Saturday the 12th of April not only marked the day the “Unholy Trinity” of Behemoth, Satyricon, and Rotting Christ, descended upon London’s Brixton Academy but also the first time I’d been to the venue since it reopened a year ago, following the Big Bumrush of 2022 and its ensuing fatalities, not to mention the first time I’d been there in three years full stop. So, yeah, despite the long slog to get there and its location, I’ve missed the venue, and what better reason to return than for a triple bill of black(ened) metal?
That said, this was pretty much a case of one band being *much* more of a draw for me than others, and not the headline band at that. I’m talking about the mighty Satyricon, slap bang in the middle of the bill. As well as enjoying their discography a considerable amount, I’d previously been impressed by their Download set back in 2006, a definite standout on that bill even with only four songs. This one went several songs better, with the likes of ‘Black Crow on a Tombstone’, ‘To the Mountains’, ‘Deep Calleth upon Deep’, and, to my greatest pleasure, ‘Repined Bastard Nation’. Satyr and co put on a blinding show, belting out these favourites with the prowess and powerful I remember from that short Download set. Satyr especially sounded chuffed to be back in the Brixton after a quarter of a century, remarking on it as the best looking venue he’s played at. Here’s hoping he and the band take a tenth of that time to return for a much more fitting headline show.
Prior to Satyricon, Rotting Christ opened the show with their brand of true Hellenic black metal, garnering considerable elation from the audience for the first act on the bill. At first, I wasn’t that taken with the numbers chosen for the setlist, partly because I’m still getting acquaintanced with this band in a general sense with nothing quite hitting consistently when it comes to private listening. However, things picked up considerably toward the end of the set with the tracks ‘Non Serviam’, ‘Grandus Spiritus Diavolos’, and a cover of Thou Art Lord’s ‘Sociatas Satanas’. A momentum-building, ultimately satisfying intro to the night.
As for the headliners, I will first and foremost commend them for knowing how to put on a fucking show! After the, by their own admission, slightly neutered Lordi show at the Islington Academy just days prior, it was great to see a band playing at a venue unafraid to let its guest performers go wild, and Behemoth delivered fully on that count with costumes, pagentry, and pyrotechnics galore.
Musically, I do find their overall catalogue to be quite hit and miss, despite admiring frontman Nergal’s unerring ability to make Christoids cry, especially those at the helm in his home country of Poland; their brand of blackened death is better executed more consistently by the likes Belphegor and Necrophobic, who both maintain a recognisable sound without descending into the sameness that often plagues Behemoth on record.
That said, the setlist served as a pretty decent cribbing of their most memorable and distinctive numbers plus some newer numbers from their upcoming Shit ov God album. Highlights included opener ‘The Shadow Elite’, the epic, soaring ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’, the pummelling menace of ‘Ov Fire and the Void’, the apocalyptic riffage of ‘Chant for Eschaton 2000’, and the set-closing infernal hymnal ‘O Father, O Satan, O Sun’. I also found it amusing that of all songs, the much maligned title track of the upcoming album got some the loudest applause and fanfare of the night.
An unholy trinity indeed, and a welcome return to a much missed venue to boot! My only major regret? Not getting much closer to the stage.
Fun and frolics at the monster show last fortnight as Lordi swept through the capital once again, this time to promote their new album, Limited Deadition. They brought with them Italian industrial rockers Sick ‘n’ Beautiful, who put on quite the eye ‘n’ ear-catching set themselves, with band members who looked like caricatures of Al Jourgensen, buxom green-skinned stickswomen, a glow-titty frontwoman channeling post-apocalyptic priestess aesthetics at key moments, and, most importantly, strong numbers such as ‘(Human) Is Overrated’, ‘Makin’ Angels’, and a pretty robust cover of KISS’ ‘God of Thunder’ (the original serving as the intro to the headline set). A solid well-presented show, despite some meandering numbers, and I got a nice shot with the band at the night’s end.
As for the horrific headliners, they left a strong positive impression of their latest album, Limited Deadition, and with only four songs from it on the setlist too! The likes of ‘Syntax Error’, which had Mr Lordi hitting some impressive high notes, ‘Retropolis’, and ‘Hellizabeth’, my favourite of the four, stood out in their neon AOR ’80s-inspired glory, even if the latter was somewhat hampered by the band’s insistence on lacing a drawn-out skit through it. It seems as if Lordi decided to settle on a sound not unlike that on Humanimals, the “1989” album in their psuedohistorical anthology boxset, Lordversity (2021). The presence of a song from said album, ‘Girl in a Suitcase’, on the setlist reinforced that perception, as well as reminding me of the missed opportunity for a Lordversity tour.
In any case, the fresh fish sat comfortably next to veteran tracks like ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ (#ThatsWhatDaddyLikes), the storming ‘Blood Red Sandman’, and my introduction to the band, the ever anthemic ‘Would You Love a Monsterman?’ Sadly, due to cited restrictions at the Islington Assembly Hall, the Monster Squad couldn’t do full visual justice to their songs with pyrotechnics, but Mr Lordi at least brought the demon wings out to play for ‘Devil Is a Loser’, so I wasn’t too disappointed.
As ever, each band member got a segment and/or a skit between songs to flesh out the show, some amusing, others protracted beyond that point. To think that ‘My Heaven Is Your Hell’ could’ve made the setlist if not for the latter!
Still, gripes aside, it’s always a pleasure to see and hear these fiends live, a cause for Hard Rock Hallelujahs even,which delivered by the audience in abundance in response to the set-closing Eurovision-winning number. Good show, Monstericians! More pyros and less protraction next time, though.
