Rock is not completely dead yet. Of course, the genre never truly is. It goes in cycles...sleeps and then reawakens with more volume and ferocity. Rock might still be in its slumber, but not totally.
Many thanks to Tobias Forge and Ghost for this. While some of the band's critics do not like the band (or, well...Forge, specifically) being called metal, there should be little doubt they are hard rock much in the same way that Rush was never heavy metal, but certainly was not pop-rock. Any argument about Ghost not being hard rock is foolish.
But who cares really, right? Forge and whomever he hires to help create his records and his tours care only about making good much, not certain labels. The band started on the fringe and a bit of a gimmick until the world realized that Ghost makes terrific music.
Ghost reaches number one on Billboard album charts
In the United States, there is no better recent indication of the band's hold on the general public than the weekly album charts. Billboard reports that when its new weekly album rankings become official on May 10, Ghost's latest offering, Skeletá, will top the list.
In doing so, Ghost will be the first hard rock performer since AC/DC, and their album Power Up, to top the Billboard 200. Ghost will also reach number one on the album charts for the first time since the band began releasing albums since 2010.
The album sales were boosted by vinyl sales. Skeletá sold 44,000 vinyl units in its first week, the most since 1991 of any hard rock group, and the third-most of any rock act during that time. blink-182’s One More Time…(49,000 in 2023) and boygenius’ The Record (45,000 in 2023) were the only two to sell more.
If you are interested in catching Ghost tour being the best-selling record, you can. Here is what you need to know.
Ghost 2025 tour dates:
- 07/09 – Baltimore, MD at CFG Bank Arena
- 07/11 – Atlanta, GA at State Farm Arena
- 07/12 – Tampa, FL at Amalie Arena
- 07/13 – Miami, FL at Kaseya Center
- 07/15 – Raleigh, NC at Lenovo Center
- 07/17 – Cleveland, OH at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
- 07/18 – Pittsburgh, PA at PPG Paints Arena
- 07/19 – Philadelphia, PA at Wells Fargo Center
- 07/21 – Boston, MA at TD Garden
- 07/22 – New York, NY at Madison Square Garden
- 07/24 – Detroit, MI at Little Caesars Arena
- 07/25 – Louisville, KY at KFC Yum! Center
- 07/26 – Nashville, TN at Bridgestone Arena
- 07/28 – Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena
- 07/29 – Milwaukee, WI at Fiserv Forum
- 07/30 – St. Louis, MO at Enterprise Center
- 08/01 – Rosemont, IL at Allstate Arena
- 08/02 – Saint Paul, MN at Xcel Energy Center
- 08/03 – Omaha, NE at CHI Health Center
- 08/05 – Kansas City, MO at T-Mobile Center
- 08/07 – Denver, CO at Ball Arena
- 08/09 – Las Vegas, NV at MGM Grand Garden Arena
- 08/10 – San Diego, CA at Viejas Arena
- 08/11 – Phoenix, AZ at Footprint Center
- 08/14 – Austin, TX at Moody Center
- 08/15 – Fort Worth, TX at Dickies Arena
- 08/16 – Houston, TX at Toyota Center