During the high time of the festival summer frenzy in 2025, THE GHOST INSIDE stopped over between all the festival gigs at Stuttgart’s LKA Longhorn on June 24 for one of two club shows in Germany. The concert dates have sent a shockwave through the scene once announced, due to being the first tour appearances of the band since the tragic bus accident in 2015. Wedged between all their festival shows, this intimate headliner gig for sure was a big contrast to the large festival stages: raw, unfiltered, and back to basics of sound and light. No high-tech stages, only sweat dripping from the walls and being close to the fans as can be.

Support was provided by the German metal core band HALF ME, which prefers to perform in a rather dark stage environment. Nevertheless, their performance already added a few degrees of heat on that hot summer day.

THE GHOST INSIDE delivered at full throttle and set the heat volume in the venue to maximum: Jonathan Vigil roared himself through ‘Engine 45’ and ‘Death Grip’ like his life depended on it, while the crowd kept singing all the lyrics right back like an echo. The room crackled with electricity—a massive intensity that often gets lost at open air shows. Especially haunting was the emotional punch of ‘Aftermath’, which hit hard in that close, charged space.

This wasn’t just a filler between festivals—it was a statement. THE GHOST INSIDE proved they thrive not only at mass audiences but within the intense intimacy of a tight clubroom. For the fans, it was a night to remember. For the band, it maybe felt like a homecoming. This is what metal core sounds like when it is in your blood, and what it should be like.