Ghosted in Simpsonville

Amon Amarth Calls Forth The God of Thunder

Thousands of Ghost fans packed into the CCNB Ampitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville, SC for what they thought would be a metal show for the ages. It turns out the show was memorable in many ways, unfortunately, in all the wrong ways. I had been debating back and forth all day about whether or not to make the drive down from Charlotte for the show. After keeping my eyes glued on the weather forecast and radar maps, I decided to chance it. According to the forecast, the rain was supposed to hold off until later in the evening.

Upon arrival, the skies were clear blue and sunny as fans of the Swedish metal band Ghost were lined up waiting to get into the ampitheatre. This wasn’t my first rodeo as far as Ghost shows go so I was pretty excited to see what new things the band would be bringing out for the Re-Imperatour 2023 along with Viking melo-death favorites Amon Amarth.

If you’ve never been to a Ghost show, I will say that their fans are one of a kind. Facepaint is almost a requirement and many people were in full costumes. That’s not to say that the crowd wasn’t full of Amon Amarth fans because I saw a ton of shirts and more than a few Viking helmets in the crowd.

As showtime approached, I took a step into the photo pit to see what was what. The stage had a small thrust that jetted out into the pit area and the stage backdrop was set up with scenes from Amon Amarth’s The Great Heathen Army. Two enormous Viking warriors flanked each side of drummer Jocke Wallgren’s enormous kit, perched atop a huge Viking helmet complete with eyes that light up. It was an amazing setup and everyone was stoked for the show.

I noticed a few clouds rolling in so I quickly donned my rain gear, cameras first, myself last, and just as I was finishing up Jocke made his appearance to massive screams and shouts. The rest of the band followed with frontman Johan Hegg hitting the stage last, drinking horn on his side as Amon Amarth kicked things off in high gear with “Raven’s Flight” off their Berserker album. In what seemed like less than 30 seconds later, the raindrops began to come, slow, very slow at first, but gradually picking up into a steady shower which quickly turned into a full-blown monsoon as the band was beginning “Shield Wall.”

Hegg took things in stride, rain plastering his face as he made his way from one side of the stage to the other. The fans were not letting the rain spoil their time as fists were pumping. Guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg were trading licks along with bass guitarist Ted Lundstrom as their hair whipped across their faces because we were now in the midst of a wind-driven rain event. It was at this point, I realized that despite my rain gear, my cameras were getting wet. So I wrapped them both in kitchen garbage bags and headed out of the photo pit.

The stage was getting flooded out and I noticed the band members staying as far back on the stage as they could possibly get to avoid the crazy weather conditions. The wind was ridiculous by this point and as I attempted to grab a dry poncho out of my backpack, Hegg made the announcement that they were sorry but could not continue. Damn, we were only three songs into what would have been an epic rain show and I was sorely disappointed that we could not see a row pit open up in the storm. Unfortunately, seconds later the thunder boomed and lightning began to light up the sky. The venue had no choice but to evacuate us for our own safety as the crowd began to disperse back to their cars.

After I dried off and changed into some dry clothes and shoes that I had in my car (I told you this wasn’t my first rodeo), I began to scan the venue’s social media accounts for any news on the show. This is the point in the evening where things really took a turn for the worse. It was a long time before fans were given any information on whether or not the show would continue and it wasn’t until shortly after 11 PM that the show was officially canceled. To say it was a fiasco for attendees is an understatement. Fans were upset at the lack of communication and rumors were circulating that there were some leaders in Simpsonville who weren’t too happy about this type of metal show happening in their backyard.

Of course, nobody can control the weather and Ghost was officially canceled. The next day, CCNB Ampitheatre announced that the show was rescheduled to Thursday, just two days after the original date which also upset many fans who were unable to attend the rescheduled event on such short notice. Alas, the rescheduled date would also not take place as some of Ghost’s equipment had been damaged by the weather and they were unable to obtain replacements in time for the show. The band took to their social media accounts to apologize for the events surrounding the show and to give their side of the story as to what actually happened.

Unfortunately for all the diehard Ghost fans, the show was not able to be rescheduled again and the venue announced tickets would be refunded. There was a lot of blowback on the venue for the way things unfolded on the night of the show, some of it warranted and some of it not. Whether the venue or the band’s team should shoulder the responsibility for what went down, remains to be seen but ultimately it was the power of Mother Nature and perhaps a visit from the God of Thunder and Thor’s mighty hammer that ruined an otherwise epic evening of metal. Here’s hoping Ghost can re-route through the Carolinas the next time they make it back to the States.

See the Full Rain Soaked Gallery Here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.

Click Here for Tickets and Tour Information!

Tour Dates:
Thu Sep 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Fri Sep 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Mon Sep 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum ^