In late November 2024, I received an ominous message, “It’s time…” Ghost had announced a tour, and I had some major studying to do.

Granted, the message was from my friend, and I had been expecting it for over a year, but still, it caught me by surprise.

Five months later, armed with only a few YouTube videos on Ghost‘s convoluted lore and a healthy and well-established love for Gothic Flamboyance, I arrived with several friends in tow at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, ready for my first ritual.

Image Credit: Skeleta Album Cover / Ghost / Loma Vista Recordings

Waves upon waves of nuns and popes passed me in a rush to enter. For their ‘Skeleta‘ tour, Ghost opted out of openers, so everyone was doing their best to squeeze through the small doors of the Hydro.

We surrendered our phones to their tiny temporary jails per the ‘no phone’ rules that Ghost had announced alongside the tour, a good idea, and shimmied our way to a good place in standing just in time for the concert to start.

From the very beginning, I knew this would be a concert that stuck with me, not only for the traffic jam it took to enter, but for the sheer raw theatrical talent that is Tobias Forge and his Ghouls.

There are three kinds of successful bands; Those who can perform, those who can sing, and the rarest kind who can do both. Ghost is obviously the third.

Image Credit: Ghost Official Website

Opening with the (at the time) unreleased ‘Peacefield’, the theatrical swagger of Forge stuns as he truly embodies the idea of the newest lead for the band, ‘Papa V Perpetua’.

Following on with ‘Lachryma’ and ‘Satanized’, I was surprised at the number of people singing along to both songs, as they had only been released earlier that week.

Without phones, the audience is forced to be fully in the moment and able to wholly experience the full impact of the theatrics. There are fireworks, pyrotechnics, confetti, and a giant version of Ghost‘s very own crucifix style logo made from light attached to the ceiling.

A personal favourite was the fantastically demonic projections of stained glass placed in the background of the stage, but I shall leave a few surprises for those lucky enough to get tickets to a future show.

Image Credit: Mikael Eriksson/M Industrie

Being a fool, fully knowing that we wouldn’t have our phones in there, I forgot to grab my notebook to take notes, so you’ll have to forgive me if the song order is, well, out of order.

Personal highlights of the set include the live debut of ‘The Future is a Foreign Land’, the roar of ‘Darkness at the Heart of my Love’, and the chanting brilliance of ‘Year Zero’. Forge dons the more traditionally pope-like attire and performs from upon high as the audience joins him in rapture.

It truly felt like I was part of some sort of demonic ritual.

Encore done right, Ghost opens the three-song ending with TikTok-famous ‘Mary on a Cross’ to a rabid response from fans, followed by ‘Dans Macabre’ and finally ‘Square Hammer’. By the end, I think we were all about ready to swear to the devil.

In the hour and a half I’m sure it took us to leave the OVO Carpark, the buzz didn’t fade – by halfway home I’m considering a tattoo.

Ghost‘s Skeletour is a gothically theatrical masterpiece. Tobias Forge is a mastermind, and if you’re not afraid of a little ritualistic chanting then I encourage you all to get on the square, get on the level and get on the hype train.

Buy tickets for the Skeletour. You wont regret it.

Featured Image Credit: Ghost Official Site