But who’s Papa? What’s Ghost? What is this talk about rituals?
Ghost first emerged from the ice cold or hot dimension that we mortals recognize as Sweden around the year 2006 (or maybe even years, decades, and centuries before that) and has been haunting us all over the world since. And while doing so, they have won awards left and right, including one of the most prestigious awards in music today - the Grammy (for best metal performance). The best hard rock, heavy metal albums, songs, and performances. Some of their songs are even claimed to be real evil! Ghost managed to sneak into my playlists around 2019 with Mary On A Cross, and stole my heart with all those beautiful harmonies. The rest is history! Papa Emeritus and the Nameless Ghouls (no one knows who they are, some of the ghouls have been legendary musicians from world-famous bands) create unforgettable magic worth every bit of seeing, hearing, and feeling! There was no way in hell I would have missed this opportunity to experience them play live!*
Before we jump into our captured glimpses of the Ghost sighting, warning! Most of the images and videos were captured with phone cameras therefore the quality is also not my usual standard. I had to leave my trusted DSLR camera at the door, unfortunately. Despite me trying to contact Oslo Spektrum beforehand - Den er for stor!
Ghost was not traveling alone of course. They had friends with them - Twin Temple (US) and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats (UK)!
Twin Temple was opening the show and performing a satanic ritual for the audience. They were throwing unholy water at us, inviting us to orgies, drinking and spewing blood, and passionately making out on the stage as captured in this video. They were giving an introduction to everyone about what satanism is all about as well.
It was fun to observe their mischievous and naughty way of performing. Their music certainly was on a different scope. Meaning, that it was more rock ‘n’ roll and blues. The vocalist even reminded me of Amy Winehouse for some reason. Maybe it was the hair? xD Either way, this bunch of vampires made the corpse slightly warmer with their charisma and long, long-held notes. Oh, and the saxophone player was cool too!
But then came the Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats to ruin our night (their words) and undid the corpse warming that the Twin Temple had done. Don’t get me wrong, their music was cool. Yet, I would have to name them as one of the most antisocial bands I have ever seen playing live xD They performed what felt like three songs and disappeared almost without talking or interacting with the crowd. Maybe they were having a shitty day, who knows. But here’s them performing a song named Mind Crawler.
Finally, the time had come! Before the veil was unveiled, there was something in the air. An old, familiar scent. The scent of burned incense, like in churches!
With a loud cannon blast, the Nameless Ghouls charged at us with their mighty guitars! Damn, they looked so fucking awesome with their masks, that this time around seems to have some old divers helmet/steampunk influence, with horns. They were dressed all in black with the only identifiers being their instruments. And Papa emerged from behind them, wearing a steampunk vest, looking sharp and glorious head to toe.
They were opening with Kaisarion! And well, shit! I must say, they sound insanely good live. Not all bands can maintain sounding as good or close to how they sound on records.
Ghost does that with ease! Not only do they sound good, but they are also extremely fun to watch perform, and interact with each other while performing. The Nameless ghouls would have their rivalry going on, on who would manage to torture their guitars with the meanest riffs or who would get the loudest cheers from the crowd, fucking attention whores! Even Papa made it clear and made fun of them by doing the jerk-off motion at their riffs or shaming them xD It was hilarious!
And they care about entertaining every second they spend on the stage! All of them but especially Papa! It surprised me how much he cares about the people who see them live. There was something almost fatherly about his character. That seems like the hard opposite of Tobias himself. Tobias often comes across as a douche, full of himself at the interviews (the guy’s a musical genius in every sense of the word though). While, there is something almost humble and a lot more down-to-earth lurking in Papa Emeritus IV.
Ghost recently released their album Impera, and while every song on it is brilliant, at the concert their set had older songs as well. Such as - Mary On A Cross, Cirice, Year Zero, He Is, Square Hammer, Mummy Dust, Rats, Miasma, Dance Macabre, Witch Image, From The Pinnacle To The Pit, and others. Complete bangers! One after the other!
