Theatrical metal band Ghost takes ‘Ultimate’ arena tour to Giant Center in Hershey on Oct. 24
From a press release:
With “Dance Macabre” becoming the band’s third No. 1 single on rock radio, Grammy Award-winning heavy metal act Ghost announced a six-week North American headline tour today that will see the Swedish group’s elaborate rock theatre presentation metamorphose into a full-on arena production.
Produced by Live Nation and billed as the Ultimate Tour Named Death, the outing is due to kick off Friday, Sept. 13 in at the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California following Ghost’s special guest summer slot on Metallica’s 25-date WorldWired European Stadium Tour. The fall tour will stop at the Giant Center in Hershey on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio’s three-time Grammy-nominated alternative rock band Nothing More, who earned three Top 10 singles from their most recent album, “The Stories We Tell Ourselves,” will provide support for this tour, which is a follow-up to Ghost’s 2018 run, A Pale Tour Named Death, that came to Wilkes-Barre last December.
A series of ticket pre-sales begin this Tuesday, April 2 at 10 a.m. Tickets for the Ultimate Tour Named Death, which start at $29.50, go on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, April 5 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Giant Center box office (550 Hersheypark Dr., Hershey), online at hersheyentertainment.com and ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 717-534-3911 or 800-745-3000.
The Swedish-born Tobias Forge, who has been referred to as “the Andrew Lloyd Webber of rock,” is Ghost’s creative force, singer, songwriter, musician, and architect of the elaborate storylines that are woven through the band’s four full-length studio albums, EPs, music videos, webisodes, and live shows, all of which advance the Ghost storyline. Forge grew up listening to a wide array of 1970s and ’80s rock – Alice Cooper, Journey, Kansas, Boston, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Starship, Iron Maiden, and Foreigner. He’s a hardcore music junkie; at home in Sweden, he has a most impressive collection of vinyl, cassettes, CDs, and VHS tapes, and when on tour, he regularly arranges for visits to local record haunts and ships back even more treasures. He plays guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and kazoo. Ghost’s current album, “Prequelle,” is loosely based on the Black Plague of 14th century Europe, a metaphor Forge hopes will apply to the societal ills of today.
Ghost’s music began much heavier, harder, and “more metal,” but over the band’s recent history, their songs have evolved to embrace a catchier pop rock sound. Five of the band’s songs have hit Billboard’s Top 5 Rock chart – “Cirice” claimed the No. 4 spot in 2015, “From the Pinnacle to the Pit” went to No. 5 in 2016, and “Square Hammer” (2017), “Rats” (2018), and “Dance Macabre” (2018) all held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart and on the Mediabase Active Rock chart. Ghost’s music retains its rock edge as well as its dark lyrical themes like the Black Plague, the Antichrist, the Inquisition, avarice, and the apocalypse. They have received two Grammy nominations: Best Metal Performance in 2016 for “Rats,” which they won, and Best Rock Album in 2019.
Ghost’s widely acclaimed live performances are known for raising an ungodly ruckus, and that will only be amplified as the band brings its stage production to arenas. Forge as “Cardinal Copia” and the seven “Nameless Ghouls” serving as the band will perform for more than two hours on a striking stage set resembling a medieval cathedral with a backdrop of illuminated stained glass windows that pay tribute to the three now-departed “Papas.” In addition to rich costumes, special effects, and a spectacular light show tailor-made for arenas, the Cardinal and the band will take advantage of a series of multi-level platforms and walkways to prowl around on while performing some of Ghost’s fan-favorite songs from the entire catalog. The setlist will include favorites “Square Hammer,” “Cirice,” “Ashes,” “He Is,” “Year Zero,” “Rats,” “Mummy Dust,” “Life Eternal,” “Dance Macabre,” and many more.
2018 proved to be a transformative year for Ghost. Their album “Prequelle” debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s 200 chart, was named Revolver’s No. 1 Album of the Year, earned a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Rock Album, and accumulated 400,000 album sales and 200 million streams since its June release. “Prequelle’s” first radio single, “Rats,” held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart for a record-setting eight consecutive weeks and received a Best Rock Song Grammy nomination, and the most recent radio track, “Dance Macabre,” became the band’s third No. 1 song on rock radio, a position it held for three weeks. In addition, Loudwire named Ghost its Artist of the Year.
More dates for the Ultimate Tour Named Death will be announced in the coming months.
The wristband policy will be in effect for this event. Fans are permitted on the Hersheypark Entertainment Complex property beginning at 7 a.m. on April 5. Two hours prior to the on-sale, fans will be directed in front of the Giant Center box office, where they will be issued a numbered wristband. Wristbands are available for one hour and, at the conclusion of that hour, a selected fan will randomly choose a wristband that will determine the line order. Once the line is in place, fans arriving after the wristbands were issued will be escorted to the end of the numbered line.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Ghost performing with The Shrine in Stroudsburg back in 2016 here.
