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Ghost -Argentina 2014 pic disc

650.00kr

Out of stock

Description

Double album with one sided pictured discs other side is black. Limited 50 copies

Swedish occult metal sextet Ghost and their fans refer to the band’s live performances as Rituals and as I observed the line waiting to get into The Teatro Vorterix, Buenos Aires this past Sunday 31th August 2014, I was reminded of a ritual of my youth, namely midnight sing-along screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show — but in a good way. As with horror movies in your youth, there’s a similar shared sense of community, of being in on something secret and forbidden, where the misfits can let their freak flags fly without fear if they so choose. Certainly, there were ranging degrees of fandom on display in the venue on this night, from Average Joes (and lots of Janes, with a much more even male-female ratio than you see at a typical metal show) in their Megadeth/King Diamond/Slayer concert tee-shirts, to folks that were clearly way down with Old Scratch, including a Rasputin lookalike. Point being, Ghost is a band you can enjoy on a number of levels, be ye a full-fledged practicing Satanist or just somebody, like me, who enjoys a tight rockin band with a predilection for classic guitar tones and a penchant for great tunes featuring big hooks. The house lights dimmed. A roar erupted from the sizeable crowd that quickly grew to cataclysmic proportions as Ghost took the stage in the latest iterations of their stage costumes. Vocalist Papa Emeritus sported his usual mirror universe papal vestments: a richly embroidered purple-lined black satin gown, a mitre emblazoned with the Ghost upside-down cross monogram, and a fiendish skeletal facemask. The instrumentalists (collectively dubbed “The Nameless Ghouls” though each is identified by a specific alchemical symbol) were clad in near-identical black cardinal outfits and dapper white spats with full-face silver devil masks replete with horns but lacking mouths. The effect is very unsettling; from a distance, it looks like the Ghouls mouths were blurred out by Photoshop. Throughout the show, both Ghouls and Papa were in near-constant motion back and forth across the stage, engaging with the audience and each other. But all fiendish work and no play would make Ghost a dull band, and Papa’s witty between-song banter, commenting on his band’s songs and the audience, injected a good bit of humour to the proceedings. In interviews, the band has exhibited a keen self-awareness, simultaneously playing the part of Lucifer’s earthly envoys to the hilt while chuckling at the absurdity of grown men dressing up in costumes for a living. A spoonful of sugar helps the infernal medicine go down, no doubt. Ghost utilizes a good bit of pre-recorded support tracks, in particular vocal harmonies and additional keyboard textures. Normally, I’d decries such shortcuts but given the band already has their hands full (and mouths covered), they get a pass on this point. At the end Ghost launched into their now-classic cover of Roky Erickson’s “If You Have Ghosts,” inspiring a rapturous sing-along from the audience as well as Ghuleh/Zombie Queen and Monstance Clock. And with that, the house lights came up and the spell was broken. The faithful headed out into the night, the Ritual concluded.

Track list:
1. Infestissuman
2. Per Asperi Ad Inferi
3. Ritual
4. Prime Mover
5. Secular Haze
6. Satan Prayer
7. Con Clavi Con Dio
8. Elizabeth
9. Body And Blood
10. Death Knell
11. Here Comes The Sun (The Beatles Cover)
12. Stand By Him
13. Genesis
14. Year Zero
15. If You Have Ghosts (Roky Erickson Cover)
16. Ghuleh / Zombie Queen
17. Monstrance Clock

Additional information

Label

Iron Eagle Records

Release Year

Catalogue Number

IE 150/151