Ghost, a hard rock/metal band from Sweden, is currently on the biggest American tour of their career to celebrate the release of their new album, Skeletá. If you are familiar with Ghost, you know that they are a force to be reckoned with. From the production, to the lighting, and frontman Papa V Perpetua (otherwise known as Tobias Forge) and the Nameless Ghouls having a captivating charismatic stage presence, Ghost executes a live performance that puts them in a league of their own.
With no openers for their tour, Ghost was able to hit the stage at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan shortly after 8:00 PM to perform a nearly sold out show with an explosive 2–hour set that consisted of 19 songs during the main set, and a 3 song encore. Ghost kicked off their set with “Peacefield” and “Lachryma”, two songs off of their new album Skeletá. The setlist acted as a cohesive palette, taking fans on an adventure through all of their eras, along with Forge’s costume changes that acted as a “nod” to all of the past iterations of Papa. Forge and the Nameless Ghouls captivated the audience’s attention, and the audience returned the favor with not even having a single person distracted the entire night, interacting constantly and effortlessly with the band. When the encore started with “Mary On A Cross”, the audience erupted into a thunderous roar, and it was one of the loudest concert experiences I have ever had. Not one person in the arena was holding back screaming the lyrics, creating a unified scream throughout the stadium.
An interesting component of a Ghost show is that the band tours with a no phone policy. Fans are given a lockable bag before entering the arena to put their phones in, where they are only allowed to be on their phones in very specific locations within the venue. If a fan is found using their phone in an unsolicited location, they are immediately escorted out of the venue. Although there has been some discourse over the years about Ghost’s no phone policy, the fans did not seem to be bothered. I was a little nervous about not having access to my phone during the show, but it was actually very refreshing to not have my phone. I felt like I could be fully present throughout the performance with the rest of the crowd, as if we were all acting as one cohesive vessel, connecting with the band on a deeper level — it felt like we were worshipping in the coolest metal church service to ever exist.
Ghost’s fans are known to be highly devoted to the band. A number of fans that funnelled into Little Caesar’s Arena were dressed as past iterations of Papa, wearing masks, robes, and covering their faces in the iconic black and white face paint. There was a wide range of age differences that were in attendance, which depicts the multi–generational appeal that the band has. The fans of Ghost also follow closely with the band’s lore, easter eggs, and hidden information for fans to decode and learn.
With all of these elements considered, Ghost undeniably puts on a fantastic show. I was astounded by the overall production, performance, setlist, and audience participation. It felt like a community coming together to celebrate something beautiful, and Ghost has done an excellent job over their career to establish such a special relationship with their fanbase.
Ghost has a few dates left on the Skeletour — check out their website to see if they’re coming to a city near you or keep up to date on the latest news.