Ghost's new album Impera is really popular. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with 70,000 equivalent album units sold, and did equally well across the world. Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge has also been extremely clear about his intention to make Impera a stadium-sized album with slower songs that are meant to sound great on stage.
So when writing a stadium-sized record, who better to get approval from than Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliot? In an interview with Metal Hammer, Elliot said Impera has been his go-to album for the past few weeks and is one of the few loaded onto his Apple Watch.
"It's been my go-to album for the last couple of weeks. I've got it downloaded onto my Apple Watch so I can march away and listen to it. I've only got a few albums on there, and Ghost are one of them.
"I like the fact that they've got a big intro for the album. It reminds of the beginning of Master Of Puppets, weirdly. It starts off with these flamenco-like guitars, then it gets all heavy and duelling, kind of like Thin Lizzy. It's obviously done as a walk-on for the gigs."
Elliot also mentioned that he feels Impera is "like a whole new genre of music" and called it "absolutely stunning." Elliot is the founding vocalist of Def Leppard whose lengthy list of accomplishments includes helping write every single song off Def Leppard's 1987 album Hysteria, arguably one of the biggest metal albums of all time. Hysteria is among the top 100 best-selling albums of all time across any genre in the United States and had a whopping seven singles released off its tracklist.
So again – if there's anyone to get a compliment from about your record being great, Elliot's name is high up there. Catch Def Leppard on tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts this summer.
6/16 Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park [Tickets]
6/18 Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium [Tickets]
6/19 Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium [Tickets]
6/22 Washington, DC @ Nationals Park [Tickets]
6/24 Queens, NY @ Citi Field [Tickets]
6/25 Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park [Tickets]
6/28 Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium [Tickets]
6/30 Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium [Tickets]
7/2 Jacksonville, FL @ TIAA Bank Field [Tickets]
7/5 St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium [Tickets]
7/8 Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field [Tickets]
7/10 Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park [Tickets]
7/12 Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium [Tickets]
7/14 Cleveland, OH @ FirstEnergy Stadium [Tickets]
7/15 Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ball Park [Tickets]
7/17 Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Field [Tickets]
7/19 Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Stadium [Tickets]
7/21 Denver, CO @ Coors Field [Tickets]
8/5 Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [Tickets]
8/6 Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [Tickets]
8/8 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre [Tickets]
8/10 Orchard Park, NY @ Highmark Stadium [Tickets]
8/12 Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park [Tickets]
8/14 Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium [Tickets]
8/16 Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium [Tickets]
8/19 Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park [Tickets]
8/21 San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome [Tickets]
8/22 Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field [Tickets]
8/25 Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium [Tickets]
8/27 Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Tickets]
8/28 San Diego, CA @ Petco Park [Tickets]
8/31 Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park [Tickets]
9/2 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place [Tickets]
9/4 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium [Tickets]
9/7 San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park [Tickets]
9/9 Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium [Tickets]
