Most people think church service takes place on a Sunday, well Ghost abide by no such rules, converting the Motorpoint Arena into an unholy place of riff worship and demonic crowd chants on a brisk Saturday night.
After supporting acts Tribulation and All Them Witches failed to gain movement from the crowd, Motorpoint’s ticketholders grew restless, awaiting the arrival of anti-pope character and frontman ‘Cardinal Copia’ with his supporting mob of ‘Nameless Ghouls and Ghoulettes’; to say they delivered just doesn’t cut it.
12 photos of Ghost in concert
The Swedish hard-rockers nailed the blueprint for opening a tour: singe eyebrows off the audience with flamethrowers and fireworks, destroy their vocal chords with innumerable shouting matches, get their aching bones moving with a hit-laden set list and, most surprisingly, keep them laughing with heaps of stage banter.
Beneath the macabre but exquisite stage and costume design (Copia seemingly changing with every passing song) we were granted these brief moments of comical respite with Ghouls performing pantomime-like guitar-solo battles, throwing raunchy gestures at one another or sometimes just getting in a scuffle; a refreshing break from metal acts that refuse to break their precious macho exterior.
It wasn’t quite enough to steal the limelight from Copia. A man wrapped in mystery (and a variety of papal outfits) but not afraid to show an intimate side; there were countless moments of sex-ridden dance moves and promises that: “This next song is going to make your ass wobble!” and I must say it did.
But do not be fooled. Comedic value aside Ghost came to rock and they did it well. The surging basslines of From the Pinnacle to the Pit, the uncompromised chugs of Mummy Dust and the Satan-summoning screams of Year Zero all of which elevated by tremendous mixing on behalf of the venue that raised these ecclesiastical rockers to the clarity of studio recording.
This was a magical night that transcended the realms of a gig; this was a show. Music that packed so much punch and comedy that packed so much personality despite the Ghouls rigid visages, it all culminated in a sorrowful farewell as these masters of the dark arts gave their love, took a bow, and left without another word; and we all stared into the darkness, hoping for their return.
