One of the more flamboyantly theatrical rock acts of this or any generation brought their Skeletour World Tour 2025 to PHX Arena in downtown Phoenix on Monday, Aug. 11, and required cellphones, smart watches and other devices to be secured in Yondr pouches to prevent fans from capturing the Ghost experience — or ritual as it’s known — for posterity’s sake.
And it felt kind of nice, being forced to enjoy the moment in the moment, knowing it would live on as a brilliant memory if nothing else.
In an interview with Loudwire Nights, lead vocalist Tobias Forge explained the no-phones policy, saying they tried it in Los Angeles while filming their performances for the concert film “Rite Here Rite Now.”
“We came off the first night and were just blown away that these people were so engaged,” he said.
“The face value of not seeing phones was literally like time travel. I’m not talking about like back to the ’80s. I’m talking about maybe 10 years back in time when people were generally not filming as much, whereas now in modern times it’s just ridiculous. If you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, 8,000 people are holding a phone. I wish it was like this all the time.”
Having done it just once, I’m inclined to agree.
Papa V Perpetua and his Nameless Ghouls and Ghoulettes looked fantastic
The singer’s latest alter ego, a Satanic priest known as Papa V Perpetua, looked fantastic from the time he made his first appearance on the screens that flanked the stage as beams of lights seeped through the tattered black curtain and the band launched into “Peacefield,” the track that also welcomes listeners to their latest album, “Skeletá.”
This tour is in support of “Skeletá,” the Swedish rockers’ sixth album (or psalm as it’s known) and first release to top the Billboard album chart.
Midway through the song, the curtain fell to dramatic effect, revealing Forge and the other eight members of Ghost on a multitiered stage in full costume.
A silver skull mask covering the top half of his face, Forge wore a black top and gloves to match his black suit, face paint completing the skull.
His bandmates, the Nameless Ghouls and Ghoulettes, added to the spectacle in metallic masks and black bodysuits with skeleton designs. The guitarists wore top hats and tails. The other members wore wimples, a medieval head covering favored by nuns, the Ghouls in jackets, the Ghoulettes in bat wings.
It was all very sexy in a way I plan to bring up with my therapist when time allows.
The production was state of the art, an elaborate spectacle with a massive lighting rig above the stage in the shape of a Grucifix, an inverted cross with an embedded “G” (for Ghost).
A huge drum riser occupied the center of the stage with steps that Forge, the two guitarists and the bassist ran up and down throughout the night. There were two other levels of risers adorned with skulls and crossbones on the Grucifix — one level for the keyboardists, another for the Ghoulettes singing backing vocals.
It’s not often you have to talk about Satan at a concert, but here we are…
And now, a few words about Satan.
These guys flirt with Satanism like David Lee Roth flirts with women. You don’t title a seven-inch EP “Seven Inches of Satanic Panic” if you’re playing your Satanic leanings with a straight face. But it’s a good bet they do see the appeal in certain aspects of what some understand as Satanism.
In an interview with The Independent in 2022, Forge answered a question about his thoughts on Satanism with “You know, Christianity is to blame for so much evil. And you have Isis, you know. That’s all in the name of God, right?”
He went on to say that modern Satanism is probably the closest to his own belief system, adding, “Pop cultural Satanism is all about humanity. It’s all about being able to express yourself and having the ability to. We’re (expletive) humanists.”
There are those who will find that disturbing. Others won’t.
But I will say the Ghost show felt more like a concert than a recruiting drive for future Satanists.
The Ghost concert was full of surprises
The performance progressed through a series of big reveals as they played such crowd-pleasing highlights as “Cirice,” “Year Zero,” “Rats” and “Kiss the Go-Goat,” each song met with rapturous applause.
After “Faith,” the fifth song of the concert, one guitarist coaxed the fans into a cheering contest to see which section held the loudest fans while Forge was backstage changing, all without saying a word.
