The Ghost Inside with Paleface Swiss, Bleed From Within, and Great American Ghost
Mercury Ballroom
Louisville, KY
May 9th, 2024
California metalcore band The Ghost Inside brought their current tour to Mercury Ballroom on May 9th to packed venue! The band is touring in suport of their latest album, Searching For Solace, released on April 19th, and the sea of fans this evening were ready to rock out! Opening the show this evening was Boston metalcore band Great American Ghost. With 3 full-length albums released since 2015, they had a varied set list, which also included their latest single, “Hymn of Decay”. Singer Ethan Harrison moved all around the stage throughout the set and was very engaging with the crowd. At one point, after hearing from security that the venue’s crowd surfer record during a show was 87, he told the crowd that during the next song there needed to be 50 crowd surfers to beat the record. I’m not sure if they helped to beat it, but they definitely gave it their best shot! Towards the end of the set, he jumped off the stage and sang part of a song in the crowd, with the fans raging around him with a furious energy, then crowd surfing his way back to the stage. It was a great start to the night. Next up was Scottish metal band Bleed From Within. With 6 albums and 3 EP’s under their belt, they performed both older and newer songs to the delight of their fans in the crowd. These guys had a super fun energy, with singer Scott Kennedy joking with the crowd early on, saying how Americans seems to really love the Scottish. “I don’t know why,” he joked with a laugh. “I mean, look at these guys!”, which got some laughs from the crowd. With high energy, jovial banter with the crowd, and a great crowd response, those who were unfamiliar with the band were fans after their set! They had fun with the crowd and with each other on stage, with Kennedy getting out into the crowd towards the end of the set. Next up was Swiss death core band Paleface Swiss. Formed in 2017, the band has gained international recognition and has amassed quite a fan base, with many in the crowd being obvious and fervent fans! With lots of energy, the band were very active on stage and engaged heavily with the crowd. Towards the end of the set, singer Marc “Zelli” Zellweger stood at the barricade as he sang and then got out into the crowd to sing and crowd surf. He chatted quite a bit with the crowd throughout the band’s set and developed a great rapport with them, making for an even more fun time for the fans!
Closing out the evening was The Ghost Inside. As the band walked onto the stage, what sounded like a news broadcast of the band’s 2015 bus crash was playing. Once the band members were all on stage, they launched into “Engine 45”, “Unspoken”, and “Great Unknown”, with the band moving around the stage a lot and taking turns standing on the risers at the front of the stage. Performing older tracks and fan favorites, the band also performed a few songs from the new album that included “Death Grip”, “Split”, “Earn It”, and “Wash It Away”. Singer Jonathan Vigil talked quite a bit with the fans between songs, early on asking “How many people have seen us before? How many are seeing us for the first time? This is the place we have played the most since the accident!”. He later went on to say how all of the opening bands, upon stepping off the stage, what a fun crowd this was and that it meant a lot to the band to see all of the fans in the crowd singing along and having a good time. “We put out a new record almost 3 weeks ago and it has been great to play the new songs on tour!”. With the band engaged with the crowd and the crowd singing and dancing along, the venue had a really warm and upbeat energy that I have no doubt was felt by the bands and fans alike.
About halfway through the set, the band took a more mellow turn and asked the crowd for minimal pit activity while they performed “Phoenix Flame”, a song Vigil said the band had never sung on tour before and may not again. It was a special moment that had the crowd holding up the flashlights on their phones in a very intimate moment. Towards the end of the set, Vigil told the crowd “I’m terrible with names but good with faces and I know there are some old school The Ghost Inside fans in here!”, closing out the show with some older tracks. The crowd went wild, cheering and singing along. The band ended their set with “Avalanche” and “Aftermath”, remaining high-energy until the very last note. It was a fun night all around, with everyone in the crowd having a great time!
Great American Ghost
Bleed From Within
Paleface Swiss
The Ghost Inside
