Ghost – AO Arena, Manchester – Tuesday 15th April 2025

Some notes for the first tier at the AO Arena as Ghost open the Skeletour in Manchester.

It’s a good time to be a fan of Ghost and an even better time to be a short tram ride from Manchester’s AO Arena where Tobias Forge and his Ghost buddies kick off their brand new mammoth world tour.

SKELETA TIME

So new in fact that the new album Skeleta is ten days from release although we’ve had teasers in the form of Satanized and Lachryma. The Heavy Metal verses/Abba choruses latter would make for a great opening song…. And of course the tour marks the debut of the latest incarnation of Forge in Papa V Perpetua.

Doors are 6.30pm for an 8pm start. No support, and even arriving well ahead, there are mammoth queues around the arena block. Finding the end could be quite some problem but a little local knowledge leads into Victoria station where an orderly crowd gathers at an alternative entrance and the entry into the venue is well ordered, well managed and good humoured.

PHONES AWAY

It’s a phone free gig and the process of getting the tech into a zip wallet also seems a smooth process incorporated into the general security precautions that are part and parcel of the arena experience. It works too! Slightly more work than Maynard James Keenan simply telling fans to put their phones away at a Tool gig, but you wouldn’t want to argue with MJK.

The demographic is a testament to the appeal of ghost. From the hardened gig goers with their battle jackets whose taste might err towards the heavier riffing ‘Metal’ side that comes with Mummy Dust and Cirice and sees Ghost at the top of the likes of the Download bills, to excited youngsters (who’ll no doubt be singing “This chapel of ritual
smells of dead human sacrifices“) with parents who are bringing their children up in the right ways. And everyone inbetween. Ghost commands a broad church.

Their costumes wouldn’t be out of place on stage and guaranteed to be the focus of those in the pit with the video cameras. The venue – the £9 pint and £45 T shirt arena rock with gin bars on the concourses – is packed with swathes of nuns, sparkly jacketed ghouls. Many are in face paint, most wearing some sort of Ghost adornment be it tour shirt or coat/cloak/dress/something in black and the occasional purple papal robed fan.

A NEW PAPA

All are in acknowledgement of Tobias Forge who has a new Papa character. The mask has changed – a cross between Terminator robot and max Wall, especially when he does the little skippy dance – but the songs remains the same-ish. He’s constantly nipping backstage as costumes swing between sparkly and piped jackets and there’s the drama of the papal robes, doused by deep saturated light. He’s well served though by his musical acolytes of the two lead/bass guitar trio (unidentified of course, but there may be a new ghoul or two there judging by body shapes and their instruments). They’re quite happy to take any opportunity to hog the spotlight, throw guitar hero shapes and pop a foot on the monitors or take their places on the various platforms and rabble rouse the faithful.

The sum of eight nameless ghouls appear as a variation on the skeleton cozzies that featured in the Twenties extravaganza in the Rite Here Rite Now film. Certainly a little less cumbersome than previous outfits. Think the Day of the Dead crossed with top hat and tails.

The set is one packed with debuts and premieres and the reappearance of some songs not played for some time. Announcing them as appearing from the Twilight Zone – indeed “the best band in the world!” (now that Kiss has – temporarily? – retired), the curtain falls and the video screens see Papa opening the set with Peacefield. The thrill of seeing the band on stage again sees it rapturously received even though its recorded appearance is some ten days off. Peacefield gets paired with the new (but known to us all and a chance for an early singalong chorus) Lachryma. None of this greeting the fans with a couple of righteous oldies. Likewise, Satanized and Umbra appear later in the set, although there’s no shameless plugging for the new record.

THE MIGHT OF MELIORA

Instead, it’s the Meliora album that’s certainly in favour in the new set. The Spirit, From The Pinnacle To The Pit and Majesty (magnificent and early call for man of the match). Wise choices for those who enjoy their riffs dense and thick, the first half provides the interest with more debuts and premieres. It’s Darkness At The Heart Of My Love that surprisingly represents Imperia although we may be more familiar with The Future Is A Foreign Land from the Rite Here Rite Now film.

The production is the usual Ghost magnificence as Papa and his eight ghouls house in what could be described as a font surrounded by inflatable columns and stained glass. Overhead the lighting rig is dominated by the inverted cross intertwined with the ‘G’ that form the ghost symbol. Plumes of smoke, flames and confetti cannons come as standard.

GHOST JUKEBOX

Those first half surprises give way to a Ghost jukebox as Year Zero heralds a run of ‘hits’ as Ritual, He Is, Rats (seems strange hearing this not at the start of the set) and Kiss The Goat (“want a kiss?“) lead to the return of Monstrance Clock as the set closer. There’s a prickle of goosebumps around the masses as Papa introduces it and we get the chance to join the ritual of singing the “Come together, Together as one, Come together, For Lucifer’s son” chorus. Just in case, the words are spelled out in huge letters on the backscreen as the band take their leave.

An encore delivers more of the expected. “One my daddy used to sing” and the Dance Macabre/Square Hammer standard party out bring down the curtain and even those in the far seats to their feet. The Skeletour is well and truly underway.

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