Ghost Will Haunt U.S. Amphitheaters on a Summer Tour

PAPA EMERITUS IV is coming to an amphitheater near you. Ghost, the Swedish hard-rock band led by the man of a thousand faces, Tobias Forge, has announced a U.S. summer tour.

Titled the Re-Imperatour U.S.A. 2023, the trek begins August 2nd in Concord, California, and plays 27 dates, wrapping up September 11th in Los Angeles. Along the way, the tour hits cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Tampa, Austin, and Phoenix. Fellow Swedish metalheads Amon Amarth open all dates except the L.A. closer.

Ghost released their latest album, Impera, last year, a record that rails against bloated nations, empty leaders, and the glorification of stupidity. “We now have mechanisms within our own Western empire who are actively trying to, and to some degree have, created this time machine where we’re regressing,” Forge told Rolling Stone. “We’re flattening the earth. We’re submitting to stupidity, which is fucking unbelievable.”

Ghost concerts are remarkable experiences, with Forge — as Papa Emeritus IV — singing through various costume changes while the band, whose faces are all hidden beneath masks, play behind him. Pyro, strobes, and confetti cannons are the norm. It’s a black mass, but a celebratory one.