Photos by Alex Seeley
Ghost, the mysterious and masked Swedish doom metal band comprised of frontman Papa Emeritus III and his troupe of Nameless Ghouls, descended on the Sherman Theater last Friday to commune with some of its fervant followers in the Poconos/Northastern Pa. region.
Gigging behind its third full-length album “Meliora” and fresh off a Grammy for that album’s single “Cirice,” Ghost’s current tour is aptly dubbed “Black to the Future.” For those not in the know, Ghost’s dark imagery is offset by melodic and hook-laden rock, but the sound is decidedly macabre, with horror-film organs and ritualistic lyrics. There is a tongue-in-cheek, if not parodic, element to the whole enterprise; this is a group that a few years ago sold a “Ghost Phallos Mortuus Ritual Box Set,” which included a butt plug and a dildo shaped like Papa. And the role of Papa is said to change for each album, hence the Roman numeral suffix to his name.
The Sherman show was opened by support act The Shrine. Ghost’s tour continues throughout Texas before making stops in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and beyond before wrapping up on July 29 at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Leave a Reply