There’s palpable dampness in the mountain air this Sunday evening – September 4th – as the congregation politely files into the building. The cavernous hall is about to play host to a long sold-out and equally anticipated metal spectacle. This triple threat tour is scheduled to wind its way through North America until the end of September and tonight it’s Asheville’s turn. The faithful have gathered and there is a tingle in the atmosphere. To open up everyone’s ears we have Canada’s Spiritbox, whose star is continuing to rise. Touring hard on the back of their debut album Eternal Blue, they are rapidly building a devoted following here and across the pond. There is a ton of buzz around them right now thanks in part to a scorching set at the UK’s famed Download Festival.
In vocalist Courtney LaPlante, they have a front-person of confidence and power whose vocal range spans everything from angelic to guttural. Her voice gels perfectly with the group’s music, especially on tracks like “Yellowjacket,” which is closely followed by the brutal fan favorite “Holy Roller.” The whole band plays with total conviction and by the end of their short and extremely well-received set, it’s clear that they have added many new fans to their growing army.
For over twenty years now, Atlanta’s Mastodon has been cracking skulls with their melodic and fearsome metal sound, and with their latest and frankly fantastic opus Hushed and Grim they show no signs of changing that anytime soon. Hitting the stage to thunderous applause they, launch into the new album’s opener “Pain with an Anchor” and it’s business time for Mastodon!
The band always leaves it all on stage and tonight is absolutely no exception. The band’s bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Brann Dailor share vocal duties, with Troy prowling the stage with his low-slung bass and Brann from his kit towering high above the rest of the band. The stage production is a top-notch visual assault with the band playing in front and on top of giant video walls. It’s not all for show though as the constantly melting and reforming picture show works so well with guitarists Brett Hinds and Bill Kelliher’s intricate and mind-bending melodic work.
Oh and let’s not forget there are now lasers!
Almost half of tonight’s set was taken from the new album and as it’s close to ninety minutes long, there’s plenty of material to pull from. Despite that, the newest songs are greeted like old friends and it’s a fact not lost on this writer that despite all this freshness nothing from tonight’s performance felt missing. There were also plenty of Mastodon classics throughout the set including a superb version of “The Czar.” The talent on display is second to none and the band sounds crisp and tight. It never ceases to amaze me how Brann can sing with such power and finesse while at the same time being able to play his technical drum parts with such feel. If you haven’t seen Mastodon live yet, you really should try to make an effort to remedy that ASAP.
After a short catch of breath, it’s time for tonight’s headliners. The Swedish melodic metal superstars last played this town a couple of years ago in the venue’s adjacent hall, but tonight is a much grander affair. Thousands of disciples in Ghost t-shirts on display here are a clear testament to that. It is the band’s fourth visit to Asheville as pointed out by Papa Emeritus from the stage and the capacities have been increasing in size. Tonight is the 7th night of the second North American leg of the Imperatour in support of their fifth studio album Impera.
A version of a Latin song from the 1600s that’s title translates as ‘Have mercy on me O God’ plays over the p.a before the venue goes dark and an anonymous silhouette peals off the first few notes of opener ‘Kaisarion’ then a few seconds later the curtain drops and the roar of the crowd sounds like a tornado. I will admit I am not privy to Ghost’s lore so I’m not sure which version of Papa Emeritus walks on stage but whichever it is, Tobias Forge’s alter-ego is greeted like a hero. By the time the addictive hook of “Rats” rings out, he has Asheville in the palm of his black-gloved hand. It’s fascinating to watch The Nameless Ghouls, their heads covered in some crazy gas mask, S&M/ horror movie contraption that seems as though it would be difficult to wear if not impossible to perform in.
Tobias has admitted that Ghost is his project and the covered bandmates are hired guns. That may well be true but it doesn’t seem obvious tonight when as early as thirty minutes into the show two of the Ghouls take the limelight in a guitar duel that is pure entertainment. Some could argue that this noodling is out of place but it does add some personality to the members on stage. The stage right Nameless Ghoul plays a few recognizable notes and begins “Cirice” from the album Meliora and everyone in the room yells their approval.
During the nineteen-song setlist there were costume changes and on “Year Zero,” enough pyro to rival Kiss. With a final flourish complete with confetti bombs the show ends with the Scorpions-like “Dance Macabre” and “SquareHammer.”
One Response
Ghost NEVER disappoints! They were fantastic as always. This is my 3rd time seeing them. I finally did a M&G with Papa & it was amazing. Unfortunately, I did miss Spiritbox & Mastodon. I did get to hear them though.
The venue staff was amazing. Very nice people. Ashville definitely got rocked & I was there!