As the band launched into “Majesty,” Forge rose from underneath the stage on a hydraulic lift until he towered high above his bandmates in full pope regalia, arms outstretched — a black-and-purple papal vestment long enough to make him look much larger and imposing than he is and a bejeweled miter (a tall, pointed hat worn by bishops, including the pope).
The haunting minor-key guitars on the intro to “Cirice” already had the fans pumping their fists in the air and chanting “Ghost!” when the curtain behind the stage fell to reveal Satanic stained-glass windows in cathedral arches projected on a massive screen, a dramatic high point of the night.
Those stained-glass windows stayed there for a while.
In one of the funnier moments of the night, Forge rose from underneath the stage holding a cowbell aloft as one might hold a sacred text before handing it off to a Ghoulette to add some cowbell to the mix on “Umbra,” which sounded amazing.
His next big entrance was far more dramatic, returning in new pope regalia for “Year Zero,” which ended with huge bursts of flames shooting out of the floor and an explosion that caused the stained-glass windows on the screens to shatter.
As the sun rose through the empty spaces where the stained glass used to be, Forge led his bandmates in a haunting “He Is.” As the song went on, new windows magically took shape, including Jesus in a long red tie. I’m not sure what they meant by that, but it was definitely thought-provoking.
By the time they followed “Kiss the Go-Goat” with “Mummy Dust,” one of the heavier songs they played, the screen was reborn as a freakish industrial hellscape underscoring the lyrical critique of materialism. That song ended with confetti guns showering the fans down front in a mix of confetti and fake money.
Tobias Forge reflected on Ghost history in Phoenix
At that point, Forge addressed the fact that Ghost has been playing Phoenix “for 10 years or so.”
If setlist.fm is correct, they played the Pressroom in 2013.
“Through all these years, you showed up,” Forge said. “You gave a (expletive). Every time. You see, that means everything. Coming together. Having fun. Enjoying each other’s company. Loving life.”
And with that, he led his bandmates in the anthemic version of “Monstrance Clock” that brought their main set to a rousing close, leading the fans in a massive singalong as the screen filled with the lyrics: “Come together/ Together as one / Come together/ For Lucifer’s son.”
They returned for a three-song encore that put the focus squarely on “the old stuff,” as Forge put it – “Mary on a Cross,” “Dance Macabre” and “Square Hammer” – a triumphant ending to a very entertaining night.
Forge is an excellent front man, approaching his role as the leader of this ritual with a healthy sense of humor and showmanship — bravado, if you will — that left me wondering if he might not like to one day star in “Phantom of the Opera.”
And the music is fantastic, drawing as much on psychedelic and progressive rock as heavy metal, at times recalling the pomp of Queen, with complex arrangements and truly heroic guitarists whose dual guitar leads often appeared to be channeling Brian May. But their heaviest songs could just as easily hold their own against Metallica without having to grimace or sneer.
It wouldn’t be a ritual without the Ghost fans joining in
It wouldn’t be a proper ritual if a large percentage of the fans had not committed to their own role as cosplaying soldiers in the Ghost experience.
Many dressed as ghoulish priests and nuns, their faces painted white and black. One nun’s habit was adorned with giant devil’s horns. Another nun arrived with a meticulously painted skull for a face.
The skull was a popular look. Other fans wore metallic masks. Some came as devils. They’re the new KISS Army, in a way, without the baggage of having to justify the visceral excitement of seeing Gene Simmons breathe fire — a spectacle that had me shooting both hands in the air in a metal salute on the KISS reunion tour — while knowing you would hate to share a taxi with the guy.
I went into this concert wondering what I could possibly do with my time while waiting for the show to start. But this was some of the best people watching you could hope for at a concert. It was practically a show within a show.
Ghost tour 2025 setlist: Songs on opening night at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore
Ghost setlist 2025: Skeletour World Tour songs in Phoenix
Here’s the Ghost setlist from the the Skeletour World Tour 2025 stop in Phoenix on Aug. 11:
“Per Aspera ad Inferi”
“The Future Is a Foreign Land”
“Darkness at the Heart of My Love”
Encore
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ghost delivers the Satanic goods in wild Phoenix concert
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