Ghost and Jess & the Ancient Ones have a lot to answer for. Between them they seem to have started this classic rock-tinged occult psychedelic thing where the next, more underground generation think that loose 'n' lo-fi is the way to go. Although Seremonia sound nothing like fellow countrymen Beherit, they have gone for an odd production choice similar in ethos to "Drawing down the moon". The difference is that going out on a pre-planned lo-fi limb like that really worked for Beherit back in '93 and resulted in a legendary album. Here it sounds too gimmicky. It's like, "Oh, we're so loose and chilled out when we're playing that we just go with what flows from our inner souls." In reality it comes across as either a get-out clause that makes excuses for sloppiness or a deliberate attempt at sounding genuinely nekro. This lack of integrity in the sound kills the vibe completely. If you want something with an authentic form of the off-kilter atmosphere that Seremonia strives to achieve you should get your hands on Black Hole's "Living mask". - John Norby
Details are sparse, but Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt was reportedly involved in a car accident last night forcing them to cancel the Minnesota stop on their current tour with Mastodon and Ghost. Supposedly he broke his arm, but nothing's been confirmed on that one way or another.
I was informed last night that dates wouldn't be confirmed until Thursday, but it appears that the cat is out of the bag: Mastodon will be bringing both Opeth and Ghost on tour with them across North America in April. Dates:
04/04 - State Theater, Portland, ME
04/05 - Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA
04/06 - Metropolis, Montreal, Quebec
04/07 - Sony Centre, Toronto, Ontario
04/09 - Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
04/10 - The Dome, Wallingford, CT
04/11 - Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY
04/13 - Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
04/14 - The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
04/15 - Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA
04/16 - TN Theater, Knoxville, TN
04/18 - Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, OK
04/19 - Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX
04/20 - Back Stage Live, San Antonio, TX
04/21 - Concrete Street, Corpus Christi, TX
04/23 - Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
04/25 - House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
04/26 - Gibson Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA
04/27 - Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
04/28 - Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV
04/30 - The Paramount, Seattle, WA
05/01 - Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia
05/03 - Edmonton Events Center, Edmonton, Alberta
05/04 - MacEwan Hall, Calgary, Alberta
05/05 - The Odeon, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
05/06 - Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
05/09 - The Fillmore, Washington, D.C.
05/10 - The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
05/11 - House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC
05/12 - Masquerade Music Park, Atlanta, GA
I fully admit it now: my first impression of Ghost was way off and totally wrong. I went in with false expectations due to whatever hype and backlash was going around at the time and totally missed the fact that they are simply a great heavy rock band with tons of solid hooks. I'm sure a lot of folks are bummed by the occult vibe and costumes, but that stuff doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I am unreservedly excited about seeing them play in Seattle tonight and look forward to seeing an actual show. See you there?
It has been revealed that Ghost will finally be coming over to the US/Canada for a short tour in 2012 alongside fellow occult rockers Blood Ceremony and Ancient VVisdom. Dates!
01/18 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
01/19 - Rock'n'Roll Hotel, Washington D.C.
01/20 - Middle East Downstairs, Boston, MA
01/21 - Corona Theatre, Montreal, QC
01/22 - The Mod Club, Toronto, ON
01/24 - Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
01/25 - Station Four, St. Paul, MN
01/27 - Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO
01/28 - The Vertigo, Salt Lake City, UT
01/30 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
01/31 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
02/01 - Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco, CA
02/02 - The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Looks like In Flames will be heading out on a big European tour this fall and will be bringing along fellow Swedes Ghost and Norwegians Insense for a number of dates.
Ghost has been forced to drop off the upcoming Enslaved/Alcest tour due to visa issues: https://www.facebook.com/thebandghost/posts/272013509484119
That's a bummer -- I was really looking forward to seeing them up here in both Portland and Seattle.
Nice to see some high-quality live footage of Ghost instead of the usual mediocre crowd-sourced stuff. Really looking to seeing them on tour with Enslaved in October.
Holy shit, a package metal tour where I actually want to see every band: Ghost, Enslaved and Alcest will be touring North America starting in late September:
09/23 - Jaxx, Springfield, VA
09/24 - Mr. Small's Theatre, Millvale, PA
09/25 - Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY
09/26 - The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
09/28 - Impérial, Quebec City, QC
09/29 - Café Campus, Montreal, QC
09/30 - Opera House, Toronto, ON
10/01 - Outland Live, Columbus, OH
10/02 - Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
10/03 - Station 4, St. Paul, MN
10/05 - WECC, Winnipeg, MB
10/06 - The Exchange, Regina, SK
10/07 - The Starlite Room, Edmonton, AB
10/08 - Dickens, Calgary, AB
10/10 - Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC
10/11 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
10/12 - Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
10/13 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA
10/14 - The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
Seremonia