[DID NOT ATTEND: October 17, 2026] Cradle of Filth / Black Satellite / Blackbraid / Worm
I’ve known of Cradle of Filth for decades (they have been around since 1991). I always assumed they were a hard to listen to growly band not unlike Napalm Death (who I have seen and loved). I just never really thought about seeing them. Then I read a review that notes that
The band’s style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more “produced” amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other genres. Their lyrics and imagery are influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films.
So I listened to a few songs and I found out that lead Filth man Dani Filth is in corpse paint and it’s all theatrical and crazy and I’m in.
But I decided to see them in Allentown next week instead of at Starland.
I didn’t know Worm, but apparently I should have if this review from Metal Hammer is to be believed.
the band’s frontman/founder Phantom Slaughter and guitarist Wroth Septentrion [are] one of heavy music’s wackiest new bands. Mr Slaughter, whose real name remains a mystery to us, founded Worm as a solo project in 2012, after being inspired by the documentary Until The Light Takes Us and its depiction of Norwegian black metal. He channeled all of the infamous scene’s excess and kitsch (minus the church burnings and murder) into his own music, putting on corpse paint and writing screeching, frost-bitten songs that often soared past the 10-minute mark. Necropalace, their fourth album, is the purest distillation of Worm’s ludicrousness. The 12-minute title track and its music video tell you everything you need to know, opening with devastating chords and lead guitars, then breaking into a sprint of whirlwind drums and quasi-symphonic keyboards. The visuals look like a snuff-film-slash-giallo-horror dug up in the Scandinavian wilderness, with Phantom wearing gauntlets and wielding a sword for no reason. But, the most maximalist bit doesn’t come until eight minutes in, when Wroth nails a solo so over-the-top that it would leave Yngwie Malmsteen bug-eyed. It’s batshit brilliance, turning black metal up to 11 before tearing the knob off.
Initially I didn’t care that they won’t be at my show in Allentown, but now I’m really bummed.
Black Satellite is an industrial metal band from New York City, led by vocalist Larissa Vale and guitarist Kyle Hawken. They are a combination of all of the usual suspects of industrial metal, including some really poppy moments. Vale’s vocals are cool and do different things.
Blackbraid is a solo indigenous black metal project from the depths of the Adirondack wilderness creating music as raw and powerful as the mountains from whence it came… The music of Blackbraid is inspired by the forces of nature in the land around us, overpowering emotions of rage and sadness, and the deep spirituality of the project’s creator, Sgah’gahsowáh; a southern native raised in the mountains of the northeast. His stage name was chosen to honor the Mohawk land which inspires much of Blackbraid’s music.
I love that he is an indigenous performer. I’m so curious how this will work. It reminds me of Bathory–but much better.
Originally, Moonspell was supposed to play these shows but once again our country fucks over a band by holding up their Visas.
With broken hearts, we must announce that MOONSPELL will have to sit out this tour, as our visas cannot be processed in time. We know many of you were looking forward to seeing us, and we share your disappointment. The band and our agent are already working hard to bring us back to North America in 2027.
I was looking forward to seeing Moonspell because they are from Portugal and I’ve never seen a metal band from Portugal. I’ve also never heard of Moonspell and yet they’ve been around for over 30 years! They have all kinds of unusual sounds (they wrote an opera) and singer Ribeiro has a classic goth crooning voice, there’s orchestral components, there’s a bit of Rammstein going on, and a whole lot of theater.
When they come back in 2027, I will definitely have to seek them out.
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