Another evening of black metal at the Underworld on Saturday, with yet another Norwegian act headlining the bill, this time, the controversial Taake, marking the 20th anniversary of their third album, Hordalands doedskvad (Death Poems of Hordaland), or Doedskvad for short.
I first heard of the band via their controversies involving frontman Hoest (Ørjan Stedjeberg), particularly the one in which he set out to provoke Germany’s current authoritarian regime by wearing the symbol of the one it replaced and the one in which *others* smeared the symbol on him for daring to blaspheme against the religion of the Paedo of Peace. Impressed, I made a point to check out the actual music, which, language barrier aside, stands up substantially next to, and independent of, the “hype”.
Still, I remained on the fence about attending this one, what with having quite the procession of gigs lined up and only so much time to exploit; it was the inclusion of certain support acts that helped me decide to jump off and grab a ticket.
The first support of the night, London’s Vestia, started things with an eye to epic, their flowing robes complementing their grand-scope, Hellenically informed brand of black metal. Mining from their debut album, The Acheron, the four piece left a potent mark with the likes of full-steam opener ‘Unknown Goddess’, the, storm-to-slow burn of ‘Her Pale Shiver’, and ‘Hearth and Home’, an allusion to the Hellenic goddess for whom the band is named (Hestia + Vesta = Vestia). The whole band sounded crisp, with special mention going to vocalist/rhythm guitarist Elegy’s line of blackened shrieks and to lead guitarist Giannis, who beyond laying down some mean chords and riffs, appeared to be having the time of his fucking life whilst doing so, making something of a playground of his platform.
Still, Vestia’s epic ease-in paled in intensity next to the onslaught of the band that persuaded me to get hold of a ticket. I’m talking, once again, about Croydon’s finest, the crushing Necro Ritual, who delivered yet another blistering aural assault. As I and another audience member agreed, if you’re feeling sleepy or drowsy, this is a band that’ll wake you the fuck up!
Once again, the set opened with the tribal drumming of Talos (Jason Ludwig) ushering in the post-nuke dystopia of ‘Threads’, with each of his fellow instrumentalists following in his wake, slowly building to the crescendo; finally came vocalist Corseth (Rob Driscoll), bellowing out post-apocalyptic proclamations about how we’d be worked “until there’s fuck-all left”, all the while learning to “envy the dead”.
The rest of the set kept up the bilous energy I’ve come to expect and appreciate from them, with highlights including the blistering ‘Black Holocaust’, guitarist Abbatoir (Owen Watkins) exhorting the “fucking cunts” of the audience to bang their heads at the start of ‘Lycanfire’, Rob handing me a beer at the *end* of ‘Lycanfire’ (cheers for that!), and another airing of one of my favourite Necro Ritual tracks, the infectiously riffed ‘Irreligious’ (“Yes, it’s on the setlist!” bassist Void preemptively assured me, prior to doors opening). Sadly, ‘Bastard’, my other favourite, was benched for this outing, so I didn’t get a chance to “check the cunt’s still breathing” in this instance.
As ever, post-show convo was a pleasure, with Jason giving insight into the making of the ‘Threads’ video and Rob commenting more on this Sturmtiger stand-in set at Subterranean Manifestation the week before. However, I forgot to say this to them on Saturday: Get some headline slots, maybe even tours, under your bullet belts, maybe with the advent of the next album—fly that flag of Bysmer higher!
Speaking of headline slots, I’d expected Taake to do a straight-ahead playthrough of the Doedskvad album, maybe with some added songs from elsewhere in their discography to bulk up the set. A glance at the playlist disabused me of the former notion—it turned out that they’d pressed the shuffle button on the spotlighted album, throwing the number order in to disarray! As a result the set kicked off with ‘Hordalands Doedskvad VI’, the albums instrumental track, effectively buying Hoest some extra prep time before making his vocal introduction for ‘VII’ (the album’s closing track). A tall figure possessed of a piercing gaze, mask-like corpse paint, and an Aura Noir hoodie he certainly made a memorable visual, as well as vocal, impression. Every number of the album was done justice by the band, with ‘III’, ‘I’, and set closer ‘II’, my favourites from the album, really benefitting from the crisp instrumental work, particularly those tight tremolos. Of course, as I alluded to earlier, Hoest’s vocals certainly weren’t lacking, his native Norwegian rasps holding court formidably, even if I couldn’t understand a single lyric (unlike certain audience members who’d done to great pains to get a grasp on it—hats off to ’em!). That said, he wields the English tongue well enough to address the audience between songs, coming off as rather gracious (“We wish we could visit more, like we used to.”) and lamenting the Underworld’s clubnight curfew (“We’d play three hours if we could.”)
As things played out twas another top night of black metal, with the sound mix of the venue really doing justice to all three bands showcased, especially the headliner’s commemoration. Come back soon, you blasphemous bastards!
Saturday’s shenanigans were certainly memorable for multiple reasons.
Where to start? I suppose the beginning’s as good a place as any.
I was kinda worried when the opening time for the fourth Subterranean Manifestation arrived with no doors opening. Not that doors not opening on time is an unprecedented gig-going event (hello, Underworld and Islington Academy!), but seeing as this was an eight-band event, I started to wonder if one or several of them had taken an abrupt leave of the bill, which would’ve be in line of the series of dropouts/replacements leading up to the day of truth.
Anyway, after an extra 35-minute wait, the doors opened, and in I went, wondering if the lapse would have knock-on effects.
