After a massive European festival run, Ghost has returned stateside as the momentum continues to build behind their 2022 release of blockbuster, Impera. The second United States leg aptly dubbed the “Re-Imperatour” brought along fellow Swedes and Viking metalers, Amon Amarth, for what would prove to be the heavy metal event of the summer.
Amon Amarth kicked things off early to an already full house, having braved the unavoidable Concord traffic to join the “Great Heathen Army.” Having also been quite active in the US of late as they promote their latest release, Amon Amarth was clearly firing on all cylinders as they took the stage and blasted right into their set. True to Viking form, the drummer sat atop a horned helmet drum riser and the theatrics extended to sword fights, a berserker, and the drop of Thor’s mighty hammer. And rest assured, the crowd was not spared, being ordered to sit down and row during “Put Your Back Into the Oar.” All-in-all a perfect start to what would prove to be an epic night.
In true ghostly fashion, the crew draped the massive Concord stage with a curtain as they set about transforming the stage as monastic chants were piped through the amphitheater, creating some sort of strange hold over the audience which was on its feet staring at the white curtain waiting for it to drop at least 15 minutes before the band was scheduled to take the stage. When “Imperium” started to be played and the lights finally dimmed, the crowd instinctively roared as they raised their phones in an attempt to memorialize what was about to unfold.
When the curtain finally dropped, the three Nameless Ghouls on guitar/bass sprinted to the end of the stage extension to rip into “Kaisarion” as Papa Emeritus IV (aka Tobias Forge) strolled onto the stage and shooed those pesky ghouls out of his way as Concord proceeded to pretty much lose its shit. The Rush-inspired jam quickly gave way to a more sinister sound with “Rats” and “From the Pinnacle to the Pit” which made a welcome return to the setlist.
Ghost is no stranger to the Bay Area, making their way up from Bottom of the Hill in their early years to its larger theaters, but this was the first time the local fans have been able to experience the band in its full glory with a 2-hour set coupled with massive stage production—an environment where this band shines, and after a look around the venue at the mega-fans that came dressed for a religious experience—truly belongs!
AMON AMARTH
GHOST SETLIST
Kaisarion
Rats
From the Pinnacle to the Pit
Spillways
Cirice
Absolution
Ritual
Call Me Little Sunshine
Con Clavi Con Dio
Watcher in the Sky
Year Zero
Spöksonat
He Is
Miasma
Mary on a Cross
Mummy Dust
Respite on the Spitalfields
Kiss the Go-Goat
Dance Macabre
Square Hammer
AMON AMARTH SETLIST
The Great Heathen Army
Raven’s Flight
Shield Wall
Deceiver of the Gods
Heidrun
Put Your Back Into the Oar
The Way of Vikings
Guardians of Asgaard
Raise Your Horns
Twilight of the Thunder God
