Kreator – Brixton Academy, 27/03/2026
After staking an early claim to the Album Of The Year crown back in January with their latest (and terribly named) effort Krushers Of The World, Kreator return to London once more, again bringing one hell of a line-up with them as they continue to go to ever-greater peaks. Tonight was sure to be an early gig highlight of the year with the quality on offer; from reliable favourites to rare sights, it was a bill that had it all.
Nails 18:20-18:50
I await their collaboration with MC Hammer with bated breath
Kicking off proceedings with one hell of a loud bang were US grind veterans Nails, a rare sight on these shores. The early start time (just gone six on a Friday) likely meant that many attendees were still filtering in as Nails began tearing London a new one. Nails played to a respectable, if not full, crowd and proceeded to assault the senses of anyone stood in the venue. Emerging to Motörhead's "Built For Speed", they took this to heart, as they only took brief moments between their chaotic chainsaw attack to thank the crowd and the bands on the bill.
Even though the band were only on for half an hour, once the initial brutality subsided into desensitisation, Nails’s set plateaued and never really went to the next level. Enjoyable, but nothing spectacular.
Nails setlist:
01. Suffering Soul
02. Lacking The Ability To Process Empathy
03. Conform
04. Scum Will Rise
05. Violence Is Forever
06. God's Cold Hands
07. Wide Open Wound
08. Made To Make You Fail
09. I Can't Turn It Off
10. I Will Not Follow
11. Endless Resistance
12. You Will Never Be One Of Us
13. Unsilent Death
Exodus 19:10-19:55
Will anything about this return go right?
Well, if Kreator are in the running for album of the year, then conversely, Exodus are in the running for disappointment of the year with their latest effort Goliath. Still, if there is one band who can be counted on for bringing it live, then it’s the unofficial fifth member of the Big 4.
Walking on stage to the opening strains of "3111", the band proceeded to kick into life as the sound engineer decided to go for a break, as good lord did the sound quality take a nosedive. It wasn't until the rhythm of the chorus did I realise that Exodus had finished "3111" and immediately went into "Bonded By Blood", such was the poor sound. Thankfully, this tea break finished quickly, as things picked up during "Deathamphetamine". While things got better, it never truly felt quite right (something that would continue throughout the evening, even with moving around the venue).
Dukes may not have the charisma of Zetro or the animalistic charm of Baloff, but he does have the rebel attitude, namely being the only one to defy the venue's strict policy not to incite audience physical participation... so cue mosh pits and crowd surfers galore, though this didn't help him lumber through "Goliath". Still, the band ended on a high note (two audience members getting the chance to play Altus' guitar as they managed to climb up on stage) with a trio of classics to see the night off.
Probably the worst showing I've seen from the band, solely due to the poor sound.
Exodus setlist:
01. 3111
02. Bonded By Blood
03. Deathamphetamine
04. Blacklist
05. Goliath
06. A Lesson In Violence
07. Toxic Waltz
08. Strike Of The Beast
Carcass 20:15-21:05
Not dead yet
As half the venue checked their phones to see the England score, the other half checked to see if the sound engineer had a pulse and wasn't being Weekend At Bernie'd. All eyes returned to the front as Liverpool's own Carcass emerged on stage, and a shock resonated across the crowd; no, not that there was a group of scousers not wearing tracksuits for the first time in history, but Walker has cut his hair!
Well, once the shock had died down, the band was already well into the underrated "Unfit For Human Consumption", before immediately following with the classic "Buried Dreams". While the sound had thankfully improved, and the excellent guitar work could be appreciated, something continued to feel off for the whole set.
Still, this was offset by a set of melodeath classics, with a good chunk off of Heartwork; heck, even a rare outing of "Death Certificate" was included to add to the spectacle. Letting the music do the talking, Carcass edged a sonically handicapped Exodus and (spoiler alert) Kreator to be band of the night.
