Dark Funeral (7/1/25, O2 Academy Islington, London, England, UK)

Last Tuesday night at the Islington Academy felt like stepping into a Black Mass on account of Swedish black-metal infernalists Dark Funeral occupying the joint as part of their winter Let the Devil In tour.

They did a good job of easing their audience into the main event with the aid of their supports. First came French merchants of melodic deathcore Kami no Ikari, who kicked things off with a nice caustic bounce, the likes of ‘Interitus’  and ‘Theophobia’ laying good groundwork for the sets ahead (shame I totally overlooked the album at the merch stand!).

Then came Roman-themed Canadian melodeath squad Ex Deo—my most anticipated band of the night—who gave a great showcase of their material, clad (with the exception of drummer Oli Beaudoin) in the appropriate armour. Standouts from the set included opener ‘Imperator’, ‘Vespasian’ from their then-upcoming EP Year of the Four Emperors (which I *did* manage to grab a copy of, in advance, from the merch section), and the ferocious closer ‘Romulus’, which featured some delightful dual headbanging from bassist Dano Apekian and lead guitarist Stéphane Barbe. Frontman Maurizio Iacono put out a strong vocal performance throughout, with some impressive alterations and repetitions at certain points.

As for third and final support act Fleshgod Apocalypse, I’d only previously heard their Labyrinth album with distinctly male vocals, so I was rather surprised to see a rather Rubenesque lass step on stage with an Italian flag and start getting operatic: turned out said woman is Veronica Bordacchini, who joined up past said album’s release. Shortly, the rest of the band, including frontman Francesco Paoli, joined her to give the audience a rather extravagant set full of piano arrangements, said operatic feats, and, of course, meaty metallic instrumentals. I admit to not being especially blown away by what I’d heard of band on record, but I found their set considerably captivating nevertheless, ‘Sugar’, ‘The Fool’, and ‘Pendulum’ being notable moments.

However, Dark Funeral turned the extravagance up tenfold, taking to the stage in full Satanic splendour, frontman Heljarmadr arrived aptly cloaked for opener ‘Nosferatu’ before shedding said garm for a set emphasing both their earliest and latest material. They even added a few numbers from the points in between, such as ‘The Arrival of Satan’s Empire’, which was preceded by one of the evening’s most memorable moments, Heljarmadr leading the audience in a chant or several of “Hail Satan!”.

Musically, however, the strongest numbers were the relative slow-burn of ‘When I’m Gone’, ‘Open the Gates’ from their storming self-titled debut EP, along with ‘In the Sign of the Horns’, and the title track from their latest release, ‘Let the Devil In’ (constantly recommended to me by the YouTube algo for the past few months, but that’s another story).  Heljarmadr, the band’s fourth vocalist, sounded powerful and prominent throughout the set, and the instrumental section put on a suitably tight performance, particularly lead axeman and band founder Lord Ahriman, who, quite aptly, was a tremelo-picking demon, strumming his strings at what looked like 666 square RPM!

So, yes, a strong start to yet another year of promising gigs, many of them of a similarly genred vein—AVE FUCKING SATANAS!

~MRDA~

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Peter and the Test Tube Babies (30/12/24, New Cross Inn, London, England, UK)

Once again, punk stalwarts Peter and the Test Tube Babies saw the year out at the New Cross Inn in Sarf London, this time bringing along newer acts Meathook and Bamboo Vipers along for the lark.

The Vipers opened the show with a set of interestingly titled and/or themed songs such as ‘Champagne Socialist’, ‘Andrew Ridgeley Moment’, ‘New Kinky Dimension’ and the macabre Cambodian holiday brochure that’s ‘Democratic Kampuchea’. The set was all the more entertaining for frontman Shaun Morris being seemingly half cut throughout it. Sadly, they were nowhere to be seen by the time I’d acquired the cash to buy their EP; presumably, they’d gone elsewhere to get (even more) ratarsed.