All started off well, however, with Polish blackened death troupe Inhumanization setting the tone for the day’s proceedings. Air-raid sirens introduced the menacing ‘March of the Burnt Spirits’, the first song on their setlist, a dirgier number than others in their catalogue. Nevertheless, the throat bellows of PanzerSpekktr and distinctive guitar tones of PanzerKkunt (AKA Mateo Zabawa, last seen by me as part of Black Altar, supporting Carpathian Forest at the Underworld) remained a constant throughout this and the more immediately, relentlessly aggressive numbers like ‘Cold Steel Jaws’ and the storming ‘All Hail Fear!’. A strong start, with not a setlist song skipped.
The knock-on effect of (and possible reason for) the late start started to take effect with the next band, war metallers Sturmtiger. I was disappointed to see that my two favourite tracks from their inventory, ‘War Is Eternal’ and ‘The Baron’, were absent from the setlist, only to hear that the planned half-hour set would be trimmed down by ten minutes; however, in something of a pleasant surprise, none other than Corseth/Rob from Necro Ritual balaclavaed up to assume last-minute vocal duties for the set, the band’s normal vox, PB, AKA Petr Alexandrovich Burov, being, according to Rob, “stuck in Russia” (perhaps the reason for the entry delay?). From my vantage point, I thought he did a respectable job given the circumstances, unlike the sound mixers, who turned gasmasked bassist SB’s instrument of choice so high up in the mix for opening track ‘Armoured Spearhead’, I started to wonder if I was listening to a war-metal remix of the Seinfeld soundtrack! Things got fixed toward the set’s end, however, with numbers like the excellent ‘Imperium’ getting the chance to make their intended mark.
Next up came bestial death-metallers Gorgon Vomit, who I’d first and last seen leading the opening strike for Diocletian at the Cart and Horses last year. A lot’s changed since then, with new albums and collabs added to their discography, plus some interesting unreleased numbers like ‘Melted’ and ‘Slew Dem’, which both made appearances on the setlist alongside more familiarly feral favourites like ‘Evangelise Satan’ and ‘Vomit ‘Pon the Icon’. Unfortunately, the late running of the proceedings had the band skipping over many a song on their scrawled setlists, eventually culminating in the sound team cutting the set short (much to the vocal displeasure of a Certain Member of the Audience, who I’ll return to later). Nevertheless, the band succeeded at leaving an impression, and not just with the tracks that made the cut: frontman Black Mane, AKA Cameron, brought his characteristic banter to the stage, taking a jab at the “pagan pussyhole Nazis” assembled in the audience; bassist (and ubiquitous gig presence) Diabolical Mocker, AKA Daniel, gave the audience some characterful low-end licks, approaching dub territory at certain points, very much in keeping with Cameron’s patois patter; Ballistik Undying Master, AKA Francis, showed no mercy to his skins and cymbals; and it was great to see axeman Omar shredding on both feet after his leg mishap last time.
Things took a turn for the better in terms of set times from the following set onwards, with Belgian black metallers Heinous being allowed to play out their full set, which was just as well given that it was a definite standout of the whole night. This was especially welcome as they’d grabbed my attention the least out of all the bands on the bill in terms of studio output, however the tight, precise performances from bullet-bonced frontman P.F Hraesvelg (Thibault Lampe) and his instrumental section (some of whom’ll show up on stage again later in the night) sounded sterling, with full-throated shrieks, tumultuous tremolo riffs and ballistic blastbeats. Especially standout moments included ‘Last Days of the Apostates’ (during which, I caught the attention of that Certain Member of the Audience I mentioned earlier) and ‘Seven Sins of the Light’, great examples of why this set persuaded me to give their discography another shot.
French *mort noir* merchants Vortex of End weren’t too shabby either, presenting a sliver of their black catalogue to the audience in formidable fashion. Set opener ‘Perdition Whorl’, ‘Transvbstantiation’, with its vocal interjections from bassist ÖberKommander666 (Youenn), and penultimate track ‘Fvlgvr.Lvx.Terror’ did the band especially proud. Vocalist-axeman NGH (who’d show up in the next set in a purely instrumental role) made a memorable work of blending wailing vocals in amongst the expected blackened shrieks, lending some extra character to his lungwork.
Speaking of whom, the latter took to the stage in purely instrumental role as part of Italian-originated infernalists Fides Inversa, who put on an absolutely fucking ferocious set that showcased but a fragment of their formidable back catalogue. Prolific frontman Wraath lived up to his *nom de guerre* staring down the audience with a stern, steely gaze very much in tune with the material showcased and taking to the stage’s edge to engage with those further back in the crowd, his flailing of the mic stand threatening to twat me in the face at certain points. Especially strong numbers were arresting opener ‘Pillars of the Adversary’ and the epic, defiant negation of ‘Transcendental Lawlessness’, an excellent pair of tracks in terms of both performance and lyricism.
Slaughter Messiah stepped up to bat next, bringing something of a party vibe into proceedings. Frontman Lord Sabathan (Franck Lorent) and axeman Rod “Iron Bitch Desecrator” (Rodrigue Soudant), last seen bassing and riffing it up in Heinous hours prior (prompting a cry of “Not you again!” from that Certain Audience Member), returned to the stage for some blackened thrashing mayhem, joined by sticksman John Berry and second axe-wielder D. Horse (Romain “Cheval” Delfosse). I was especially chuffed to hear ‘From the Tomb into the Pyre’, ‘Pouring Chaos’, ‘Black Speed Terror’, and ‘Bells of Damnation’ live for the first time, though it rankled me that they skipped over their self-titled theme tune, which I’d been especially looking forward to; nevertheless, the singalong to their cover of Bathory’s ‘Die in Fire’ was definitely a fine set-closer as well as a highlight of the fest. A thunderously strong set.
