Aggrotech masters Combichrist brought their Europe Not My Enemy tour to Dublin and with them were synthwave maestro’s Priest and doom trap mistress Mimi Barks
Opening the night was Mimi Barks and hailing from Berlin now based in London since 2019 and a two piece, backed by a drummer, between the pair of them they can really make some noise in the most possible of good ways. Mimi most of the time seeming as she has just been possessed by a demon that’s channelling the most beautiful sounds of doom trap and playing for just over 30 minutes and songs from her Ep Enter the Void + singles.
Second up were a band I missed earlier this year when the played their own headline show in the same venue, something Mercury (lead singer) mentioned during their set and that was non-other than Synthwave boys Priest, hitting the stage with all band member’s in full black and masked. Salt (Keyboard’s) Sulfur ( Keyboard’s & Programming) wearing black rubber death doctor ones and Mercury wearing a kind of black rubber cyborg mask including one eye with a red light
Just to mention Mercury & Salt used to be Water & Air in doom metal giants Ghost.
Their set consisted of old and new tracks which kept their fans that were in attendance very happy, their were as many Priest t-shirt there as there was Combichrist. The band were everything I had hoped and more with lots of crowd interaction with hand shakes / finger tipping and Mercury beckoning people to the front to touch the tops of heads, it was a little funny at times as some were reluctant to come forward and had to be persuaded to.
Main act Combichrist came on stage at 9.30 and with a force that you knew this was going to get heavy and hot in the already boiling venue. Anyone that has seen Combichrist will know what a stage presence Andy LaPlegue has and standing right in the front under him kind of was a bit daunting lol.
The band were as always wearing their faces painted and each other member having their own stage presence which makes watching Combichrist a joy to behold as they twist and contort about the stage and switching instrument’s at times.
By the third song I thought it time to get out of the front and leave it to the crowd to enjoy the mosh pit, which to be honest I don’t know how anyone was able for in the heat I have never sweated so much just standing in the one spot lol, just as well the venue has a beer garden where we could at times get some air, which many made use of, but not for long as the band were so good you didn’t want to miss much.
Set List.
Heads Off
Not My Enemy
Guns At Last Dawn
Throat Full of Glass
Get Your Body Beat
Satans Propaganda
Blut Royale
Exit Eternity
Compliance
Hate Like Me
No Redemption
Zombie Fistfight
Slakt
Shut Up and Swallow
Can’t Control
_______________________
Never Surrender
Modern Demon
Maggots at the Party
What the Fuck Is Wrong With You?
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