Popping out to grab aforementioned cash meant I missed the start of Meathook’s set, which was a right pain in the arse as they’d kicked off with ‘No One’s Safe’, one of my favourite songs from their 2016 album Piece of Me; another is that title track, which indeed got an airing. Other standouts included ‘Fallen’, ‘Bad Day’, and the set-closing ‘Broken Bones’, all played with a ferocity and heaviness bordering on the metallic by the trio of Jay on drums, Neil on bass and backing vocals, and frontman Tat on geetars and vox. Sadly, they didn’t play ‘Two Sides’, another favourite of mine, though that’s understandable, considering they’d have had to have yanked guest vocalist Johnny Doom, of Deathfiend and Police Bastard fame, down from Brum for the full effect. Shoutout to Sarah on the merch stand for sorting me out a free English Dogs album, featuring Tat on bass, with my Piece of Me CD.

Tat, ever prolific, once again assumed bass duties as one of Peter’s Test Tube Babies.

As ever, the set featured many a favourite track, with the likes of ‘The Jinx’, ‘Spirit of Keith Moon’, ‘Never Made It’, ‘Every Second Counts’, and sweary singalong ‘None of Your Fucking Business’ making welcome appearances. Less setlist-familar additions included anti-marriage anthem ‘Unlucky Day’, a cover of Focus’ ‘Livewire’, and the sexploits of ‘Oral Annie’, always up for a “five-man deal”. Banter was as abundant as the setlist, Peter and drummer Sam Fuller once again delivering the bulk of it, and I managed to pick up the latest solo venture by lead guitarist Del “Strangefish” Greening too.

In short, another great year-closing gig from Peter and his miscreants (though one with a younger, rowdier crowd than usual). Always a pleasure, and I’m sure this year’s upcoming won’t break the cycle on that account.

~MRDA~

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Slipknot (21/12/24, The O2 Arena, London, England, UK)

Last Saturday night saw a year’s worth of anticipation erupt in an hour and a half of moshpit finest as Iowa’s nine-headed masked monster, Slipknot, graced the capital in the second of two O2 shows concluding the UK leg of their 25th anniversary Here Comes the Pain tour.

Before that commotion came a nice warm-up set from Glaswegian metalcore merchants Bleed From Within, who really brought the energy and enthusiasm with songs such as ‘Hands of Sin’, ‘Into Nothing’, and, from their upcoming seventh album, it was Zenith, ‘In Place of Your Halo’. Frontman Scott Kennedy was especially appreciative to be sharing a stage with one of his influences, remarking how he would have scoffed at the idea two decades ago. Metalcore is kinda a hit-ans-miss subgenre for me, but BfW did it, and themselves, sufficient justice with their set.

Then came the Nine—and the promised pain.

I’ve been to gigs of bands that would be considered even more extreme and “true”  amongst the metalligensia, yet the audience reaction at those shows was positively sedate compared to that for the Knot. From the moment the riffage of ‘(sic)’ kicked in, the crowd erupted into a throng that never fully relented. To put it another way, even those not in the actual circle pit were swept around the floor, ending up in spots quite different to those at which they started!

“We’re playing nothing after 1999,” frontman Corey Taylor declared, and he and the rest of the band kept their word, the setlist consisting of material from, and around the time of, their self-titled major-label debut. Every track, with the odd exception of ‘Diluted’, got an airing, from the League onslaughts of ‘Eyeless’ and ‘Liberate’ to slower, moodier numbers like ‘Tattered and Torn’, ‘Prosthetics’, and set closer ‘Scissors’. Of course, abiding setlist favourites ‘Wait and Bleed’, ‘Purity’, and ‘Spit It Out’ also got respectable renditions.

