Ghost, Mastodon, & Spiritbox - Imperatour
Ghost at UBS Arena - September 10th, 2022
Located only yards from the border between Queens and the neighboring communities of Long Island – UBS arena is an abnormally striking building. 17 miles away from the metropolitan area chock full of iconic eye-catching buildings, the sleek new home of the NHL’s Islanders stands tall above the otherwise seemingly average suburban sprawl. As traffic from both East and West meets at the arena, more than a few fans filing in have come prepared in elaborate Ghost inspired makeup and outfits.
The evening opens with a short set from Spiritbox. Founded in 2017 and with their debut full length album released just last year – this run of shows also marks some of their initial major venue performances other than some scattered festival appearances and handful of dates opening for Limp Bizkit last fall. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Mike Stringer and Courtney LaPlante (who previously worked together in Iwrestledabearonce), the Canadian metalcore band’s non-traditional approach to initially developing a small catalog of songs and cultivating fan interest via the internet (as opposed to jumping into touring at their inception) was a fortuitous decision in that the pandemic seemingly did little to slow their rapid ascent in the scene. With absolutely crushing songs like “Holy Roller '' and “Hysteria”, the fans present early are enthused by the energetic renditions live. While many were still pouring into the arena as the last notes of the six-song set rang out just a few minutes before 6:30pm, Spiritbox unquestionably made a splash – even leaving the show at the end of the evening fans were still buzzing impressed by (or disappointed to have missed) the initial opener. We’re very excited to catch them again wherever they pop up next, hopefully for a headlining tour of their own.
Spiritbox at UBS Arena - September 10th, 2022
Up next is the mighty Mastodon, the prolific riff-masters out of Georgia. One of the most consistently productive and beloved heavy metal bands of the 2000s, Mastodon might be the opposite of Spiritbox regarding touring experience – from 2002 to 2020 the band averaged over 85 shows per year, with 2016 the only occasion they didn’t perform around at least 50 times. Even more impressive as the band has maintained its original lineup throughout, their apparent comfort on the road and on stage with each other is fully apparent in their seemingly effortless execution of complex, progressive heavy metal. Touring in support of last year’s Hushed and Grim (only their EIGHTH album!), the band devotes about half of the set weaving new songs like “the Crux” and “Teardrinker'' in between classics like “Megalodon” from Leviathan and “the Czar” from Crack the Skye. The occasional criticism of Mastodon’s song choices for live shows has always felt stale to me – their willingness to dig deep into their esoteric catalog and to create setlists that feel distinctively different from tour to tour is an exceptional flex –they’re far beyond going through the motions playing just the hits. The band wraps the set with the blistering “Mother Puncher” off their debut album Remission - they might collectively have a few more gray hairs, but they sound as dominant and thundering as ever.
Mastodon at UBS Arena - September 10th, 2022
And then, we have Ghost. After a gaudy ceremony involving the band gradually unveiling and taking the stage to taped recordings of Swedish Jazz pianist Jan Johansson and composer Gregorio Allegri (a Roman Catholic Priest from the 16th Century), the band culminates the lengthy introduction with the gloriously soaring “Kaisarion”, the opening track of the Impera album. The band’s exceptionally ostentatious front man, Papa Emeritus IV (one of many versions of an evil Papal character that have been portrayed by Tobias Forge), dramatically appears on stage with a blast of smoke on cue at just the moment his vocal services are required.
While different versions of the Papa character have been ritually sacrificed over the various albums and tours, Forge is unquestionably the primary mastermind and constant of Ghost’s operation. The remainder of the band consists of the Nameless Ghouls – seven musicians whose identities are completely shrouded by identical dark outfits complete with full gas masks. The shtick is not dissimilar to bands like Slipknot or KISS – the extra secretive nature is especially on brand for a band that dives headlong into a religious illuminati cult aesthetic; though it’s admittedly a touch disheartening knowing that the band’s original musicians had a real world falling out with Forge in 2016 that ultimately led to the lawsuit that first publicly revealed his identity. It’s an unfortunate reality of the music industry that creates a tricky dilemma for fans to unravel - with our available understanding of the situation and with an appreciation for the associated complexities, we aim to appreciate every parties’ efforts in crafting and performing these songs for the enjoyment of the fans over the years - and leave the question of credit to be sorted out in more appropriate legal settings.