Carcass setlist:
01. Unfit For Human Consumption
02. Buried Dreams
03. Incarnated Solvent Abuse
04. No Love Lost
05. Death Certificate
06. Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1 In B)
07. Genital Grinder
08. Exhume To Consume
09. Corporal Jigsore Quandary
10. Heartwork
Kreator 21:30-22:55
Health and safety must have had kittens
After what felt like a gauntlet being thrown down by Carcass, it was going to be interesting how Mille and the mob planned to top that. Well, any attendee sober enough to notice the two Kreator-adorned trucks you had to walk past to get in the venue could guess: it was with an extravagant stage show.
It might be a case of having seen the band so regularly in recent years, or that at this point in their career they have so many albums that it's not possible to balance older material beyond the established hits and new cuts, but I found myself not enjoying myself as much as I have in recent years. The sound improved a lot at this point thankfully, enabling new cuts like "Satanic Anarchy" and "Loyal To The Grave" to breathe in a way they can't on record.
It was alas unfortunate to hear that Ross The Boss had passed as Mille dedicated "Krushers Of The World" to the fallen axe slinger. It’s a shame that Kreator have so many songs in recent years to honour departed legends, casting a temporary sombre pall as you realised how many have fallen along the way.
With the highlights being the out-and-out thrash classics "People Of The Lie", "Betrayer" and "Hordes Of Chaos", Kreator may have crossed the line into spectacle rather than show, but at least when they reach back into their earlier material they can still assault your eardrums with precision.
A good time no doubt, but one that I think I've seen all too often in recent years, which reduced the impact somewhat.
Kreator setlist:
01. Seven Serpents
02. Hail To The Hordes
03. Enemy Of God
04. Satanic Anarchy
05. Hate Über Alles
06. People Of The Lie
07. Betrayer
08. Krushers Of The World
09. Hordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue For The Elite)
10. Satan Is Real
11. Loyal To The Grave
12. Phantom Antichrist
13. Endless Pain
14. 666 - World Divided
15. The Patriarch
16. Violent Revolution
17. Pleasure To Kill
Conclusion:
While on paper tonight had ‘night to remember’ written all over it, thanks to a poor sound throughout it was a show that largely failed to live up to its potential. While I'm still glad I attended, it is unlikely to be one of those shows you speak about for years to come, rather one best left to memory.
Hellripper – The Dome, 04/04/2026
After a week hiatus, it was back to London once more to celebrate Easter. Usually celebrated with lambs and chocolate eggs, tonight was all about goats... and thrash. Yes, this blustery spring night saw Scottish thrash sensations Hellripper play a sold-out show, on what is their largest headline show to date. Off the back of their recently released fourth album, Hellripper were back on the road again and tearing Europe a new one.
Originally slated to take place at the smaller Downstairs At The Dome (conventionally located just downstairs from The Dome, would you believe) and featuring Swedish Sarcator as show openers, the show was upgraded due to demand and the latter band pulled out, to be replaced by Devastator.
Devastator 19:30-20:10
Looked like a great solo, shame you can't hear it!
As aforementioned, Devastator were replacements on the bill, an appearance that I felt would be a double-edged sword for the band: good in that it got them exposed to their perfect audience, but one that would highlight the glaring similarities between themselves and the headliners (to the point the former has a track "Worship The Goat" and the latter "All Hail The Goat"... I prefer lamb curry myself though).
It was, however, a moot point, as this satanic trio put on a solid show that showed them to be no mere imitation. With an early outing of the aforementioned "Worship The Goat" and other similarly strong cuts like "Witching Hour", Devastator got the crowd moving and left a strong impression on the audience. With a member of the audience demanding "Iron Fist", the band duly obliged and played the Motörhead classic at nigh-on double the speed of the original.
The only negative would be the absence of the lead guitar in the mix, leading to a comical scene that the lead guitar would tear out a fast shredded solo that sure looked impressive: a shame you could only just about hear it!