Finally, Swedish black/thrash metallers Unpure did a solid, seamless job of bringing the day’s proceedings to a close, leaning heavily on material from their latest album, 2024’s Prophecies Ablaze, with a sprinkling of songs from elsewhere in their arsenal. Personally, I would’ve liked to have heard more stuff from Coldland, the album that put them on my radar, but given the strong material from their latest—opener ‘Megalithic Gateways’, closer ‘Endtime Dictator’, and ‘The Witch of Upsala’, which got a Certain Audience Member especially (and violently!) animated (“This is what the fuck I’m talking about!” they cried, seconds before punching me in the chest)—it’s a minor gripe. A sturdy showcase from Kolgrim and co.
Still, that wasn’t *quite* the end of the night, as that Certain Audience Member and I capped the night off with a nice chat. Who the fuck am I on about? None other than Melissa “Jaded Lungs” Gray, frontwoman of “fist metal” pugilists Adorior. After spotting her at gigs prior to hearing the band, attending their album-release show, and providing footage from said show for the vid to ‘Scavengers of Vengeance’, it was great to finally have some in-person interaction with the woman. It kinda felt like the missing, jagged piece of the Adorior-gig puzzle being found, especially since both that and this event took place at the same venue (Downstairs at the Dome). Twas an exchange characterised by effortless rapport and cameraderie, mutual appreciation, dark humour (“Sweating like a rapist!”), and good-natured banter (“You’re an idiot but one of the good ones!”). Call it the cherry atop this Subterranean Sundae.
So, yes, as you can probably gather, my introduction to this particular showcase of extreme metal proved to be a Saturday to remember for a multiplicity of reasons. Will next year’s outing be as volatile and notable as this? I’ll let you know if I put in an appearance.
Monday night saw the Unholy Kingdom of Redemption tour hit the Black Heart in London, which was perfect for me given that it was a night off, I rather like the headliners, Overthrow, and the gig only cost nine quid; on top of that, the support bands, Infected Dead and Acid Vat, didn’t sound bad from a cursory listen.
They didn’t sound bad live either. First up came Acid Vat, setting the tone with a chunky, overbearing old-school death-metal sound, a unitary thread between slower, less familiar chugs like opener ‘Vat Massacre’ and ‘Misery Enslaved’ and the all-out onslaughts of ‘Cannibal Sanctuary’ and ‘Shrapnel Brains’. There were points where vocalist Jordan Sheffield scolded the audience for not fully losing it; for my part at least, twas down to a relative lack of familiarity with the (presumably) newer and slower numbers. The more relentless, previously heard tracks, familiar from their Dead Flesh Architect EP, presented far less of a barrier to a good headbang. Solid start.
Next up came Infected Dead, who also showcased new, unreleased material alongside more familiar numbers like ‘Samsara’ and set standout ‘Invocation of Unspeakable Gods’. Going by the sounds of the newer material, such as show opener ‘In Spaces Beyond’, it sounds as if it’ll sit quite respectably alongside what’s already unleashed, even if frontman Lou Ede’s vocals on the aforementioned opener fell victim to the Black Heart’s recurring sound mixing issues. Also, kudos to Lou for sorting me out a free copy of the band’s Archaic Malevolence EP (which still hasn’t turned up in the post despite my ordering it over a month ago, but Lou provided insight into that issue too).
Finally, Overthrow topped the night off with their reliably vicious brand of blackened-death aural aggression, kicking off proceedings with my favourite tune of theirs, the unrelentingly vicious ‘Caustic Vengeance (Blindly Driven)’, which, as ever, was almost worth the admission price alone. That’s not to say they peaked there and went downhill, however. The excellent ‘Ruptured Nebula’, also from their latest release, the EP Ascension of the Entombed, was another notable performance, igniting some spirited pit action from the audience in a manner no track before or after did. I also gained a whole new appreciation for ‘Seeds of Disease’, often the token setlist track from their album Strike Down the Saviour but accompanied this time by another from that album ‘Shots Fired’. There was even a promising glimpse of things to come by way of new track ‘Serpent Throne’, which maintains the blastbeating, tremolo intensity of the Ascension EP. Speaking of which, its title track closed up the night’s proceedings in fine fashion, taking the spot usually reserved for a (this-time conspicuously absent) Mötorhead or Slayer cover. Twas also great to chat with Gareth (lead guitarist), Scott (drummer, for both Overthrow *and* Infected Dead), and Jay (vox, rhythm guitarist) afterward, Jay being in a considerably better mood than when I last saw them, supporting Massacre at the Underworld.
So, all in all, a solid night of British death-metal brutality—nice one, all!
Last Thursday night was a black-metal triple bill down at the Underworld, with Norwegian notables Carpathian Forest, last seen by me at last year’s Incineration Fest, returned to the Big Smoke for a fully fledged headline show, bringing along London-based Polish occultists Black Altar, and fellow badger-painted Norwegian perverts Svarttjern along for the ride.
The latter stepped up first with an impressive, high-energy set to get the night off to a strong start. Frontman HansFyrste had a decent line in risqué raconteurage, dedicating the viscerally monikered, razor-guitared’Chop, Slit, Fray’ to “the little babies sacrificed”, describing odes to decadence and debasement such as ‘Aluminum bat Domina’ and ‘Hymns for the Molested’ as the “love songs” of the set, and, of course, inviting the audience to pay homage to His Infernal Majesty with ‘Hail Satan’.