The band were on top form, with Mick Thomson and Jim Root bringing the riffs, Eloy Casagrande and Alessandro “Vman” Venturella proving worthy replacements for late drummer Joey Jordison and late bassist Paul Gray, respectively, Sid Wilson stealing the spotlight with his turntabling and crowd-rousing, Michael “Tortilla Man” Pfaff adding extra percussion and hijinks, mystery member “Samples” filling the spot previously occupied by Craig “The Gimp” Jones, and Shaun “Clown” Crahan being, as ever, Shaun. Of course, Corey “The Great Big Mouth” Taylor didn’t disappoint with his trademark vocals, going from bellow to mellow, and back again, without issue, though, by contrast to all the other times I’ve seen the band, his crowd-addressing moments had a more unabashedly complementary, less confrontational air this time around, welcoming the fans who were there from day one and all those who came after for their support and attendance.

As callbacks go, however, it was hard to top the jumpsuits and masks, evocative of that earlier era, Corey’s red-eye accentuated homage to his first disguise being especially striking.

Like others who’ve commented on these shows, I definitely would’ve welcomed a double set, the second (or maybe first) consisting of a best-of compilation cribbed from all their subsequent albums. As things stand, having not seen them live since the late ’00s, it was great to make their reacquaintance.

~MRDA~

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The Human League (14/12/24, OVO Arena Wembley, London, England, UK)

Trudging all the way to Wembley is never fun for me in itself, so making the trip requires some pretty damn strong incentive; thankfully, Saturday night provided just that with the Human League concluding their Generations tour at the OVO Arena. The synthpop superstars had solid support from both ’80s contemporaries T’ Pau and the rather surprising choice of Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Beyond ‘China in Your Hand’, their 1987 hit, I’m not too familiar with T’Pau’s back catalogue, but Carol Decker and co. got the night off to a decent start ‘Secret Garden’, ‘Heart and Soul’, and, of course, the aforementioned 1987 hit being standouts. Carol, the filthy mare, made light of her position on the bill with a decidedly bawdy turn of phrase; “I’m your official fluffer!” she declared midway through the set, and, indeed, her oral action left me with little in the way of complaint.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor wins my Pleasant Surprise of the Night Award for a rather polished, top-notch performance with some notable numbers, namely her cover of Alcazar’s ‘Crying at the Discotheque’, a medley-rich rendition of her breakthrough summer 2000 hit ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’, her version of Freemason’s ‘Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)’ (on which she refreshingly pronounces “Dancer” like an Englishwoman instead of in the expected American cadence), and, last but not least, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ recently given something of a signal boost via the movie Saltburn. If Carol T’Pau was the no-nonsense the fluffer, Sophie goes for a more refined, playful, flirty approach, teasing and coaxing desire and enthusiasm out of the audience. Shame the overpriced cider I’d unwisely ordered from the bar had my lids falling at certain points, but I was pretty impressed with what I saw (and heard) my eyes open at least, to the point that I’m playing with the thought of catching one of her upcoming headline shows.

As for the main act, they, as at Kew last year, effortlessly impressed both vocally and instrumentally. Phil Oakey, Sue Ann Sulley, and Joanne Catherall sound as sharp as they ever did, and their current band —percussionist Rob Barton, keyboardist/backing vocalist Ben Smith, and guitarist/keyboardist Nick Banks—do a stellar job of supplying that crisp, distinctive sound for which this band is well known. The stagecraft, too, as ever, was a sight to behold, the most striking element being the descending platform that brought the band to the stage during show opener ‘Hard Times’.

The setlist itself had more than a few surprises. Sure, they had expected favourites such as ‘Mirror Man’, ‘Tell Me When’, ‘The Lebanon’,’ Heart Like a Wheel’, and, inevitably, their breakthrough hit ‘Don’t You Want Me?’, but they also added the likes of ‘Life on Your Own’, ‘Louise’, and ‘Empire State Human’ into the mix, much to my liking. I also got treated to the dark, moody sythlines of ‘The Path of Least Resistance’, the earliest song recorded, according to Phil, the sole vox on this pre-’80s number, which left me wanting to dust off initial album Reproduction for a thorough relisten. Speaking of Phil vox solos, another track from his collab with Giorgio Moroder,’ Good-Bye, Bad Times’, got an airing in the encore, alongside the more familiar (and much loved) ‘Together in Electric Dreams’.

