The sad reality for many hard rock and metal fans born before the year 2000 is that the glory days of legacy heavyweights like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Tool, and Gun N’ Roses have passed, and their time in the sun and on lighted stage will likely end sooner rather than later. Fortunately, a select few newer-generation hard rock and metal acts possess the ability to draw the same kind of audiences to their altar, and leading the pack amongst the contenders are Gothenburg, Sweden’s Ghost.

Much like any popular or revered band, Ghost has as many so-called, “haters,” it does devout followers. This condition’s existence has created a sort of vortex in which those who despise the band and everything it stands for often pay as close attention as some of its most die-hard denizens. The more hardcore side of this fence (think Slayer fans, for example) seems to have a disdain for Ghost that borderlines on the comical at times.

Slayer founder member and guitarist Kerry King never seems to be at a loss for words when it comes to his opinions, and the subject of Ghost has never proven to be an exception to this rule. Recently, King’s less-than-glowing comments from a 2015 interview have made the rounds again. While he did have a few positive things to say about the individuals in the band and the persona they have honed, he bluntly reiterated how loathsome he still finds the band’s music to be.

“I love the imagery. I love it. I just hate the [expletive] music. I like them, you know? They’ve been on many tours with us. … I got their CD from Brian Slagel from Metal Blade [Records]. So, I put it in on the way to practice and it wasn’t awesome. It’s just not my music, and I’ve tried so hard.”

Still, a crowd of nearly 20,000 in Mansfield, Massachusetts would surely have a bone to pick with the notoriously cranky King after the nearly two-hour spectacle Tobias Forge and Ghost levied on the New England faithful this past weekend.

Fellow Swedes Amon Amarth opened up the night, delivering a truncated but heart-pumping set that got the crowd properly fired up for what was to follow. The hour-long set had a “greatest hits” flavor to—presumably due to its sixty-minute time constraint—as longtime favorites like “Guardians of Asgaard”, “Raise Your Horns”, “The Way of Vikings”, and show-closer “Twilight of the Thunder Gods” delighted both the die-hards and the large contingent of headliner-aligned attendees in the crowd.

Without question, the highlight of Amon Amarth’s time in Mansfield came via the crowd wide, simulated Viking boat row that broke out organically when the Swedish death metal heroes played the appropriately titled, “Put Your Back into the Oar.”

Forge and the Nameless Ghouls of Ghost leaned heavily into the band’s more recently recorded music when they finally took the stage, crafting with a 19-song setlist that featuring a fair number of tracks from 2022’s Impera, 2018’s Prequelle, and 2015’s Meliora, perhaps its most celebrated effort.

Impera saw Ghost return more to the evil hooks and anthemic rock choruses on which the band made its bones, making a track like “Kaisarion” the perfect choice to open things up, its stadium-sized screams and whimsical, Brian May-like riffs catering to the sizeable amphitheater crowd.

Ghost’s stage production was relatively subdued, more so than one might expect for an act playing large-scale sheds. Outside of the band’s standard wall of stained glass, which creates a basilica vibe for Ghost’s live show, and bells and whistles that might distract from the music were kept to a minimum. The band let the music do the talking, instead, and not a soul at the Xfinity Center seemed to mind.

This band’s live performances are one part evangelical sermon, one part rancorous Satanic musical ritual, and one part carnival-like spectacle. If that doesn’t interest you as a concert-goer what on God’s green Earth would?

Crowd favorites off 2018’s Prequelle such as “Rats”, with its chunky riffs and attention-grabbing hooks, evoked late-’70s arena rock while show-closer “Dance Macabre” worked as a gloriously wicked, sped-up ballad that forced thousands of ghouls and goblins decked out in face paint and recently-purchased Ghost tour merchandise to get up out of their seats and dance—a strange sight to behold.

Two tracks off of the resplendent 2019 Ghost EP, Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, both saw the stage in Mansfield. Although some fans may have been hoping for a few more recognizable hits to be played, both “Kiss the Go-Goat” and “Mary on the Cross” were ’60s-style psychedelic trips driven by walls of keyboards that, for lack of a better term, were just flat-out fun.

It was also a pleasure to see that a couple Opus Eponymous tracks, “Con Clavi Con Dio” and “Ritual”, made the set list in New England. What Ghost fan doesn’t want to take a trip back to the 2010 album that illuminated the influence the band gleaned from legends like Mercyful Fate and Pentagram.

Believe it or not, the night’s most enjoyable song may have come without lead singer Tobias Forge on stage in the form of the instrumental “Miamsa”. The track showcased the brilliance of Ghost’s component players in a live setting. Towards the end of the song, an undead Pope emerged from a casket to floor the Xfinity Center crowd with a saxophone solo that few in attendance could have expected. The sheer number of high fives, hugs and “oh my god’s,” coming from audience members as “Miamsa” came to close served as a testament to the quality of the entire evening’s performance.

It also hammered home what makes Ghost so damn special: connection. The bond between band and audience grew deeper and more unified as the show progressed. If that’s not a mission statement on how live music should us feel, what else is?

Not all metal tours are about laughter, hugs and tens of thousands of strangers connecting with one another, yet that’s what one should expect anytime Ghost loads up the trucks for another trip around the globe. Whether or not Ghost is your cup of tea musically, anything with this much power to forge an intimate connection through music and laughter should never be taken for granted.

Check out the setlists from Ghost and Amon Amarth’s performances at Mansfield, MA’s Xfinity Center and view a gallery of photos from the show via Robert Forte below. For a complete list of upcoming Ghost tour dates, head here.

Setlist: Ghost | Xfinity Center | Mansfield, MA | 8/19/23

Set: Kaisarion, Rats, Faith, Spillways, Cirice, Absolution, Ritual, Call Me Little Sunshine, Con Clavi Con Dio, Watcher in the Sky, He Is, Mary on the Cross, Mummy Dust, Respite on the Spitalfields

Encore: Kiss the Go-Goat, Dance Macabre, Square Hammer

Setlist: Amon Amarth | Xfinity Center | Mansfield, MA | 8/19/23

Set: Raven’s Flight, Shield Wall, Heidrun, Deceiver of the Gods, Put Your Back Into the Oar, The Way of Vikings, Guardians of Asgaard, Raise Your Horns, Twilight of the Thunder God