Devastator setlist:
01. Conjurers Of Cruelty / Walpurgisnacht
02. Black Witchery
03. Liar In Wait
04. Worship The Goat
05. Send Them To Hell / Death Slut
06. Spiritual Warfare
07. Iron Fist
08. Baptised In Blasphemy
Schizophrenia 20:30-21:15
Can I get my free drink now?
I'm not saying that I've seen Schizophrenia a lot, but what I am saying is that if concerts ran a stamp system every time you see a band, I'm pretty sure I could redeem my Schizophrenia stamps and get a free drink by now. Whether it's Stockholm syndrome or getting to know the band's live show really well at this point, but they've grown on me over the years; thankfully, however, this is to be the last run before the band work on a new album.
Perhaps because the band have stuck to nigh-on the same setlist for the past few years, but tonight was perhaps the best showing I've seen from these Belgian brutes, having honed and perfected it over that time. Sure, it offered no surprises, however between the solid sound and performance of cuts like "Stratified Realities" and "Cranial Disintegration", I, and the rest of the crowd, were eagerly watching or moshing to the band’s set.
The fact that this show had sold out became apparent during Schizophrenia's performance, as the hall filled out; it seems that when and if the band return to these shores with a new album in tow, they will likely find a large and receptive audience waiting for them (and me as well no doubt, as they have an affinity for turning up to pretty much every concert I attend).
Schizophrenia setlist:
01. Souls Of Retribution
02. Schizophrenia
03. Divine Immolation
04. Onwards To Fire
05. Cranial Disintegration
06. Stratified Realities
07. Necrophiliac
08. Structure Of Death
Hellripper 21:35-22:35
Gonna rip 'em a new one
After the crowd had been suitably warmed up (both by the opening acts, but also the limited edition malt beer Hellripper brought along with them on tap, which I highly recommend for fans of IPA and hop-heavy beers), it was time for the headliners, Hellripper, to take to the stage. After seeing them support Warbringer in this very venue a few years ago, it felt like a long time coming to finally see Hellripper headline a venue of this size.
Wasting little time with pleasantries, the band kicked off with perhaps the strongest foot first in "All Hail The Goat"; Hellripper had the audience in the palm of their hands from the opening note, and kept them there the whole night. While only an hour-long set, Hellripper managed to squeeze in a whole show’s worth of material that spanned the whole of their (comparatively small) discography. While new cuts like "Kinchyle (Goatkraft And Granite)" were included, it did not feel like obligatory new inclusions, but already classic tracks like the likes of "Mortercheyn" deserve a spot in their set.
With McBain switching spot on stage and highlighting how only the central microphone was placed well in the mix, it proved to be the only audio issue for the headliners. As stage divers and crowd surfers made their way to the stage, the band didn't miss a beat and continued their speed metal assault unabated.
It was then that the band signalled their last song, one that saw the audience take this as a cue to lose what little reservations and sanity they had and go all out. As the last notes rang out, it was time to head home. Having finished at half ten, I was treated to an Easter surprise of not having to rush to catch the last train and could take a more sedate pace.
All this talk of goats, and no mention of the Easter bunny.
Hellripper setlist:
01. All Hail The Goat
02. Hell's Rock 'N' Roll
03. Kinchyle (Goatkraft And Granite)
04. The Hanging Tree
05. The Affair Of The Poisons
06. Mortercheyn
07. Within The Everlasting Hellfire
08. Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags
09. Goat Vomit Nightmare
10. Hunderprest
11. The Nuckelavee
12. Bastard Of Hades
13. Demdike (In League With The Devil)
Conclusion:
It goes to show that sometimes smaller, more intimate shows can often be better than big blockbuster shows, because I enjoyed my evening far more with Hellripper and Co than Kreator (admittedly, being properly audible for much of the time was a huge advantage). As the bank holiday weekend came and went, I wondered what next Easter's offerings would look like (after another packed year in between, of course).
