Reconnecting with The Band Ghost: A Spiritual and Musical Journey

I first discovered Ghost around 2016 not long after their album Meloria had come out. Months after I started listening to them, I saw them open for Iron Maiden. It was a great show, but very short and limited setup for them.

When I started listening to them, I was shocked they weren't death metal. Though this happens to a lot of people and they end up hating Ghost as a result. I liked their sound and how they don't stick to one genre, so I did a deep dive into their music and lore.

It turns out, the founder, Tobias Forge is pretty silly as is the band, despite their macabre aesthetic. Their music is very harmonious and Tobias' voice is incredibly unique sounding. Plus his lyricism is pure artistry the way he weaves dark words and phrases together. I heard in the day some churches were playing He Is because they thought it was a Christian song.

Then in 2018, they came on solo tour in Austin and I got to go. My wife got me their VIP experience which included a meet and greet with Tobias in character as Cardinal Copia. It was amazing, he was so kind and said it was great to meet me. When I told him what an inspiration he was to me and my own art and writing, he gave me a huge hug. This is notable because after COVID they stopped doing meet and greets.

Here is some of the photos from that show

The Austin show was at Bass Concert Hall which holds around 3000 people. We had great seets and the whole VIP/Ticket packages was about 300 total. They put on an amazing show, and it is one of my best concert experiences to date.

Over the years, I got busy, life happened and I lost track of Ghost for a couple years. I missed their next tours including the Skeletour. However, both were much larger productions and held in arenas vs. concert halls. I've been to stadium shows and really huffed getting around in a venue that large at my age.

Tonight I got to see their concert movie 2 Big to Rig which was their Skeletour film. It was beautiful. I admit I didn't know some of the newer songs, at least not by heart. But they played a ton of older hits which I loved and I sat in my seat with my walking stick and jammed out and sang along. I left the theater both feeling excited, but also sad.

Tobias Forge recently said Ghost is going on indefinite hiatus and he doesn't know when its coming back or what it will look like when it does. I get it though, he's been creating and touring for 15 years non stop. The man created something magical and deserves a break.

It still makes me sad though and I hope he gets the rest he needs. In the meantime he left us with a lot of great music that never gets old. Ghost has changed my life in many ways, even when I was mostly focused on listening to Taylor Swift and pop music. Now I'm exploring bands I loved before and looking at new bands and experiences. If you haven't listened to Ghost and like dark music that doesn't take itself too seriously, I highly recommend them.

Love them, or hate them, you cannot deny Tobias' talent or showmanship. He is very gifted and Ghost or not, I'm excited to see waht comes next. If that is nothing, then I'll always have great memories and a hug from Tobias Forge to get me through.

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