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Gig ReviewsReviews

[Review] Ghost @ John Cain Arena 04/10/2023

Whether you’re a Christian, Satanist, Pagan, or devote your life to any spiritual realm, it has always been clear to me the Ghost has always reached diverse audiences around the world. The satanic aesthetic created by Papa Emeritus IV and his cult of Nameless Ghouls has always drawn my wandering eyes to fix on them, whilst also seducing my ears to their incredible sound. Seeing this group live amongst the face-painted and costume clad fans was a sight to worship.

After a slightly delayed wait with a holy voices of a cathedral choir echoing from behind the white drapes that concealed the stage, the opening acoustic licks of Imperium were almost drowned out by the screaming of the packed John Cain Arena, all before the silhouette of a certain axe-shredding ghoul appeared colossal on the white curtain as he jammed the upbeat opening riff to Kaisarion. The curtains dropped whilst the ghouls brought on an anthem for Papa himself to grace the stage, blessing us with iconic vocals that you could identify in a second.

A quintessential Ghost performance is always nothing short of a jaw-dropping spectacle, from the set design of a cathedral depicting at first holy imagery on stained class to later depict hellish imagery towards the climax of the show, all the way down to the light-work that perfectly complimented the backdrop of each individual track, an example being the appropriate deep red as the opening of Year One chanted the many names of our favourite horned red man: 

“BELIAL. BEHEMOTH. BEELZEBUB. ASMODEUS. SATANAS. LUCIFER”

But despite each nameless ghoul getting moments to shine throughout the show, it’s obvious who the prominent character was, as Papa Emeritus had all of our eyes completely glued to him from start to finish. As highlighted previously, his vocal style and genius lyricism has cultivated its own powerful authenticity and has been become iconic within the music community let alone the rock/metal genres, reaching its height especially in the slower yet still hard tracks like Cirice and Call Me Little Sunshine. His swift costume changes were also a sight to behold, as each short interval between each track had him emerging with something new, including a steampunk top-hat, shadow-casting bat wings, his of course iconic elegant and gothic Pope outfit, all the way down to his shining red and blue “after show jackets”.

The humour and banter between the band members never failed to make me chuckle, from Papa’s charismatic humour between songs or the playful scolding of either of the soloing guitarists. We even received a cameo from a longtime Ghost character, Papa Nihil, emerging disorderly from a glass box to performing an earth shattering saxophone solo during Miasma, right before Papa uses this to segway into the next track in which “Nihil sings”, this track being the iconic Mary On A Cross, and it matters not whether you were a ghost fan before this track circled the world, or became a fresh listener of the band after the track’s popularity across TikTok, there’s no doubt every soul in the arena belted every single lyric, myself included. 

As the climax approached, Papa gave a little speech in appreciation of the community and support all before announcing the final song for the night, Respite on the Spitefields, before Ghost departed the stage….all for a short while before Papa re-emerged in response to the call-out of the audience, bantering over being told about us “expecting a classic rock show with an encore”. The charismatic frontman agreed to the crowd’s demand for three more songs (not too fond of a front row “crazy lady’s” suggestion of five songs), before the lights revealed the remaining ghouls in the darkness kicking off the encore with the ever risqué Kiss the Go-Goat. The remaining two songs required our strengthened necks for head banging and dancing shoes, for the lights radiated and glimmered with a colourful disco palate for the upbeat Dance Macabre, transitioning ever so smoothly alongside a final thanks from Papa Emeritus into the enigmatic yet powerful Square Hammer, in which the volume of the opening riff had to compete with the screams of the crowd one final time. 

As Ghost finally departed from the stage and instructing us to “fuck off” as well, I was positively buzzing for the rest of the night, as I had been apart of a mass ritual that I will not forget anytime soon, a ritual which should be experienced at least once in a lifetime…

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Album ReviewReviews

Ghost – Phantomime

Hot off the back of the long-awaited Australian tour announcement, Ghost are throwing us a bone with the latest release EP Phantomime. There is barely a conversation between music lovers of late that does not consist of the word Ghost. Their all-consuming sound and unique take on music is hot property, and we Australians cannot get enough!

The musical genius of Tobias Forge is once again on full display and Phantomime takes us on a journey of classic covers with a diverse collection of songs. Who would have thought that putting Tina Turner and Iron Maiden of the same album would work? Well, Tobias of course, and it works in spades, with refreshing new takes on somewhat unconventional partners.

Opening with Televisions’ See No Evil we are taken back to the seventies with a nostalgic twist on this decades old tune. While losing none of the original feel Ghost have wrangled See No Evil to give it a modern-day spin while still keeping close to its original counterpart. A brilliant way to kick of the album, instantly grabbing your attention, leaving you eager to see what comes next.

The Genesis hit, Jesus He Knows Me is next in line and was released to coincide with Easter Sunday. Which solves the mystery of the “Jesus Is Coming” reference in the Good Friday premiere of the webisode series Chapter 17, Nap Time.  It isn’t the first time we have seen Ghost challenging authority figures via music and this one is an absolute banger.  Their version of the Grammy award winning song is a blinding rendition and let’s just say the accompanying film clip will leave you with a strange awkwardness. Never one to shy from controversial subjects, Jesus He Knows Me is up there with the best and is one of my favourites on the EP.

The Stranglers have been in everyone’s ears for almost fifty years, so it was no surprise they made the cut on this album. The cover of Hanging Around has a fresh aspect that I really enjoyed. Tobias has a way of spinning songs to suit his distinguishable sound but still gives the song its own identity. Hanging Around is this and more and is worth of its spot on Phantomime.

They do not come more synonymous in the metal music scene than Iron Maiden. The Phantom of The Opera is a mammoth song and one that needs to hit the mark if you are going to replicate it.  Fortunately, the Ghost version knocks it out of the park with a punchy sound that resonates instantly in your mind with a song of such gargantuan proportions. It is magical to listen as Ghost intertwine with Iron Maiden in an almost cathartic experience, while this song is a long one you will not be disappointed, and it will have you swept up for the duration.

We Don’t Need Another Hero was made famous after featuring in our very own cult classic movie Mad Max Beyond – Thunderdome. While Tina Turner did an outstanding job with the original, Ghost certainly set the bar high with their own version. It is packed with feeling and sentimentality and is a fitting end to this exquisite EP.

The thought involved in putting together a group of cover versions that will resonate with the listener is a tough ask but as with this eclectic mix, it just works. Once again, this falls to the insightfulness and innovation of Tobias Forge and his extremely gifted ghouls that cement the sound and round out the perfection that is Phantomime.

Phatomime’ will be released on physical and across streaming services from May 18.

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