All in all, another sterling set from the League, and one that left me wondering what they have in store for their upcoming return to Kew in July. Special mention goes out to Phil for his flares, Sue for her speech celebrating 43 years of being part of the band, and Jo for knowing how to fill out a stage outfit.

~MRDA~

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Front 242 (8/12/24, Electric Ballroom, London, England, UK)

A first and last for me on Sunday night, with me *finally* seeing Belgian EBM outfit Front 242 on the London date of their farewell Black Out tour. Having missed an opportunity to see them a couple of years back, I would’ve kicked myself even harder had I let their swansong set pass me by.

Support came from rising Swedish EBM star Rein, and very impressive support she was too, striding across the stage in a cyberpunk-worthy shades and suit combo whilst performing tracks such as ‘Reactivity’, with its striking staccato choral rhythms, the moody ‘Dystopia’, which channels the sound and feel of early ’90s sophistipop through an electronic filter, and the absolutely belting brutality of ‘Bodyhammer’, a track that’ll see many a replay on my personal playlist. Definitely one of the best opening acts I’ve seen at a gig this year. Hopefully, she’ll return for a headline show or several in the not-so-distant future.

The tone well and truly set by Rein, 242, the elder statesmen of EBM, took to the stage not too long after, opening their set with an introductory video marking their 43 years in operation (something in common there!) followed by a nice, full-bodied, crowd-rousing rendition of ‘W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G.’. The band were in high spirits during the entirety of their 80-minute set, particularly lead vocalist Jean-Luc de Meyer, who continually exhorted the audience to get into the spirit of things. Not that it was necessary with the selections on the career-spanning setlist, which included, amongst others, personal favourites such as the energetic ‘Body to Body’, the memorably melodic ‘Quite Unusual’, the body-bouncing beat monster ‘Red Team’, and the stellar, soaring ‘Masterhit’. Less familiar tracks such as ‘Punish Your Machine’ and ‘Welcome to Paradise’ also made a strong, resounding impression. Of course, though, the money shot of the night came in the form of the iconic  ‘Headhunter’, the best bounty-hunter anthem ever committed to recorded media, and the instructive, count-the-steps chorus definitely garnered the maximum participation from all assembled.

As swansongs go, Front 242’s final (?) London show of their final (?) tour proved a revelrous rivetheaded roar rather than a waning whimper; my only lament about this show (beyond not hearing ‘No Shuffle’) is that it was my first.

~MRDA~

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The Chameleons (7/12/24, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England, UK)

A post-punk triple bill last Saturday night, with me revisiting a couple of familiar acts plus one never seen live before.

First came a familiar band, Statesiders Vision Video, with a new keyboardist (complete with fishnets and teddy bear mascots) in tow. Frontman Dusty Gannon, though vocal between songs as usual, keeps the political commentary fairly light this time—surprising given recent electoral events on his side of the pond—sticking to an impassioned anti-war speech to introduce ‘Kandahar’. Musical highlights included newbies ‘Dead Gods’ and ‘Balaclava Kiss’, the singalong-inspiring cover of Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’, and anthemic set closer ‘In My Side’. A solid start.

Then came a step into uncharted waters with The Membranes, and only having heard their five-disc compilation of their earliest material, Everyone’s Going Triple-Bad Acid, Yeah!, I half-expected, hoped, to hear tunes such as ‘Cor, Blimey! Ain’t England Snidey’ and ‘Tatty Seaside Town’; in stark departure from most ’80s-prominent acts, however, they chose to focus on their more modern material, even to the point of including yet-unreleased tracks, like ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ and ‘Spooky Dancing in the UK’. Frontman/bassist/journalist/author John Robb, at sprightly 63, proved summat of a human dynamo, pacing, high-kicking, and waving his bass around the stage and at the audience; he and his post-punk bass stylings were well-served by a strong instrumental accompaniment from the other members of a band, including the veiled lady on keyboards who added some pleasingly eerie backing vocals to the likes of ‘What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away’, ‘Church Bells’, and ‘Deep in the Forest Where the Memories Linger’. Worth witnessing at least once. Twice if they headline.


