Rock bands Ghost and Volbeat welcome the devil to Lincoln, NE
Swedish group Ghost & Danish rockers Volbeat landed in Lincoln, NE Friday (February 4, 2022) at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. I must say, Ghost really sucked my rocks off. I mean, rocked my socks off.
When the announcement for this co-headlining tour was made, I initially thought the pairing of Volbeat and Ghost was a little unusual. I’m certainly a fan of both bands, but they each have a unique brand of rock n roll. Volbeat is rockabilly blues for guy’s guys, while Ghost is what happens when pop weds heavy metal during a Catholic mass. However, both bands have Scandinavian blood (as do I), sing to Beelzebub, and rock hard. The pairing definitely works. Keep reading for my full Ghost and Volbeat concert review in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Twin Temple begins the ritual
The ritual began at 7p.m. with the devil-worshiping duo, Twin Temple. Their sound is described as “Satanic Doo-Wop,” but my first impression was Scooby-Doo haunted house music. The lanky male guitarist and short female vocalist with an obnoxiously tall beehive hairstyle even look like cartoon characters. The duo was all about shock value with songs like “Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy.” The lyrical content was a little too literal for me, but the sound wasn’t unpleasant.
Volbeat seals the deal
Volbeat took the stage with “Seal the Deal” before jumping into a slew of new songs from their December 2021 release, Servant of the Mind. “Wait a Minute My Girl” featuring heavy keys and saxophone brought the energy, while “Becoming” incited a circle pit of approximately 8 people.
Other highlights included a song about a “shitty lady” aka “Lola Montez,” a tribute to the Man in Black (Johnny Cash), and my favorite Volbeat tune: “Black Rose” (I can’t help it - the song reminds me of the best summer memories.)
There certainly wasn’t a large crowd in the arena, but it was larger than I expected. Notably missing from the set list were a few more of my favorites, including “Heaven Nor Hell” and “A Warrior’s Call.” Nevertheless, hardcore Volbeat fans had nothing to be disappointed about.
Ghost takes us to church
Ghost is one of my all-time favorite bands, and Friday marked my 5th time seeing them live. The first time I saw Ghost in concert was at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2017 opening for Iron Maiden. Needless to say, they’ve come a long way in the past 5 years. (Ghost played Omaha in November of 2018 - concert review.)
With a new album, Impera, set to be released March 11, 2022, Ghost opened with a new unreleased song, “Kaisarion.” Eight Nameless Ghouls and Ghoulettes debuted a new uniform complete with doomful diving-style helmets (Captain Cutler anyone?). New song “Hunters Moon,” featured in the movie Halloween Kills also made an appearance (I’m obsessed). Unfortunately, the new single “Call Me Little Sunshine” was notably missing, but a cover of “Enter Sandman” made the set list. However, there were plenty of songs from Prequelle and Meliora, so consider me one satisfied Ghost fan.
Whether Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge is portraying the character of Cardinal Copia or Papa Emeritus IV, he demands your attention. All he has to do is say the word “fuck” or “butts” and the crowd loses it. Literally. (You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do anything this man asked.)
The band ended their set with '“Square Hammer,” which was the same song they opened with when on tour with Iron Maiden. This was a nice full circle moment, as Papa asking “Lincoln, are you on the square?” has been in my head since 2017.
COVID at the rock show
Like many live events in recent months, the venue had its share of COVID procedures in place. A Health Check was required in order to attend the show, which meant concertgoers had to provide proof of vaccine or negative COVID test while entering. In addition, masks were required while roaming the venue.