The opening half hour of the show is mostly material released on the newer albums including “Rats” and “Faith” from 2018’s Prequelle along with “Spillways” and “Hunters Moon” from Impera. The initial dips the band takes into 2015’s Meliora includes a fun dueling-guitar solo between the Nameless Ghouls on “Devil Church'' leading into the iconic “Cirice”, the track that earned the band their first American Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Receipt of that controversial award (mostly due to the contentious relationship between the metal community and a Recording Academy that has rarely held metal credibility after recognizing Jethro Tull over Metallica) is mildly emblematic of Ghost’s sometimes polarizing position within the metal community; the band clearly has the heavy musical chops, twisted lyrical content, and overall unsettling aesthetic requisite with the metal music mold - though radio friendly hits and other signs of embracing of mainstream popularity are classic lightning rods for criticism in certain circles of the genre. While having a take regrettably pours at least a few drops of fuel into the uniquely unproductive flames of genre controversy - to me Ghost has always felt suited to be the perfect playlist for an adult Halloween party - they rock a strong balance of darkness, campiness, and even have a splash of sexual provocativeness (Papa’s banter hoping the crowd is “fully in heat” thanks to the night’s full moon goes over astonishingly well - though his charmingly disarming European accent may have helped). Instead of comparing them to the most aggressive shit that populates your metal workout playlist, Ghost feels more akin to the heavier side of Def Leppard (if you don’t catch the parallels, listen to the song “Switch 625” and convince me that one didn’t inspire the other).
Not unlike the charismatic vocalists of the 1980’s, Papa doesn’t linger onstage during the lengthy instrumental sections; the occasional absences of the flashy frontman not only give the Nameless Ghouls ample opportunity to shine, but also allows for several costume changes. While Papa’s outfits have become generally simpler over the years (for example, the Cardinal Copia character forgoes the full pope robes and heavy makeup for a slick suit and uncanny lifelike mask), the crowd was overjoyed with the spectacle each time Forge reappeared with a new look - most notably when he emerged as the elderly Papa Nihil to perform an extended saxophone solo on “Miasma”. Following performances of “Mary on a Cross” (which expectedly garnered a flurry of phones thanks to its massive popularity on TikTok) and the crushing “Mummy Dust”, the band wraps the night after satisfying the crowd with anthemic staples “Dance Macabre” and “Square Hammer”.
Ghost might be the occasional lightning rod for contention amongst the Metal community, but it’s hard to argue with their impressive rise - just five years ago they were opening for Iron Maiden in many of these same arenas that they now fill themselves. It’s an impressive level of popularity for any music act - let alone one that plays heavy music with over-the-top sacrilegious sensibility.
Courtney LaPlante - Vocals
Mike Stinger - Guitar
Zev Rosenberg - Drums
Josh Gilber - Bass (Touring)
Full setlist available here.
Brann Dailor - Drums & Vocals
Brent Hinds - Lead Guitar & Vocals
Bill Kelliher - Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
Troy Sanders - Bass, Keyboards, & Vocals
Full setlist available here.
Papa Emeritus IV - Vocals
Nameless Ghoul - Guitar
Nameless Ghoul - Guitar
Nameless Ghoul - Guitar
Nameless Ghoul - Bass
Nameless Ghoul - Keyboards, Keytar, & Percussion
Nameless Ghoul - Keyboards, Keytar, Organ, & Synthesizers
Nameless Ghoul - Drums
Papa Nihil - Saxaphone
Full setlist available here.
