Ghost - Nottingham Review

While I like to consider myself something of an expert when it comes to rock and metal, I am certainly not infallible. A good example of me be wrong about a band were my early opinions about The Quireboys. I was rude about the band for a number of years, until they blew me away when I was 'forced to sit through' a set of theirs when they supported Saxon in Nottingham in 2013. I was forced to eat a big plateful of humble pie that day, and The Quireboys have become one of my very favourite bands - with 18 gigs of theirs already to my name. The same, although in less dramatic a fashion, can also be said for Ghost. I was never particularly rude about the band, but I just never bought into all the hype or got into their music. I remember first hearing about the band not long after the release of their debut album Opus Eponymous in 2010, but the song I heard at the time did nothing for me. I periodically heard other Ghost songs, usually around the time that a new album was being released and a new single was floating around and being promoted heavily on Youtube. I heard these songs, but again they did very little for me. I always thought that the band seemed interesting, especially how bandleader Tobias Forge managed to keep his identity a secret for so long in this age of instant information, but their music just seemed to me like a second-tier Doors/Blue Öyster Cult mash-up that was retro for its own sake and devoid of any real tunes. This remained my view until last year, when something persuaded me to listen to Rats when the single was released. For whatever reason, that song instantly grabbed me and from that point on everything seemed to really fall into place. I bought Prequelle when it was released, and then went back and picked up the rest of the band's albums - all of which I now love. I do not mind admitting that I was wrong about Ghost, and I am just glad that I finally took the plunge. Sometimes it just takes one song to make everything click, and Rats was that tune. I do not know if it was the heavier feel of the track, but something about it took hold instantly and I have been hooked ever since. In some ways I am disappointed that I missed the band's early tours in small venues, but in other ways I am glad that my first experience of Ghost live was at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena a couple of days ago with a few thousand other fans. Ghost are a big band now, with Prequelle having broke new ground for them, and arenas seem to be their current home. While the Motorpoint Arena was not sold out, it was still packed out with a large crowd making the effort to see what Cardinal Copia and his group of Nameless Ghouls were going to serve up.

There were two support acts on the bill with Ghost however, which were of extremely varying quality. The soundchecks were clearly running behind as the second of the two acts were still sorting out their gear as the crowd trooped in, which left the opening act Tribulation a short amount of time to get ready - and they still went on nearly half an hour late! The Swedish four-piece did not let this affect them however and they proceeded to play around half an hour of their patented retro-style black metal that is injected with a strong dose of classic rock swagger. I had seen the band twice previously, supporting both Paradise Lost and Arch Enemy, and have always enjoyed them despite them not wholly being my thing. Extreme metal of any kind is not usually my bag, but Tribulation have an extremely unique sound that makes them stand out. On the surface they are a death/doom/black metal act, with Johannes Andersson's (vocals/bass guitar) growled vocals creating a dark, heavy sound while the two guitarists lay down riff after riff. It is here that things get different however, as the guitar tones are much fuzzier than you would usually expect from black metal, and some of the riffs sound like something you would hear on an old-school blues rock album than on a black metal one. The drums are hollow-sounding too, and they help to reinforce the band's old-school sound. No-one sounds like Tribulation, and it is that that makes them interesting. I still struggle with their sound, but each time I have seen them I have enjoyed them. This showing in Nottingham was the best that I have heard them, and large portions of the crowd seemed to get into them as their set progressed too. It is always great to see original bands making waves, so I feel that this tour will be great exposure for Tribulation and I hope that they do well as a result of it.