It helps that his vocals during the songs are up to snuff too, matching the aggression and bite of his instrumental section, three of whom (drummer Andun, lead guitarist HaaN, and bassist Malphas) pulled, and pull, double duty in the headline band. The From the opener ‘Prince of Disgust’ to the closing ‘Code Human’, their setlist proved consistently impressive enough, on record and in person, for me to order up their back catalogue, so result!
Where Svarttjern impressed sonically, Black Altar did so visually, donning robes, cloaks, and, in the case of main vocalist Kruhl, skull masks, all whilst performing round a makeshift, erm, black altar adorned with skulls and Baphomet sculpts.
Twas quite the sight and the perfect accompaniment to ‘Path of Death’, which had Kruhl clasping one of the skulls, and the anthemic distinctiveness of ‘Ancient Warlust’, my favourite song of theirs, performed with a ritualistic yet rousing fanfare. Would watch again.
Carpathian Forest brought things back to the realms of grime and sleaze, their blend of rock ‘n’ roll black metal setting off the hitherto anticipatory audience. As at Incineration, Nattefrost and co put on a strong, solid, and (by black-metal standards) no-frills performance, grabbing, and holding onto, audience attention with fast-driving openers ‘Vi åpner porten til helvete…’ and ‘Skjend hans lik’.
Other highlights of the set included a rather ripping rendition of ‘The Swordsmen’, a crowdsurfer-inducing ‘The Beast in Man (The Origin of Sin)’ Nattefrost’s dedication of ‘Death Triumphant’ to his 22-years-deceased old man, which I didn’t know whether to process as sincere or as a stab at humour as black as the metal, and the band’s cover of The Cure’s ‘A Forest’, which, given its post-punk origins, allowed Malphas to shine as a (this time) bass-guitar hero. ‘Spill the Blood of the Lamb’ and ‘Mask of the Slave’ also made an impression as strong setlist moments, and hearing ‘Bloody Fucking Nekro Hell’ as part of the encore didn’t hurt either. Shame they left ‘Submit to Satan’ on the bench this time, though.
In any case, a nice ‘n’ nasty showcase of bilous black-metal belligerence, both old and new.
I’d been looking forward to Wednesday night’s Kim Wilde gig for quite some time, and in the end, it certainly lived up to the anticipation.
Before that, though, fellow ’80s luminaries Cutting Crew took to the stage for a short support set. Highlights included ‘One for the Mockingbird’, ‘The One I Love/Play with Fire’ (a medley cover of “one from the ’80s and one by people in their 80s”, according to frontman Nick Van Eede), newer track ‘Berlin in Winter’ (for which Nick donned what looked like a Ukraine shower curtain), based on the band playing to “20 people” in said city two days after the toppling of its infamous wall began, and, of course, the song that put them on the map, ‘(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight’, complete with an introductory solo by current lead guitarist Gareth Moulton. Good stuff.
Twas the main event, however, that took things to a higher level. Unlike many tours for longstanding artists that peaked in popularity decades prior, Wilde’s Closer setlist actually made a solid fist of showcasing material from the recently released album (2025) alongside that from its spiritual prequel, Close (1988). In other words, a solid, focused spotlight rather than a relatively scattershot “greatest hits” tour (which would not have bothered me in the fucking slightest, given the grab-bag of bangers scattered across her back catalogue, particularly from her first decade of albums).
A couple of tracks from the latter kicked off the set, one of which being one of my favourite Wilde tunes and the one that’s pretty much been playing in my head since the tour was announced, ‘You Came’, *not * a romantic love song or, as I like to joke, an ode to shooting one’s load but a heartfelt paean—co-written with her brother Ricky, also on stage as her axeman—to her then-newborn nephew Marty. This merits note, as the presence of family loomed large throughout the night, from her brother Ricky providing instrumental support onstage to various members of her family, including her famous dad, Marty, for whom aforementioned nephew (and, also, her youngest brother) was named, being present in the audience, plus her sister-in-law Mandy (wo)manning the merch stall outside the main hall (and what remarkably wallet-friendly merch it was too! Shame they didn’t have my favourite shirt in my size, though).
Most prominent of all, however, was Kim’s beloved niece Scarlett, providing backing vocals for her aunt and even sharing the spotlight on ‘Hourglass Human’, a collab from Closer, which, to the delight of my cold , misanthropic heart, Kim introduced as the song about “being angry with the human race”. Her presence was appreciated durung older gems like ‘Stone’ and ‘Never Trust a Stranger’ and newer notables like the apoealingly titled ‘Trail of Destruction’ and ‘Midnight Train’. The two shared a great rapport onstage, playing off each other with vocals, synchronised dances, and, particularly on the aforementioned collab, some inspired costume changes, which I’ll return to in a bit.
For all the noted weighting in the setlist, the highest point of my night was undoubtedly when Kim took things back to the early ’80s with a selection of songs from her first two albums, Kim Wilde (1981, AKA the year I also emerged on the scene) and Select (1982); it was great to hear ‘Cambodia’, ‘View from a Bridge’, and especially ‘Water on Glass’, the first song from her first album, live for the first time in all their new-wave synth glory.