But as if that was not enough, Papa changed his wardrobe six or seven times! From his bat wings to the extravagant steampunk suit, to the glorious Year Zero robe, to the full-on Call Me Little Sunshine anti-papal vestment with mitre, to the dazzling emerald jacket! Papa Emeritus IV probably has spent a small fortune (well worth it) on them, and they were visually striking every step of the way!
The cherry on top? Yes! Pyrotechnics on stage! At one point, what felt like the culmination of the concert during Year Zero, it got so hellishly warm on stage, even we felt the heat from where we were standing in the crowd! They must have cooked there themselves on stage for a moment.
The whole composition of the concert was very well thought out. It contained all the right elements - entertainment, comedy, drama, the journey through the lyrics of songs, brilliant music and vocals from Papa Emeritus IV, and the visuals. A full package was served and delivered perfectly!
One of the funniest moments of the concert was when Papa Nihil was brought straight from the grave in his coffin and revived in the land of living on stage using the paddles xD He managed to play Miasma on his saxophone before going back to hell.
My favorite act from the whole show, however, was the performance of Call Me Little Sunshine. Papa was floating on the stage in his amazing anti-papal attire. It was almost enchanting to watch. I only later realized that he wore this outfit only for this song since I could not find any pictures I took. I had filmed the entire song instead. Shame for the official event photographers since they hang around just for one song usually! Take that, you suckers! That’s for taking my camera from me!
Finally, in the end, one of the Nameless Ghouls landed their guitar pick on @lemony-cricket’s forehead, and it fell on the ground which he then found and claimed rightfully his for the trauma caused before gifting it to me. Aww!
Anyhow, TL;DR: Ghost is an amazing band! You should give them a listen, and they are fantastic live performers!
Thank you for stopping by and reading through my concert experience and impressions! I sure hope that I will be able to post more often soon, but life is keeping me busy these days!
*Ghost’s biography borrowed from their Wikipedia
Song of the day: Ghost - He Is (one of my favorites from them)
Looks like you guys had a lot of fun - And a pick to boot!
I always imagine Lemony listening to K-Pop....
It was! Especially after some gloom doom shit, it was very necessary. Even though Oslo wasn't the cheapest place to visit for a concert, no regrets! ^^
Ahaha! Nah. That is more me (since I enjoy a wide range of music), and I will make sure to drag him to a K-pop concert in future xD
I'd love to go to Oslo (more than just the airport) one day - though the drinks are expensive! :D
Next concert, Lemony might get hit in the face with a pair of underwear thrown into the crowd!
Are drinks as expensive in Finland as well or is it slightly better situation? We went to some bars in Oslo. They were cool, but we spent like a lot on a few drinks xD
Or a magic bra! ^^
Hey! I won't have to be dragged! I listen to all sorts of things too :P
It's not that I hate K-pop. I like some of it. You're a pretty serious BTS fan; there are things about them which I like and things I'm not as crazy about, both musically and otherwise. In short: I like that these boys aren't afraid to be cute, and I appreciate their choreography and videography. A lot of the music is really well-written and produced, but it's also trending a lot more toward familiar sound(s) than I'd have liked. I think generally the more something is like mainstream Anglophone popular music, the less I'm crazy about it because I've just heard enough of it to last a lifetime, you know? For me, most of the stuff I've been exposed to, from BTS anyway, is something to be watched, not listened to. Also, I think their fandom is a cringefest, albeit a mostly harmless one.
For @tarazkp's reference, here's a K-pop song I know you and I both enjoy:
And one more that I like, from Jimin himself:
Well, I dunno. BTS at least has some substance. There is like a whole story line going on not visible at the first glance if you don't go deeper into their music and videos. There's even time travel involved. I think they are all around artists, it is not just about music.
Well the fans might be cringefest, but without them BTS would not be here today and neither would Hybe.
Certainly. It's not just music, it's a whole entertainment experience. I can appreciate that. What's less impressive to me is the shameless cultivation and exploitation of parasocial relationships. There are absolutely tens of thousands of BTS fans, at least, for whom there is no space for healthy personal relationships with human beings. They act possessive and devotional about these strangers they'll never know personally; they craft entirely new realities in their minds, and this behaviour is not only tolerated but actively encouraged and exploited. It's good for business. That part sickens me a bit about it.
