma, where Papa Nihil collapses at the end instead of playing the last note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=derc8fhfBlg

Then Cardinal Copia reaches the stage, a bunch of nuns surround him, clothes fly out, robes are brought in, the circle opens and lo and behold.... Papa Emeritus IV! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk31iP6Ck1Y

I still think it was a huge missed opportunity to have an "habemus papam" announcement, but this was wickedly cool, I can only imagine how it must have been for people in attendance!

[Ben_Jamin]

That was actually pretty awesome, I can only imagine the surprise and spectacle of the venue once Papa Nihil collapsed.

[Podaar]

Then Cardinal Copia reaches the stage, a bunch of nuns surround him, clothes fly out, robes are brought in, the circle opens and lo and behold.... Papa Emeritus IV! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk31iP6Ck1Y

That was totally wicked! Part of me wants to have my 87 year-old Mormon mother watch this just to see her reaction. 

[SystematicThought]

I’m kinda surprised that there wasn’t a video today on YouTube, another entry in those videos they’ve been doing. I’m sure there will be one soon

[cramx3]

That was pretty cool

the mythology is just a fun addition to the lore of the band

Yup, the music is what I enjoy but the spectacle of it all and the story adds a layer of fun to the band.

[NunoTenniscourt]

I'm hoping the Ghouls will have a new look for the next album, too.

[SystematicThought]

I hope so too. I feel like they missed an opportunity to have plague doctor masks. I mean, they used to have the Venetian masks, so I don’t think it would be too hard to do.

If it wasn’t for Copia’s extravagant wardrobe, I would have said the lack of change for the Ghouls was because Martin wasn’t in the band so the costume guy wasn’t there anymore. I do wonder too if these weren’t his final garments for Papa IV, they didn’t seem as full as the other Papa garments, but maybe that was the point. And he did put them on right there onstage, so that could be it too.

The next era, I hope there is a bit of a change in Copia‘s character. There isn’t much difference between Papa III and the Cardinal, it was kinda the same shtick and same lines. I miss Papa II. He was a the best. Dark, but he also had some funny quips in between songs.

But I kinda feel like there won’t be too much change.

[Cool Chris]

I wish there was some way every stop on the tour could experience this, but I get that once it happens the first time, it's all over the internet and thus the surprise nature of the reveal is lost.

[KevShmev]

Miasma, where Papa Nihil collapses at the end instead of playing the last note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=derc8fhfBlg

Then Cardinal Copia reaches the stage, a bunch of nuns surround him, clothes fly out, robes are brought in, the circle opens and lo and behold.... Papa Emeritus IV! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk31iP6Ck1Y

I still think it was a huge missed opportunity to have an "habemus papam" announcement, but this was wickedly cool, I can only imagine how it must have been for people in attendance!

In the second video, I wonder how many fans in the live audience realized that it was an ABBA song playing during the entire sequence that led up to the Papa Emeritus IV reveal.  That was so cool.

[MirrorMask]

I hope so too. I feel like they missed an opportunity to have plague doctor masks. I mean, they used to have the Venetian masks, so I don’t think it would be too hard to do.

On the latest leg of the european tour they had plague doctors wandering around the stage and "inspecting" the audience before Miasma started.

[NunoTenniscourt]

I hope so too. I feel like they missed an opportunity to have plague doctor masks. I mean, they used to have the Venetian masks, so I don’t think it would be too hard to do.

If it wasn’t for Copia’s extravagant wardrobe, I would have said the lack of change for the Ghouls was because Martin wasn’t in the band so the costume guy wasn’t there anymore. I do wonder too if these weren’t his final garments for Papa IV, they didn’t seem as full as the other Papa garments, but maybe that was the point. And he did put them on right there onstage, so that could be it too.

The next era, I hope there is a bit of a change in Copia‘s character. There isn’t much difference between Papa III and the Cardinal, it was kinda the same shtick and same lines. I miss Papa II. He was a the best. Dark, but he also had some funny quips in between songs.

But I kinda feel like there won’t be too much change.

I thought for sure the plague doctor masks were going to be part of their new look, but they weren't. There's a band called AD INFINITUM that currently has the male members of the band donning plague doctor masks. The singer is female and doesn't wear one.

I have the devil mask from the Meliora era. It weighed a lot more than I expected. I made the mistake of wearing it for a 6 hour Halloween party and my neck paid dearly for it. I'm thinking the ones the band wore HAD to be lighter and made of something other than resin.

[SystematicThought]

On the latest leg of the european tour they had plague doctors wandering around the stage and "inspecting" the audience before Miasma started.

I know. The show I was at, they didn’t turn the stage lights back on, so you couldn’t see what was going on. I was kinda looking forward to it too because I thought it looked kinda cool

[cramx3]

Ghost, Hellacopters - Sympathy for the Devil

I think Ghost are working on a new album, Tobias doing vocals on this is interesting. He sounds different, maybe a sign for their next album.  However, this cover song is kind of perfect for them

[MirrorMask]

I've read many bad comments on a link, then heard the song and, as a moderate acquaintance with it (I mean, of course I know the song, but it's not that I go searching for it 'cause I want to listen to it, I'm not into the Stones), I found it just fine. Nice "Hey we're still alive" nod from Tobias.

[KevShmev]

Ghost is touring in early 2022. 

https://ghost-official.com/#tour

Not thrilled about our show here being on a Monday, but I may still go.

[Anguyen92]

I may go see them at the Honda Center in Anaheim on 03/03/22.  It's pretty close by.  They are touring with Volbeat.  I mean I'm not a huge fan of either bands, but I don't hate either bands, so if the right ticket price comes along, we'll see.

[Metro]

Nothing in my neck of the woods. Nothing in the southeast at all. No Atlanta, no NC, not even a D.C. date. Closest show is Hershey, PA on a Tuesday and that ain't gonna happen. Oh well.

On the bright side, I would assume an Album announcement is just around the corner.

[Dittomist]

I am so psyched to see Ghost/Volbeat/Twin Temple! This will be the first concert where I've liked all 3 bands since I saw Queensryche/Dream Theater/Fates Warning back in 2003. But I'm even more excited about a new album from Ghost because their last two (as well as that Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic single) were amazing

[countoftuscany42]

coming from SFV to Anaheim on a weekday probably won't happen, or at least im not gonna buy a ticket until I know I'd be able to go.  So probably the day-of, if at all.  Not the end of the world if I miss this one though, but excited for a new album!

[Cool Chris]

I got in their music a couple years ago via a submission in my roulette, and saw them on their last tour. Thought it was a great show! Not sure I will make this one but I would encourage anyone who likes their music to go if they have the chance.