The same cannot be said for the American three-piece All Them Witches, who proceeded to bore me to tears for around 45 minutes not long after Tribulation's genre-defying set finished. I had read positive things online about All Them Witches, so I was interested to check them out, but they turned out to be one of the most boring live bands I have ever seen. Their sound is best-described as extremely stripped-back bluesy rock, with a very rudimentary sound and some of the most unappealing vocals I have heard outside of extreme metal. There were very occasional moments of genius, such as when guitarist Ben McLeod launched into a slide solo during one number, but these moments were extremely rare. Most of the band's songs really plodded along, with fuzzy basslines and monotonous drumming pounding out the speakers with absolutely no appealing qualities whatsoever. I do not think that I was alone in feeling this way however, as between the band's songs the clapping and cheering was extremely sparse and quiet. Most of the people around me just looked bored throughout All Them Witches' set, and stood around looking at their mates with confused looks on their faces. It was the sort of music that only people who drink in artisan coffee shops think is edgy or interesting, and even Jack White would have taken a razor to the original master tapes due to them being too sparse and obtuse. It was definitely one of the worst support slots I have ever seen, especially in such a big venue - and it makes you realise that sometimes headline bands will just settle for any old rubbish as long as they turn up on time and do not cause any trouble.

I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief when All Them Witches finished, and luckily it was not long before Ghost took to stage. As the lights dimmed, a curtain dropped to reveal the seven Nameless Ghouls (three guitarists, two keyboardists, a bassist, and a drummer) all positioned on the grand staircase that made up the band's stage set. They played the short instrumental piece Ashes in this manner, before exploding into Rats in a dramatic fashion - as Forge appeared at the top of the stage in his Cardinal Copia outfit and proceeded to rip through the song with his trademark humour and passion. Everyone went wild for the song, and when Forge held out the microphone for the audience to sing the chorus they obliged - loudly! What followed was nearly two hours of the band's best songs, all immaculately played by the band - with Forge acting as the Master of Ceremonies injecting humour as and when required. The sound throughout was pretty clear, although it could have been a bit louder, with the three guitars and two keyboards adding real weight to everything. The current band members' identities are still unknown, so they sadly cannot be name-checked here, but everyone up there on the stage really did their bit. Early highlights for me were the shredding Faith, with the two main guitarists nailing the tricky intro, and the new Mary on a Cross which could well be the band's catchiest track yet. Despite Forge being the centre of attention, he still allowed his band a chance to shine. The short instrumental piece Devil Church was stretched out to include solos from both the main guitarists, while another instrumental in Miasma allowed everyone to shine. During the latter, the third guitarist ducked off stage and came back dressed in the Papa Nihil outfit to perform the song's saxophone solo - which everyone enjoyed and had a good laugh at at the same time. Forge took most of the attention however, with his multiple costume changes throughout keeping everyone on their toes, and his innuendo-filled inter-song banter putting grins on faces. This would have all been for nothing however if he was not up to scratch vocally, but he was. He sounded great when exposed during slower pieces like Ghuleh/Zombie Queen, and heavier pieces like the twin-guitar rock of Spirit showcased his powerful delivery. His voice might be strange, but it fits the band's sound perfectly. The setlist was largely hit after hit, with the only misstep in my opinion being the somewhat lumbering Satan Prayer which is the sort of meandering piece that put me off the band in the first place. Everything else that was played was a huge tune however, with the cinematic Year Zero and the driving old-school metal of Mummy Dust particularly whipping up the crowd late on - with the latter including a keytar solo from one of the Ghouls. By this point the evening was almost at an end, and it was left to Kiss the Go-Goat and the anthemic Dance Macabre to finish the evening off. The cheers were huge by this point, and instead of leaving the stage and coming back on Forge asked if the crowd wanted to hear one more and led the band straight into Square Hammer which sent everyone in overdrive. It was the perfect end to the night, with the whole crowd singing the big chorus back at Forge and the band - and they all took their bows to rapturous applause afterwards. The setlist was:

Ashes
Rats
Absolution
Faith
Mary on a Cross
Devil Church
Cirice
Miasma
Ghuleh/Zombie Queen
Helvetesfönster

Spirit

From the Pinnacle to the Pit

Ritual

Satan Prayer

Year Zero

Spöksonat

He Is

Mummy Dust

Kiss the Go-Goat

Dance Macabre

Square Hammer

I had expected to enjoy the show, but I do not think I was quite prepared for how good Ghost were going to be. This show in Nottingham is certainly going to be one of the gigs of the year, and I am so glad that I finally got the chance to see the band live after passing up so many opportunities to do so previously. Ghost are a band that I am going to be listening to for years to come I imagine, and I cannot wait to see which direction they take on their next album.