There are fandoms, and then there are cults, and then there are global hordes of obsessed followers, literally calling themselves ARMY, ready to throw themselves or their rivals off a cliff to prove their devotion to Yoon-gi.
I am getting too much energy that I don't know how to properly process from these impressive photos alone.. I cannot even imagine the sensory overload I'd have IRL had I joined you. xD
Now that I think of it, they did pace the impressive acts with some slower comedy from the Nameless Ghouls, probably, so that Papa could change into his outfits stress free. But I can imagine how it can be a lot at once for sure!
If I recall correctly, their exact words were:
Either that's just their whole general vibe, or they were maybe upset about something. Could it be that they could feel the lukewarm reception from the crowd? Perhaps it'd become a trend at that point in the tour? Their music wasn't bad or anything but it felt like they just had no energy. I feel a bit guilty that I actually started to drift off a bit where I stood. Definitely not my favourite act of the night. Twin Temple was more my speed (satanic blood-swapping makeouts... unholy sex rituals... yes please), even though their music itself wasn't my usual style. It's just, I went to see a show, you know? I feel like I could have listened to Uncle Acid with my eyes closed and not really missed anything (and to be fair, for probably about half of their set cumulatively, I did).
Ghost, though, made a genuine lifelong fan of me at that show. When we first got that invitation I didn't know them at all, but I quickly noticed their enjoyable sound and began to get more excited. Still, I was mostly looking forward to the adventure aspect of the trip. I knew from pretty much the beginning of their set, however, that they had become the main event for me as well. They sounded so good live, and their performance was so synergistic. The physical comedy was so refreshing and kept me euphoric the whole time just wondering what those goofballs would do next. The Nameless Ghoul instrumentals felt so natural that I went most of the evening without really processing that they were covering for the wardrobe changes.
I think I manifested that pick. I saw how they were throwing them and I sort of imagined catching one for you and how cool it would be. Then one just hit me square in the fuckin' face. Slightly painful, but if the Universe is going to answer to my will, I'm not going to be picky about its methods...
This was such an awesome adventure! Thank you for sharing it with me <3 He Is is one of my favourites as well, probably my favourite overall. I feel a familiar spiritual warmth when I hear it and sing it... maybe it reminds me of my cult times ^_^
"Ghost, though, made a genuine lifelong fan of me at that show" yep, I feel they definitely know how to sell themselves even to those who just happen to be at their shows either for company or randomly. They pull people in.
You manifested to be hit in the head with a pick? :P Ouchy! Well good thing drummer did not throw his sticks in someone's face at least. Picky methods xD
The lyrics of He Is are so rebellious, I feel like a rebel every time I sing my heart out to it. It is brilliantly composed as well!
Thank you or sharing it with me too! <3 Cheers to more adventures to come!
Wow, good fun.
And what a beautifully presented blog post.
Sounds (and looks) like a lot of fun! :-)
Song of the Grey:
It was so, so much fun! I would rate it as one of the top 3 concert experiences I have ever had so far. The other two spots would go to Muse The 2nd Law and Drones.
And awesome song of the Grey! Them peoples from north know how to make great music it seems :)
See you hopefully soon at Hivefest too! ^^
Had no clue this even existed. Thought the stuff coming out of Detroit's horrorcore rap scene was twisted.
Yay! One more person exposed to Ghost! ^^ My job here is done, hehe! Yea, them Nordic people know how to produce some pretty horror full and twisted stuff. I like it!
They make Slipknot look kind of soft.
I don't trust those flames in a theater though. At least at an ICP event they'll douse you in diet cola first.
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Interesting
I found Ghost in 2012, since then I have seen them live three times, 2012, 2013 and 2019. Amazing band and yes they're very good live! I was also lucky and got a pick at the concert in 2013! :D
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I like what I've heard from Ghost. They really mix up pop and metal in a fun way. I expect their shows are really something special. I'll have to look out for when they tour around here.