Ghost kicked off their highly anticipated 2025 U.S. arena tour in Baltimore on July 9th with a theatrical, career-spanning spectacle that lived up to the band’s ritualistic reputation. Led by frontman Tobias Forge—aka Papa V Perpetua—the Swedish metal titans delivered a powerful 22-song set at CFG Bank Arena, seamlessly blending new material from their chart-topping album Skeletá with fan-favorite classics.
The evening opened with “Peacefield” and “Lachryma,” two haunting tracks from Skeletá, before diving deep into 2015’s Meliora, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. With six songs from the beloved album, including “Cirice” and “Majesty,” the band reminded fans of the record’s lasting impact.
Forge likens Ghost concerts to spiritual gatherings: “The concerts… are the rituals,” he told Consequence. And indeed, the Baltimore show felt more like a mass than a concert, with every note, chant, and gothic gesture received in reverent unison by the crowd.
The night concluded with an electrifying encore of “Mary on a Cross,” “Dance Macabre,” and the thunderous “Square Hammer,” cementing Ghost’s place at the top of modern metal. The tour continues through mid-August, with a final U.S. date in Houston and a return to Mexico in September. Let the ritual continue.
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