It was also great, too, to bear witness to the mentioned wardrobe changes, particularly towards the end of the set. Not content with donning matching air-hostess caps with Scarlett during ‘Hourglass Human’, Kim upped the ante by raiding the more flamboyant, hitherto unseen items in M.Bison’s (or Vega’s, for all the purists and Nihonjin in the audience) warbrobe, a glittery dictator-cap and cape combo, for nightclub-sculpted number ‘Love Is Love’, then topping *that* with an impressive black steampunk number during her cover of The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ (probably my first exposure to Wilde, prominent as it was during its release upon my entry into primary school in 1986). The encore double-bill of new song ‘Scorpio’ and the song which it seems to share a synthline with, her ever addictive most famous tune, ‘Kids in America’ had her return to dictator chic, black rather than glitter this time, for domination of the stage and the adulation of the audience.
So, yes, a bloody good set and a dream come true, given how long I’d waited to see her live since being rebitten by the gig bug. As with other ’80s icons I’ve seen, Kim pipes still sound polished and powerful, and her band, who she expressed a heartfelt love and appreciation for, continue to do her justice. Not even the presence of the female fifttysomethings in my vicinity acting like bad caricatures of screaming teenage teenyboppers could put a sufficient dampener on proceedings. The next, hopefully ’80s heavy tour and my ensuing ticket purchase for such can’t happen soon enough.
Saturday night at Shepherd’s Bush gave London a triple-bill of old-school American punk rock to throw down to, with Detroit, Michigan, punkers Negative Approach serving as support for double-headling So-Cal stalwarts the Circle Jerks and the Descendents.
The former were certainly energetic and abrasive in sound, with frontman John Brennan looking like the wind had changed whilst he was sniffing a fart, bringing the right dose of mean mug to proceedings; however, many of the numbers that sounded great on record—’Pressure’, ‘Evacuate’, ‘Tied Down’, et al—were drowned out by the excess distortion employed for the live performances, rendering them, at best, barely discernable beneath the wall of noise. A real shame given their solid and distinctive back catalogue. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth fame dropped by for some guitar duelling with the band, which made for a pleasing visual spectacle. However the deluging of the distinct instrumentals and Brennan’s vocals made the set less than it could’ve been for me.
No such worries with the Circle Jerks, my main draw to the gig, who knocked out the likes of ‘Deny Everything’, ‘Trapped’, ‘Under the Gun’, ‘Wild in the Streets’, and ‘Live Fast, Die Young’ in sterling, highly recognisable form. With many of their songs clocking in at under a couple of minutes (their debut album, Group Sex, is just a quarter of an hour long), the band managed to pack 30 songs into their hour-long set. Dreadlocked frontman Keith Morris had a good rapport with the audience, every now and again going into somewhat lengthy vignettes on the backstories behind certain songs, elaborate namedrops, and the obligatory anti-Trump/-Musk dig (“I don’t want to drive a Nazi car!”). Musically, a strong live introduction to a playlist favourite, even if some of the between-song talk, for all its points of interest, got a little drawn out.
Finally, the Descendents gave me an insight as to who the grandfathers of the whole” pop-punk” subgenre are, many of their songs (‘Nothing with You’, ‘Silly Girl’, ‘I’m the One’, ‘Smile’) sounding pretty much like what you’d hear from the likes of Blink 182, Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, Sum 41, only more consistently memorable. It wasn’t all heartfelt infatuation and oneitis, though, as songs such as ‘Everything Sux’, ‘I Don’t Wanna Grow Up’, ‘Rotting Out’, ”Merican’, and ‘No Fat Burger’ amply demonstrated. Listening to their tour setlist before and during the gig gave me an ear to a goldmine of punk history I’d long slept on, so this gig served as something of an overall introduction to them. Frontman Milo Aukerman did his instrumental section and recorded output proud and then some, sticking his mic over the barriers for selective crowd-member paLet’s not get started on my failure to get hold of tour shirt!.rticipation every now and then. The once-again obligatory anti-Trump rant during the encore met with the expected applause from the audience too. I’d moved from the front by this time, however, as I’d spent half the set staring into the torsos of the security team intercepting the copious crowdsurfers rather than at the stage.
In summation, a simultaneously fun and frustrating* live intro to a trio old-school punk staples, familiar and otherwise.
*Let’s not get started on my failure to get hold of tour shirt!.
Sunday’s outing was something rather special: an indoor festival down sarf London way featuring bands of varying but adjacent genres, namely noise, power electronics, neofolk, and my main draw, black metal. In short, a combo of familiar sounds (and faces) and less charted ones.
1-800 Babylon kicked off proceedings, taking to the stage for a short joint “ritual ambient” set with fellow Italian act Aesthetic Cloth; it look me a little while to process that the long “intro” track, reminiscent of many I’ve heard for albums of other genres, was, in fact, the main attraction, much to my amusement once I’d clocked on. Then again, I suppose it served its purpose well as an intro to the general run of things, were one to combine the evening’s proceedings into one long setlist.
Next up came local act Will to Power, showcasing his brand of dissonant, ear-piercing, antagonistic noise. Shrill feedback punctuated by barked and decidedly pissed-off vocals was pretty much the state of play for his brief set. A memorable introduction to live power electronics.
Ludvigism followed him up with a set of sample-heavy experimentalism that nevertheless added a bit more in the way of structure and coherence to proceedings, what with the loops in sampling and programming. Not a bad set.
However, it was with the next set that things got *really* interesting.
Things started with a ritual on the floor in front of the stage, during which a rather arresting box of cassettes received a blessing in what sounded like a tongue once, maybe even currently, regionally, familiar to these isles. Afterward, those in proximity, myself included, were each gifted a cassette from the box.
