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Ghost have come a long fucking way. Now a full-fledged arena band with a world-class stage show complete with costume changes and pyrotechnics, the group started out as cult as they come, a word-of-mouth internet phenomenon with anonymous members hidden behind DIY masks and outfits. In 2011, the mysterious Swedish Satanic metal act came to U.S. shores for the first time, including playing a now-legendary gig in New York City. Sabbath Assembly and Natur opened the show; Ryan Weibust, of the latter band and BBQ Booking, set it up.
"I remember how everyone was trying to figure out who they were before the show," Weibust tells us. "And they were all walking around in the crowd wearing Natur shirts." He laughs.
"I was emailing with Tobias [Forge, Ghost bandleader] a bunch trying to find him a real Thurible to use," he adds. (A Thurible, FYI, is a metal censer in which incense is burned during religious services.) "I was calling all these church supply stores. They're actually harder to find than you think."
Fortunately, Weibust managed to track one down. And photographer Matt McGinley was there that night to catch all the Thurible-swinging, druid-cloaked, occult-rock action. Check out some of his standout — and never-before-seen — photos below.