Speaking of headliners, I was once again disappointed to not hear ‘Less Than Human’ and ‘Thursday’s Child’, two of my favourite Chameleons deep cuts, on the setlist; then again, those two are from Script of the Bridge, the first, and my favourite, Chameleons album, and the spotlight was well and truly on Strange Times, the band’s third album, for the bulk of the setlist. In any case, Mark Burgess and his merry men put on a spirited, soulful show, so much so that it really did seem like the frontman was trying to jettison his life force through the mic at certain points. Highlights included new track ‘Everyday, I’m Crucified’, which sees the band reacquainted with the menacing basslines of a certain opening track from Script, a moody ‘Tears’, and a rather engaging extended rendition of ‘Soul in Isolation’, but it was the encore that made my day above all, with the abrasive ‘In Shreds’, the philosophical ‘Monkeyland’, Mark performing a self-exorcism during ‘Second Skin’, and, of course, ‘Don’t Fall’, that “certain opening track” I mentioned, the one that put this band on my radar, closing the night, Mark embracing the audience towards its end.

In short another searingly strong Chameleons set. Makes me even more eager hoping to see (and hear) those favourite deep cuts of mine being dusted off for a future tour.

~MRDA~

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Kanonenfieber (26/11/24, The Dome, London, England, UK)

Another year older and ornerior, but my birthday night-out on Tuesday left me feeling anything but the latter for a few hours, thanks to the enigmatic and prolific German metal maestro Noise bringing Kanonenfieber, his World War I–themed blackened-death project, to the Big Smoke. After listening to The Urkatastrophe, the impressive recently released sophomore album for which the tour is named, I pretty much had to grab a ticket.

Support for this campaign came from Panzerfaust, a Canadian black metal outfit with their own impressive discography (and hearing that they were part of the Freedom Convoy against the tyrannical Trudeau administration made me like ’em even more). They played only five songs on this set, but seeing how the average Panzerfaust song is shy of ten minutes, it added up to an album’s worth of material. With their unusual stage set-up—drummer Alex Kartashov front and center, flanked by guitarist–vocalist Brock Van Dijk and bassist Tom Gervais, and dedicated vocalist Goliath platformed at the back—and cast in an obscuring combo of light and shadow, they thundered through their specially selected setlist consisting of songs from all four of their Suns of Perdition series of albums, including two from the newly released fourth installment. The epic ‘The Hesychasm Unchained’, the especially melodic ‘The Far Bank at the River Styx’, and ‘Promethean Fire’, with Goliath’s bellows therein reminding me of a latter-day Jaz Coleman. Fantastic set, and it was nice speaking to the band at the merch stand afterwards. Hope they return for a headline show.

In contrast to their support, the Kanonenfieber troupe made their masked selves otherwise visible to the audience, all the better for the show, which featured Noise and his Waffenbrüder going through several costume shifts and re-enactments over the course of their 80-minute set. Soundwise, everything sounded stellar. Unlike quite a number of recently attended gigs that had issues with vocals being submerged beneath instrumentals, both the latter *and* Noise sounded loud, crisp, and clear, ensuring the impressive visual spectacle didn’t overshadow the aural centrepiece. Standout moments in a sterling set included Noise firing a gas gun into the audience during ‘Der Fusilier’, the transfixing intensity of ‘Grabenlieder’, the industrial stylings of ‘Kampf und Sturm’, the cameraderie during the excellent ‘Waffenbrüder’, and Noise donning his deathmask for closing song ‘Ausblutungsschlacht’.

In short, an epic show all round, a definite contender for gig of the year, and a birthday to remember. Maybe Noise could return with Non Est Deus, his brilliantly blasphemous black-metal project (redundant, I know), same time next year.

~MRDA~

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Been Awhile, Ain’t It?