The tribal drumming kicked in soon after, punctuated by the barks and cries of the semi-masked vocalist sharing the floor (and the chick next to me crying, “THAT’S MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND!”) —quite the spectacle and probably the most standout part of a standout night.
Turns out all this was the handiwork of RWFBTSA, a sideproject of the band Runeboy, who took to the stage for a more conventional, though no less impressive set. Think post-punk with elements of Oi! and neofolk, and you’ve nailed their sound. Being of a post-punk-enjoying persuasion, I thought, the set was great, with the likes of ‘Black Raven’, ‘Runegirl’, and ‘We’ve Already Won’ (the title of which being a recurring mantra throughout the set) making a strong impression with that rich, prominent bass sound. Judging by the pit action on the floor, the audience wasn’t exactly nonchalant either. Took me by surprise both as a band and a seemingly last-minute addition to the bill.
All that said, the iconography had a certain… völkisch flavour to them, so I sought out bassist Will for a chat at the merch store at the end, during which certain preconceptions were addressed and laid to rest in an amicable, forthcoming fashion. Twas also refreshing to hear someone else talk about rejecting Trojan-horsing and package-dealing in the realm of ideas (more on that in another post, perhaps).
Returning to more familiar ground, Necro Ritual, one of my two main draws to this festival, delivered yet another blistering blast of true Croydon black metal. Beginning with the aural apocalypse of their latest single, ‘Threads’, Corseth, a.k.a. Rob, and co., spared no one with favourites like ‘Black Holocaust’, ‘Homines Religiosi’, ‘Irreligious’ (a welcome addition, given that it’d been absent from their support setlist for Deströyer 666 last year), and, of course, ‘Bastard’. ‘Lycanfire’, seemingly another new un, made a good impression too.
Another storming set, with some inspired growls from Corseth, on-point instrumentals from the rest of the gang, and the band were, as ever, an amiable bunch offstage, particularly Rob and drummer Talos (a.k.a Jason). Only another appearance by Trivax’s Shayan for another, Ramadan-fitting, rendition of ‘Bellum Sacrum’ could’ve made this better.
Bringing the set to a suitably sanguine close was Yorkshire’s Blood Countess, delivering a tight and unrelenting set of songs dedicated to ol’ Liz Bathory herself.
Frontwoman Nina Daemonia (a.k.a The Cuntess) sustained her black-metal rasp throughout, and by throughout, I mean between tracks too. The instrumentalists, including Steve Blackwood, Nina’s hubby and the bloke behind similarly impressive solo project WynterMyst, did a sterling job, with the stirringly melodic tremolo-picking being a particular standout. ‘Storms over Carpathia’ sounded fucking epic live, and the likes of ‘Orgasm Leading to Death’, ‘Ferenc Nádasdy’, and ‘Ululation of the Grief-Stricken Peasants’ didn’t sound too shabby either.
So, yeah, an interesting and, ultimately, thoroughly satisfying evening of musical prowess, experimental introductions, and camaraderie in familiar and unexpected places. Same again next year, hopefully.
Impressed as I was with their support slot when I saw Priest last year, and considering that this was being touted as their touring swansong, I decided to give Uriah Heep’s Magician’s Farewell tour a gander last Wednesday.
Support came in the form of Canadian lomgstanders April Wine and the hard-rocking Tyketto. The latter opened the show with a rather impressive set that introduced me to ’90s AOR bangers such as ‘Wings’, ‘Burning Down Inside’, ‘Strength in Numbers’, and the song they wrote to encourage birds to get their tits out, ‘Lay Your Body Down’.
April Wine followed up with a serviceable set, the likes of ‘Big City Girls’, ‘Oowatanite’, and ‘Roller’ perking things up, if not quite to the same extent as the previous act.
Things, of course, picked up considerably once Uriah Heep hot the stage, claiming attention and setting the course with the oldy–newy combo of ‘Grazed by Heaven’ and ‘Save Me Tonight’; from then on, it was a setlist of stuff from what their more diehard fans would consider their classic era (‘Stealin”, ‘The Wizard’, the excellent ‘Shadows of Grief’, and the ever lovable, if shortened, ‘Gypsy’) and newer gems (‘Hurricane’). Current vocalist Bernie Shaw mainly dominated the between-song bantage with some interjection from axeman and sole original member Mick Box, both noting the passage of time, the ups and downs of touring, and their plans to keep things alive in the studio following their retirement from the road.
A sterling encore double-bill of ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Easy Livin” closed the last show of their last (?) UK tour to the applause of the audience, myself included. Given how much I dug it, I can only imagine how much more it made its mark on the more hardcore fanbase.
Martinez Clips’ X – https://x.com/martinez_clips Spencer’s X – https://x.com/RichardBSpencer Video Link – https://x.com/martinez_clips/status/1… The post The Influence of Russia on the Dissident Right first appeared on Attack the System.
Martinez Clips’ X – https://x.com/martinez_clips Spencer’s X – https://x.com/RichardBSpencer Video Link – https://x.com/martinez_clips/status/1… The post Russian Assets in the Right – Richard Spencer first appeared on Attack the System.
