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Strolling into the sunshine, a robed, long-haired man steps out from his seat, arms-outstretched to the gang earlier than him, sparking a deafening spherical of applause. ‘Jesus has returned!’ shouts a corpse-painted nun. On this (un)holiest of Easter weekends, the O2 area finds itself reworked right into a biblical fever dream, as throngs of vestment-clad glitter-covered devotees await the arrival of their true idol of worship, Tobias Forge, the frontman of visionary occult party-rockers Ghost.
It’s been three years for the reason that clergy’s final “ritual” in London, with 2022’s critically-acclaimed album Impera heralding their earlier tour cycle. Now ushering in a brand new period – one manifested by a metallic new wardrobe and loads of purple – not like their final look right here, tonight’s efficiency arrives unusually forward of the discharge of their newest providing, Skeletá, giving followers the uncommon likelihood to expertise a number of new tracks earlier than the remainder of the world.
That sense of exclusivity is amplified by the night’s telephone ban, which sees followers pressured to lock away their gadgets in sealed Yondr pouches. Although it definitely appears like a dystopian transfer – can’t we actually simply ask gig-goers to abstain from filming? – the payoff is undeniably worthwhile.
Undistracted by the tempt to movie, the room buzzes with transfixed glee, as Ghost open the set with the totally new Peacefield, a shiny 80s-coded anthem that lands someplace between Journey and Kiss. Increasing on the retro tenor is the recently-released Lachryma, Forge adorning the fist-pulling ballad with actorly poses and marvellously camp crooning. Later, Skeletá’s first single Satanized arrives with its galloping offbeat riff, initiating bigger motion from the viewers, earlier than its lovably ridiculous refrain ignites crucifix-like stances and joyous exclamations of ‘blasphemy, heresy!’. The ultimate new monitor, Umbra, is totally synth-drenched and neon-coloured, the venue’s lights casting the stage in a deep purple hue to match.
Coupled with the band’s new look – the anonymous ghouls forming a troupe of bejewelled top-hatted skeletons and Forge evoking some type of modern-day, satin-suited reiteration of Loss of life, and the Skeletá period already feels rather a lot slicker, even sexier. The set can also be principally stored minimal, Ghost’s emblem mounted above the stage in an association of lights, earlier than inflated church pillars and digital stain glass home windows painting epic, evangelical scenes that additional emphasise the spiritual and ritzy temper.
For many of the set, Ghost dip into their older, heavier hymnals, the vast majority of songs performed from Meliora comparable to Cirice, Mummy Mud, He Is, Majesty, Satan Church and Spirit, their darker, doomier natures filling the world with thunderous drum thumps and booming bass traces that really feel as if their vibrating deep into your bones.
In the meantime, Forge flaunts across the stage, skipping and rocking, his devilishly thespian bravado an ever-transfixing sight, as confetti and bursts of air explode out for that last theatrical punch on closing songs Mary On A Cross, Dance Macabre and Sq. Hammer.
Although the night time was lacking most songs from the much-loved Impera, with the upcoming Skeletá album seemingly carrying on its 80s vein, Ghost are band that needn’t depend on the thrill of newer releases or fan-filmed footage on social media. As a substitute, they’ve created a sacred – and superbly-fun – world of their very own, one run by its personal guidelines and enchanting lore, and after performances like tonight, it appears like a privilege simply to be let inside.
Steel’s messiah has formally returned – and his title is Tobias Forge.
Ghost setlist: O2 Enviornment, London – April 19, 2025
Peacefield
Lachryma
Spirit
Religion
Majesty
The Future Is A Overseas Land
Satan Church
Cirice
Darkness At The Coronary heart Of My Love
Satanized
Ritual
Umbra
Yr Zero
He Is
Rats
Kiss the Go-Goat
Mummy Mud
Monstrance Clock
Encore:
Mary on a Cross
Dance Macabre
Sq. Hammer
