AthensRocks 2023: GHOST & Candlemass

“We wish to inform you that GHOST will be haunting AthensRocks soil.” 

That was the brief announcement made by the Swedish band and it was more than enough to send Greek Ghouls and Ghoulettes into a frenzy. The Nameless Ghouls (that’s how the band members refer to themselves for the sake of anonymity) return to Athens after almost a decade as part of their tour in support of their latest album, Impera. If you're a metalhead who, for some reason, is not familiar with the band, perhaps the fact that Metallica’s James Hetfield and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl have named the band among their favourites will earn the Swedes some points and make you think of booking that ticket.

During its 40-year-long career, Swedish doom metal band, Candlemass have gained a devoted fanbase in Athens. Their upcoming performance this summer is an important one, as Johan Längqvist makes his return as the band's frontman. This means we're set to relive epic moments from their Epicus Doomicus Metallicus era.

Warming us up will be the Greek band Typhus. After performing at festivals such as Wacken (2022) and supporting bands such as Judas Priest and Slipknot, they bring their thrash metal influences to AthensRocks.