Krystal and Emily discuss SCOTUS greenlights Trump Ed Department attacks, Charlie Kirk says trust Trump on Epstein, Megyn Kelly dismantles Ben Shapiro, Republicans block Epstein file release, Cuomo launches doomed Zohran challenge, Trump pressures Zelensky to bomb Moscow, Bibi tells Trump Iran war on again, ICE tracking app […] The post 7/15/25: MAGA ‘Trust Trump’ […]
Homebuilding and Renovating Newsletter is not usually a place where one would expect to see a story to make the blood boil. But it has this: “Council’s £70k error stayed hidden for years, until one man refused to back down”. Steve Dally never expected a minor tweak to his home improvement plans would end in […]
As Ferguson’s law states, any great power that spends more on debt servicing than on defence risks ceasing to be a great power. While defence spending is expected to total £56.9 billion in 2025, debt interest is almost double that at £104.9 billion — comprising 8.2% of total public spending. All of this is to […]
(An extension of a few points I mentioned in this video concerning education.) So-called educational systems teach young students what to believe, how to behave, and perhaps skills deemed necessary—not to question. (To a considerable degree, teaching what to believe … Continue reading →
A brief excerpt taken from Book III of Volume I of The Constellation of Man. These metaphors, like others I use in the book, introduce realism concerning the novelty of our personal appearance on preconstructed stages of history and human culture, atop mind … Continue reading →
Two things amaze me, again and again, about American enthusiasm for rancor in politics. I. Vengeance welcomes and relishes any opportunities to humiliate or oppress one’s opponents, but shows no foresight of how this creates a precedent—a legal and cultural … Continue reading →
by John Grauerholz Your medical record is something that will always be used against you. Your medical history only exists to record your physical humiliations. A doctor is not there to cure you, but to cause you as much consternation as possible. A physician’s role is not to heal a patient of your ilk, but […]
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} by John Grauerholz It is the future that persecutes us. The communitarians would have us break […]
One might think that few people were more annoyed by the 2019 British general election than the conservative author and commentator Ed West. Here he was, preparing to publish his book Small Men on the Wrong Side of History (Little, … Continue reading →
The first time I met Andrew Sabisky we walked through central London for hours and neither his energy or my interest flagged. This is a rare combination. There are people who can talk for a long time and there are … Continue reading →
I began this decade in London, a physical wreck, mentally ruined, almost friendless and facing the grim realisation that not only was “creative writing” a titanically stupid course to pick but my writing sucked. As bad as all this was, … Continue reading →
As mentioned in my previous post, directly after finishing Allan Bloom’s “The Closing of the American Mind” I started reading Saul Bellow’s “Ravelstein”, which is a roman a clef about Bloom’s life and death subsequent to the success of that book, for which Bellow (fictionalized as the narrator “Chick”) is given responsibility for convincing Bloom/Ravelstein […]
I had heard that Allan Bloom’s book was a big deal back in the day, but on reading it I can hardly believe that it was. His focus is rather narrowly on elite schools and students of the humanities there, and not because of downstream consequences on the rest of society (though he does place […]
Despite having a WordPress site, there are no WordPress comments, so I could only send a message that might disappear into the void, so I decided to copy it here as well (with some added links to my blog posts): I started listening some months back after some listener started spamming various places about the […]
Like the uncollapsed quantum state holding Schrodinger’s cat in a state of simultaneous life and death, whether a school is “teaching critical race theory” or not seems to depend entirely on whether the inquiring person wants them to. Are you anti-CRT? Then, you may rest assured, American schools most certainly aren’t teaching CRT. (If you […]
Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. — Proverbs 9:1 T. E. Lawrence is the Lawrence, of Arabia, and Seven Pillars of Wisdom is his autobiographical account of his time spent serving in the British and Arab armies during World War One. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ve got the […]
Scott Anderson’s Lawrence in Arabia is, quite obviously, about the famous T. E. Lawrence “of” Arabia. The book ranges significantly wider than Lawrence’s personal account, however, shifting between the perspectives of Ottoman officials, German spies, American spies, Zionist spies, and of course British spies. I read this book concurrently with The Berlin-Baghdad Express, so my […]
We boldly claim to change the world, with one simple dogmatic rule! TOTAL HONESTY, and intolerance for deception, can change the world for the better. One simple rule! Honesty is the #1 necessity for a modern scientific society PC deception and lies are the CAUSE for the downfall of Western civilization. Total honesty and full disclosure are […]
HIgh school teen faces 10 years in prison for sexting female classmate Teen sexting case highlights severity of N.C. sex offender laws A North Carolina teenager faces felony sex crime charges after police discovered sexually explicit photographs of a sixteen-year-old girl on his cell phone. Cormega Copening is a seventeen-year-old high school student at Jack […]
Formerly honest and unbiased vote counting is another institution infiltrated with and taken over by leftist activists. Leftists think deception is virtuous to reach higher goals. Dishonest partisan election officials “cured” problem ballots. This must be exposed, opposed, reversed. Continue at Sincerity.netWait, there is more! This article continues! Continue reading »Vote counting corrupted in USA, […]
On December 31, 2023 the Berkeley anarchist publisher and distributor Little Black Cart / Ardent Press closed shop after many years of the project producing fascinating and challenging work, often finding it brought them at odds with many in the anarchist milieu they operated in. After the Underworld Amusements edition of The Unique and Its […]
Dora Marsden was born in the village of Marsden in 1882. In 1900 began teaching at Owens College, where she met Christabel Pankhurst and other suffragists. Dora joined them and became a leader in the Women’s Social and Political Union (WPSU) by 1908. The following year she resigned as a teacher and became a full […]
The Union of Egoists website was announced April 1st of 2016 with the release of Max Stirner Bibliography by Trevor Blake. Happy anniversary to the royal Us. The idea for this site and much else was crystalized in a chat of February 2nd, 2016 between Trevor Blake and Kevin I. Slaughter. This chat was printed in our […]
