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Live Reviews : Ghost and Witchgrinder @ The Hi-Fi, Sydney 28/01/2014

By on January 29, 2014

Excited does not even begin to describe how I felt when a Ghost sideshow was announced. I didn’t have to scurry around at Big Day Out in Sydney and managed to catch the whole Pearl Jam set comfortably knowing that I’d be seeing Papa and his Ghouls for two hours. I got to the Hi-Fi pretty early and it was funny to see how people stared at us fans, all dressed in black and some accessorized excessively in all kinds of metal. Little did they know of the sheer awesomeness of the night that lay ahead of us, and one that anyone would be silly to miss out on.

Ghost Australia Tour 2014

First up were Ghost’s support for the night, Melbourne industrial metallers Witchgrinder who completely redefined the term ‘powerhouse’. With a fancy intro of rain and thunder sounding out,and the even more spooky drawl of organs in the background, right from the minute they took to the stage, these guys showed no mercy on their mics, on our ears and on their instruments. Opening with the epic ‘I Am Animal’, they blasted out tracks like ‘ Curse Of The Electric Eye’, ‘Boneyard’ and ‘Cult Of Voodoo’. They have an insanely heavy sound, front man Travis Everett slaying all senses of hearing with his aggressive, raspy vocals in time to the pounding drum beats of Shane Turville, effortlessly killing it on his kit. Ryan Potts and Walker Hell ( How awesome is that name?) on lead and bass guitar, completed the bands sound with some absolutely killer riffs and grooves adding to the maddening energy that this band emanates. I was psyched out of my wits watching and hearing them, honestly making me want to punch something and scream. They have so much personality and were definitely getting the crowd all set for the Swedish lords. Catch them live in April at SFest! Trust me you DO NOT want to miss Witchgrinder.

As predicted, after an eternity (half an hour changeover) the lights in the Hi-Fi dimmed down, ending the restlessness of us Sydney siders, the 15th century Latin priest-like chants and choral filling the air. No surprise, I had goosebumps when the majestic intro of ‘Masked Ball’ began. It was easily a twenty minute wait before the stage curtains drew back, and one by one the Nameless Ghouls appeared making quite a dramatic entrance. Without any prior warning, they forged right ahead with ‘Infestissumam’ and I just stood there, yet again, having to pick my jaw up off the ground. If that hair-raising intro wasn’t enough to get your blood pumping, slowly emerging in a most elegant manner, the man himself, his Eminence Papa Emeritus II embracing the crowd with open arms as he entered, in all his robed glory and gripping his Grucifix as he did. The man walks like he has some unseen force helping him glide along, it’s beautiful. The eerie, yet brutal ‘Per Aspera Ad Inferi’ with it’s catchy chorus ,  followed by ‘Con Clavi Con Dio’ sounded fantastic live. ‘Sydney, join us in a ritual’ he declared, the soft guitars to the opening of ‘Ritual’ mesmerizing before the sweet rock anthem got the crowd singing along. Some other epic tracks were played from their first release, ‘Opus Eponymous’ such as ‘Prime Mover, ‘Stand By Him’ and ‘Death Knell’. ‘Death Knell’ was friggin trippy, reminding me so much of Black Sabbath, Papa sailing up and down the stage, his voice echoing through the air.

Although pretty much the entire set performed by the band was nothing short of flawless that night, there were some standout tracks that sounded absolutely amazing live, and in addition to the theatrics of Papa and his mates. Being a huge Beatles fan, I remember having Ghost‘s cover of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ on repeat when I first heard it. The way he sings it, with a low drone to his voice, and so much mysticism, it leaves you in a weird trance of sorts. The most loved track of the night, ‘Year Zero’ was stunning. The chants of ‘Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Satanas, Lucifer! rang out from the adoring fans who sang along with Papa. As ironic as this may seem to the whole premise of the band’s music, it was heavenly to listen to. His Eminence left the stage for a bit letting his ghouls take the stage and the spotlight as they belted out into the awesome ‘Genesis’. Papa then came back on in a mist of smoke, telling Sydney that before they get set to go back home, they would like to leave us with a few words of wisdom courtesy of ‘If You Have Ghosts’ which was another stand out of the night. The guitars on this track are gorgeous, so much melody, making this one of my favourite covers of all time. ‘Jigolo Har Megiddo’ was brilliant too, another classic rock sounding anthem.

Papa has one of the most versatile voices I’ve ever come across. He can switch from soothing cleans, to hauntingly deep chants and the occasional growls. Added to that, he’s got an adorable sense of humour! In between their set, there was a slight problem with the lighting to which he says ‘ There seems to be a problem with the lights. Ironic isn’t it?’ During another song, someone yelled out ‘Satan’ and Papa’s like ‘Nope’. It was so nice to see how pleasant and friendly he was.You look at him and may think of all things anti-religion, but he is one hell of a person, quite a charmer too. His magnificent yet comical gestures were a treat to watch, with him  eliciting applause from the crowd, also getting them to sing along. His Ghouls were absolutely tops, constantly guarding the front man and riffing at inhuman speeds. The lighting was superb as well and added to the madness of the night!  Even after a 14 song set, it just wasn’t enough. People wanted more from these mysterious Swedes. I always love this part at gigs, the bands tease the fans a little getting off stage, only to return a few minutes later. And return Ghost did.Papa thanked Sydney oh so humbly for being there before he started whispering ‘Ghuleh’ (Ghuleh/Zombie Queen), another epic track. Saying that there was just one more song on the agenda, Papa challenged the ecstatic crowd to another sing along, carefully instructing us to listen to him sing the chorus of ‘Monstrance Clock’ and follow. And that was definitely the best part of the night. ‘Come together, together as one, come together for Lucifers son’ sang the fans along with the leader Papa, it was such a beautiful experience.

And with that, the sound faded out, the stage came to a complete standstill. It was as if no one was even there.That’s what I love about this band, they beat all stereotypes and have created an identity that can not be matched. They have truly mesmerized music fans across the world with the underlying themes rooted in their music and proving that being completely anonymous, you can still create something magical. Mysticism is something that this world lacks, because it is so caught up in keeping up with the laws of society and the endless norms of pop culture. And that’s where Sweden’s Ghost comes in. Papa Emeritus and the Nameless Ghouls have a peaceful, mystic aura about them and their music which makes you think about life itself. As philosophical as I sound right now, that’s how I felt at the end of the show last night, blessed by Papa, The Nameless Ghouls and their musical ingenuity, at peace and looking forward to a life of mystic beauty.

About

Prarthana is a vegan, Indo-Aussie, heavy music addict, fluent in sarcasm and metal. Traveling is an obsession as she enjoys taking in the history of various countries and following her favorite bands. She's either eating, teaching grammar or learning an instrument, when not occupied with windmilling in the faces of other humans.