I so very much love their dystopian "tattered empire" look on this tour. The ghouls were a bit of a shocking change from the previous look, but hearing the new tunes and seeing a 'tattered glory' Papa and the gas mask ghouls just totally works. LOVE IT. And TF sounds better and better with every live performance.
They lack impact, volume, and there are no female voices, I don't even think there's more than one male voice that sounds kinda forced or low effort because of it's low pitch.
Having been in and toured with bands throughout my life, I understand how it works. It’s a ‘show’. A theatrical show done the same way each performance. Yet I never fully got why it’s adopted by musical performances. Why does Philadelphia get the exact same show as Minneapolis as Portland as Houston, as Chicago? Even down to the stage banter. Like it’s scripted, just ‘insert new city name here’. And it’s not just larger acts like Ghost, I’ve seen Nofx do it, I’ve seen Bad Religion do it, I’ve seen Kenny Loggins do it. Multiple cities, same exact set, same exact stage patter. It’s not a play. Seeing your favorite band perform in front of you is one of the greatest experiences a human being can have, but it loses its magic when it seems like the band is just going through the motions, just repeating what they did 3 times earlier in the past week. And if you’re someone like me who lives within an hour of 3 of the tour stops Ghost had in February, I would have loved to catch more than 1 show. But why would I when I know I’m just going to see the exact same thing over again. Especially when I’m paying $200+ per ticket, per show. I’m paying for two people so that’s $400, and that’s just the tix. Parking/refreshments/merch/ etc…especially at a big venue like Ghost is playing, $40 shirts, $25 cocktails, $30 parking, $15 beer, $20 chicken finger, fuck me that’s an additional $200-300, so now I’m almost at a grand. For one show. So why would I plop down a second grand for the exact same experience. I don’t think I’m asking for anything outrageous. Just some variability. And trust me, I know what goes into producing these shows. I’m not asking the impossible. It would be nice to know that if I go and catch Ghost in New York City I’m not going to see the exact same performance I saw in Reno a month ago, right down to the on-stage banter between songs. It would be nice to see, ‘oh shit, they played Life Eternal at the show in Houston, shit, oh hey but we got Body and Blood AND Miasma, they only played Miasma in Chicago so far’…’Look Papa wore his fucking goofy flying Nun hat in Sacramento, but his Mitre in Philadelphia. What a fucking goofball’ You see what I’m talking about? Individuality within each performance. Each performance a unique experience lived and shared by only those who were there, an experience worthy of a thousand dollar evening.
I get what you're saying, but almost all arena acts are that way, with the exception of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He just has a basic stage with very minimal theatrics, where as this show has pyro, lighting cues, etc. Bands like Bad Religion and NOFX really don't have an excuse for being predictable. I saw Frank Turner twice on the same tour, about 2 weeks apart, and 7 songs were different between the shows. That's pretty impressive.
I’m starting to think there’s a lot of sycophantary (made up conjugation of a not made up word) happening in the world of Ghost…with the number of comments across RU-vid concerning this tour and the new look of the ghouls. I feel like I’m the kid in the Emperor’s New Clothes fable or in an episode of the Twilight Zone (any episode, they were all the same). I can’t be the only one, or one of only a handful who think the Ghouls look fucking ridiculous. And I was within arms reach at my tour stop. I was -boom- there! Up close. I saw every detail. Still, I felt embarrassed for how they were dressed. Is Tobias Forge trolling his own fucking band?? Is this a warning for new band members concerning issues like…past lawsuits?? As if to say to them, ‘Look motherfuckers, I AM GHOST! I AM ALL. I OWN YOU. YOU OWN FUCK ALL’ I mean why else would he dress them up so ridiculously?? Right? Oh, but then they played year zero and Papa comes out looking like Sally Field in the Flying fucking Nun and my theory is blown to hell. But the amount of positive feedback I’ve seen concerning the Ghouls and the (disturbingly) lacking amount of feedback concerning ‘papa’s got a brand new hat’, cue James brown, I’m starting to wonder just how many of you have drunk the Ghoul-aid…and where can I get a cup??
Ghost has been a Broadway Musical Theater act since he fired everyone. I hate Prequelle....HATE. I tried to like it. I really did. This new stuff seems even more overproduced and cringy. You are right on about the "New" ghoul costumes. I will always love Opus and Meliora. Infestissumam has great songs but the recording is horrible. Another band bites the dust I guess. Volbeat lost me too. Coheed is the only band staying true IMO.
