Ghost kicked off their “Skeletour World Tour 2025” on Tuesday (April 15th) in Manchester, England, playing a 21-song set that included the live debut of six tunes. The concert also marked the band’s first show fronted by Papa V Perpetua.
The Manchester gig launched a UK/European leg that runs through May 24th in Oslo, Norway. A US leg will commence on July 9th in Baltimore, and wrap up August 16th in Houston (pick up tickets here).
The Swedish band is touring in support of its new album, SKELETÁ, which is set to arrive April 25th. In addition to performing the LP’s previously released singles “Satanized” and “Lachryma” for the first time in concert, Ghost premiered the album’s as-yet-unreleased songs “Peacefield” and “Umbra.”
Related Video
Another live debut, “The Future Is a Foreign Land,” appeared on the soundtrack to the band’s 2024 big-screen movie RITE HERE RITE NOW, while the song “Darkness at the Heart of My Love” from 2022’s IMPERA was also performed for the first time.
The setlist leaned heavily on Ghost’s 2015 album, MELIORA, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The band played seven songs from the LP, including favorites like “Cirice” and “From the Pinnacle to the Pit.”
An encore consisted of three of Ghost’s biggest tunes: “Mary on a Cross,” “Dance Macabre,” and the set-closing “Square Hammer,” the latter of which Heavy Consequence named the top metal song of the 2010s.
As mentioned, the show also marked the live debut of “new” frontman Papa V Perpetua, as band mastermind Tobias Forge takes on a new identity with every album cycle.
Ghost have instituted a strict no-filming policy for attendees on this tour, and as a result there isn’t any footage of the show on YouTube. See the full setlist below.
Setlist:
Peacefield (world premiere)
Lachryma (live debut)
Spirit
From the Pinnacle to the Pit
Majesty
The Future Is a Foreign Land (live debut)
Devil Church
Cirice
Darkness at the Heart of My Love (live debut)
Satanized (live debut)
Ritual
Umbra (world premiere)
Year Zero
Spöksonat
He Is
Rats
Kiss the Go-Goat
Mummy Dust
Monstrance Clock
Encore:
Mary on a Cross
Dance Macabre
Square Hammer
Content shared from consequence.net.