So, GHOST went on tour, called the “Skeletour”. You know, because calling it the “We Need More Money Tour” was just a tad too on the nose 🙄. Anyway, PRG (aka Production Resource Group, LLC, because acronyms make everything sound cooler 😎), was there to make sure the lights didn’t fall on anyone. I mean, that would be bad, right? Check out the highly thrilling, not-at-all-boring video report below 👇.
Apparently, Steven Page (production manager – sounds important) and Tobias Rylander (creative director – even more important, probably wears a beret 👨🎨) joined forces with PRG to make sure the show was… visually stimulating? They used these things called VL800 Vari-Lite fixtures, which apparently give off a super retro 1980s vibe 🕺. And because shipping is cheap and easy (NOT), they sent three ocean containers of gear across the sea 🚢. Because, you know, gotta have all the toys 🪅.
The scale? Oh, it was YUGE! 136,000 pounds of rigging 🏋️♀️, more moving lights than you can shake a stick at (800, to be exact 💡), and 400 LED tiles to turn arenas into…gothic cathedrals? ⛪️ Sounds like someone’s been watching too much “Interview with a Vampire” 🧛. I bet the electricity bill was a real killer 💸.
So, this “Skeletour” thing wrapped up in August. It was all to promote “Skeletá”, the latest album 💿. They’re calling it a “bold evolution” in GHOST‘s live shows. I’m sure it was 🙄. Apparently, it was the “most theatrical and cinematic production yet.” So, basically, a rock concert with extra steps 🎬. Thanks, Rylander and Tobias Forge, for making things bigger and…more? 🤔
The set was, wait for it… a blend of gothic stuff and brutalist architecture! 🧱 Cathedrals meets concrete – who would have thought? They got “inspired” by brutalist cathedrals in Europe. I wonder if they asked for permission? 🤔 The stage was supposed to be like a “sanctum of dark majesty,” but I bet it mostly smelled like stale beer 🍺 and sweat 😓.
And then there’s the “Grucifix.” ✝️ Sounds like a failed attempt at making a new breakfast cereal 🥣. It’s GHOST‘s take on a crucifix, you see? It hung above the band, looking all menacing and stuff 😈. It was a light rig too, because why not?💡
Rylander, bless his artistic heart 💖, put sculptural facades on the lighting pods. More cathedral stuff, because subtlety is for losers 🙅♀️. Gotta drive home the ecclesiastical themes, right? Even though most people are just there for the headbanging 🤘.
The lighting apparently pays homage to QUEEN and VAN HALEN. So, retro, very cool 😎. It was also the first time they had a full-scale video production, thanks to Rylander and Amir Chamdin. Green Wall Designs made the videos, because everyone needs a creative credit these days ✍️. They say it was an “immersive multimedia experience.” I say it was probably just a bunch of screens playing spooky stuff 👻.
The stage was “engineered to perform.” As opposed to just standing there? 🤷♀️ Multiple platforms, lifts, and secret entrances – oh my! 🎭 It was a “living, breathing cathedral of performance,” which sounds both impressive and slightly terrifying 😱. Apparently, “Skeletour” “redefined” the GHOST live experience. I’m sure the fans were blown away… or just really tired after standing for three hours 😴.
Rylander, who apparently knows everyone who’s anyone in the music world 🎵, has worked with Beyoncé, THE 1975, Childish Gambino, Chappell Roan, The XX, and FKA Twigs. Basically, he’s the cool kid at the art party 🎉. This “Skeletour” thing was his first time working with GHOST. Lucky them? 🤷♀️
The European tour happened back in April and May 🗓️. Started in Manchester, ended in Oslo. The North American leg kicked off in July and finished in August. So, you know, they went places 🗺️.
They used Yondr, because nobody can survive a concert without their phone 📱. Basically, they lock your phone in a pouch so you can’t text during the show 📵. Unless you go to a special phone station, because that makes sense 🤪.
Phones, Apple Watches, all the techy stuff goes in the pouch 💼. Magnetized lock, unlocking base, the whole shebang 🔐. It’s like they’re trying to make concerts feel like prison ⛓️. But hey, at least you can’t take blurry photos and post them on Instagram, right? 📸
“Skeletá” hit number one on the Billboard 200 🥇. 86,000 units sold. Mostly vinyl 💿, because hipsters gotta be hip 🤓. It was the first hard rock album to top the charts since AC/DC in 2020. So, congrats, GHOST, you’re officially old-school 👴.
The “Satanized” video introduced Papa V Perpetua, the new guy in charge 😈. Apparently, they switch out Papa Emeritus every few albums. It’s like a revolving door of demonic leadership 🚪. Forge was the original Papa, then came Cardinal Copia, and then Papa Emeritus IV. It’s more confusing than a soap opera 📺.
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
