Ghost at Barclays Center
photo by Mathieu Bredeau

Texas pastor worried tonight's Ghost show will bring Satan to their town

A Midland, TX pastor is “shocked” over occult rockers Ghost, whose “A Pale Tour Called Death” brings them to Midland’s Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center tonight (11/19). Pastor Larry Long of Midland’s Fellowship Community Church told CBS7 that he and other community members prayed over the band’s show on Friday. “We’re not here to protest,” he said. “We’re just simply here to pray, to pray His protection, to plead the blood of Christ over our community. This kind of band will bring spiritual influences into this area. We’re concerned about it, because we believe the devil is real, just as we believe God is real. And people who think that’s nonsense, probably don’t believe in God or the devil. But because we believe in God, we also believe in the devil. So we believe that this is a real battle, and it’s important for us to be in prayer. The fact that they describe themselves as a worship band for Satan, is, I think quite shocking. And I think most of our community would be surprised to learn that. They cover their faces with masks that look like devils in their concerts, and they are all about worshiping and bringing glory to Satan. And it’s just not the thing I think most of Permian Basin would be happy to have in our community.”

As Blabbermouth reports, Long also appeared on The Morning Show With Craig Anderson on KWEL AM 1070 FM 107.1, where he had more to say about Ghost:

Sure, I’m concerned about the content of the band. We have a freedom of religion in America, which means a freedom of irreligion and anti-Christian faith, if that’s what people want to do. And so, from that sense, yes, the band bothers me. But I’m not in favor of outlawing the band per se; what I’m in favor is finding out from Wagner Noel what in the world they’re thinking… I don’t know what Wagner Noel can do once they sign that contract, but for Heaven’s sakes, they need better sense than this. And I think the community should be alarmed about it. This is not healthy for our community. Because we Christians believe the devil is real, so when you have a devil-worshipping band… And I’m sure the band believes the devil’s real; I doubt that they’re just doing this as a part of their shtick for music and music they produce and so on. And if you were to read some of the lyrics of their songs, they’re really quite disturbing

Here’s something interesting that I read when I was doing some research on the band. When they came to America and went to Nashville to cut their album, they couldn’t find anybody that would sing with them on their album, because the content of their music is so demonic. So they had trouble finding people to sing. Here’s the funny thing: they couldn’t cut their album in Nashville, so they had to travel out to California to find people to be willing to sing the devil’s music.

The Wagner Noel Performing Arts center released a statement in response. “Shock rock has been a part of the heavy metal landscape from the early days of Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson,” it reads. “Each performer bringing to the stage their own version of a cruel world. GHOST, with their album’s No. 3 spot on the Billboard charts, is continuing in those metal bands’ footsteps. The venue is dedicated to offering a variety of performances that appeal to different audiences.”

CBS posted video of the prayer gathering:

Ghost have not responded, and tonight’s show is set to happen as scheduled.

“A Pale Tour Called Death” brings Ghost to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on December 15, and tickets are on sale. In 2019, they head to Europe with support from Candlemass, and they also have overseas dates with Metallica.