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Feels like an aeon since I last wrote anything substantial here (i.e., other than a post of this vein), during which time, I’ve been occupying my time with the rigours of work, assisting in the proofreading and/or copyediting  of some neat tomes, and rediscovering the joys of gig-going. On a more global level, the world has experienced, amongst other things, the election, and recent re-election, of the most entertaining American president of my lifetime, a Sinosourced pandemic that served as the pretext for many a state across the world to do what it does best—increase its powers at the expense of the freedoms of those under its control—and the (re-)ignition of a war in the easternmost part of Europe; more locally, on this Sphinctered Isle of mine, a monarch passed into history, and a succession of PMs came and went following the voterbase’s decision to sever from an overarching superstate entity, including a dancing queen, a war-whisperer who helped hike up the price of living with his cajolery, the 50-day wonder, and, hopefully very soon, the anarcho-tyrannist incarnate currently subjecting the populace to a demographically-discriminating application of crime and punishment.

So, yes, things haven’t exactly been quiet, even if I have.

In any case , I’d like to welcome the five of you reading this to the infernal renaissance, during which , I’ll be elaborating on some of the above, and more besides. Maybe, I’ll even throw in the odd gig review to break the momentum  here ‘n’ there.

Hell’s reopened up, and you’re all invited.

~MRDA~

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Reflection, Revival, & Resolution: Towards an Infernal Rekindling

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Well, I guess the Infernal Return didn’t play out in quite the fashion I planned. Despite my best wishes to revive regular posting in 2017, other affairs, great and small, put paid to my ambitions. Without going into detail, my attention span, when not diverted, was shot to hell for much of the year.

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But this is 2018, and I’m kinda bored of letting fresh, wriggling commentary-bait slip from my grasp, so I’m gonna make a point of actually adding to this here Inferno. More specifically, I’m gonna make a point of doing so regularly: at least an entry a fortnight, barring any glaring adversities. Many a promising idea for a post has perished at the hands of procrastination over the past year, and I’m looking to punt that bitch in the cunt this time around.

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So, here’s what you can expect from Yours Truly over the course of the current year:

  • A greater focus on “the arts”, i.e., quite a few music/movie/series/literature overviews, some of new and up-and-coming releases, others of stuff long overdue for an appraisal. Titles up for the Infernal treatment include: Frank Fleming’s Superego; Sarah Perry’s Every Cradle is a Grave; Andy Nowicki’s Heart Killer; the multiplicity of books by Ann Sterzinger; Gerald B.Lorentz’s Homo, 99 and 44/100% Nonsapiens; Sean Gabb’s Freedom of Speech in England:Its Present State and Likely Prospects; Ismael Sarepta’s Madame Einzige: Amor Fati; Devilman Crybaby; M.D. Geist; Violence Jack; Secretary; and whichever flick I see at the cinema on any given week.
  • More timely commentary on current events.
  • A look back on a few key stories and events of the recent past which provided food for thought in some way, whether personal, political, or philosophical.
  • Meditations on such topics as: the virtues of extremism and the pitfalls of “moderation”; MILS (Mothers I’d Love to Sterilise); how to deal with ISIS tourists; how the it’s-just-words defence makes a hypocrite of many a free-speech advocate; the link between militant Mohammedism and mythology; Mersault, as proto-thought criminal; Popper’s pathetic paradox; selfishness and suicide; why Erdoğan is the Turkish Triggypuff; the strawmanning of Sanger; and, as ever, the myriad reasons democracy was a mistake
  • More multisyllabic misanthropy.

So, make no mistake when  say that, this time, the long growling hiatus is at an end, and the furnace is finally back in full working order. Moete, motherfuckers!

~MRDA~

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Reprobate Resurgence: MRDA’s Infernal Return!

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Well, that was the longest fucking hiatus ever! How’ve you cunts been?

There’s so much I’ve wanted to say over the past ten or so months, but life and lethargy got in the way. Hopefully, the latter is over, writing-wise.

So, yeah, get ready for an Infernal influx of posts on a variety of topics, including:

Lushes and reprobates: Hell’s opened up once more, and you’re all invited!

~MRDA~

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