Paranormal Activity:
Ghost descend upon SF

I think they’re called Ghost because not everyone believes in them. Over the past year these shrouded Swedes have skyrocketed to the top of the Heavy Metal world, lighting up message boards and being the topic of many a heated debate. Ghost just seem to be one of those bands that people either love or hate. There are plenty of reasons on either side. People seem to dislike them for their attempt at total personal anonymity, their costumes, the catchiness of their songs or the retro quality to them, and some people don’t believe they deserve all the press that they’ve received. I like Ghost because they are pure entertainment. I saw Ghost play at Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco as part of their ’13 dates of Doom’ US tour. Bottom of the Hill is a relatively small club and, from what I understand, sold out quickly. I can almost guarantee that this short US tour will be the first and only chance anyone will have to see this band in such an intimate setting again. Having already made huge appearances at Roadburn and Maryland Deathfest and an arena sized tour with Opeth and Mastodon on the horizon you can forget about catching this band at your local club.
More words and a full live gallery of Ghost after the jump.

Everything Ghost does has entertainment value. They’re goofy costumes, scrambled audio in interviews to hide their true voices, the catchiness of their Satanic singalongs, and even the subsequent squabbling among music fans in the wake of their success seems to add to the spectacle, their aura. They are also a fantastic live band. Their songs are executed with well rehearsed precision. They offer a lot of what the extreme music enthusiast isn’t used to. Songs you actually know all the words to, a dramatic entrance, and the sense of separation between band and audience. It’s almost like musical theater. The demonic pope vocalist paces around swinging incense and gestures dramatically to the congregation. What I found amusing the fact that even though they make every effort to hide themselves though costume, but the band members’ individual personalities came through anyway through their playing. Both guitarists had very different looking instruments and they’re mannerisms while playing still made them interesting to look at despite being shrouded. The band played a set consisting of the entirety of their debut Opus Eponymous, as well as a cover of The Beatles “Here Comes The Sun.” By the end of their set, the pope fed communion and red wine to several people in the front row, a fitting end to the night of Ritual.
Enjoy (or loathe) this gallery of Ghost playing live courtesy of SF Sludge: