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Archive for the ‘Black Satellite’ Category

Cradle of Filth: Majestic in Death II (Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA, October 24, 2026)

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Black Satellite, Blackbraid, Cradle of Filth, Moonspell on October 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 24, 2026] Cradle of Filth

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 so in.  I picked this Allentown show instead of Starland Ballroom for a couple of reasons.  The date.  The opportunity to check out Archer Music Hall and because a metal show at Starland would be insane.

So Archer Music Hall is pretty nice.  Relatively easy to get to and I got $5 parking directly across the street.

When Blackbraid ended, they brought out a microphone stand which was a statue of a person in agony.   There was a much longer wait than expected (technical issues with the keys I believe) and then the band came out.  There have been dozens of people in the band since the 90s, but the current lineup has been around for a bit.  Dani Filth – lead vocals (1991–), Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka – drums (2006–), Daniel Firth – bass (2012–),  Donny Burbage – guitars (2022–), Joff Bailey – guitars (2026–present).  I’m not sure which of the guitarists was the new guy.  One had a full beard and some corpse paint.  The other had half shaved/half really long hair and pretty good spooky makeup.  He also had an amazing angry face and was actually kind of scary from the barrier.

Although Dani Filth wasn’t.  I hate to say it, but I must.  Dani Filth is really short and he had on an excessive amount of leather with huge spokes. It was certainly comical more than scary.  But it worked with the over the top nature of the band.  Nevertheless, he is a great frontman–funny when speaking, intense when singing and constantly hitting interesting shrieking notes.

So the show was not as extreme death metal as I feared but it also wasn’t as gothic metal as I expected.  They were definitely heavy but with lots of synths and operatic female vocals peppering some of the songs.  And I really enjoyed it. (more…)

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Blackbraid (Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA, October 24, 2026) [CRADLE OF FILTH]

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Black Satellite, Blackbraid, Cradle of Filth, Moonspell on October 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 24, 2026] Blackbraid

Initially, the Mexican band Moonspell was supposed to be the second band on the bill but they weren’t able to secure a visa–boy our government sucks.  So Blackbraid was chosen to take over.  I’d never heard of them, but I quickly learned that Blackbraid is the solo black metal project of a Native American (no visa issues there, ye bastards).

So I listened to Blackbraid and it reminded me of Bathory [R.I.P.]–the Swedish solo extreme metal guy who I’d assumed stopped making music forty years ago (he hadn’t, in fact he made all kinds of different music throughout his a career until his death in 2004).  Bathory’s first few albums were basically the fastest drumming you could get, screamed impenetrable vocals and moderately cacthy guitar progressions.  And it sounded like it was recorded on a $5 cassette player.  Well, Blackbraid embraces much of that sound except it is really well recorded and sounds 1000 times better.  But it has the same kind of relentlessness.  I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from them, but they did not disappoint.

In front of me was one of the guitar players who had corpse paint and some kind of bones around his neck.  The rest of the band wasn’t really painted up that much, but main singer (and main guy) Jon Krieger (also known as Sgah’gahsowáh, a Mohawk name meaning “the witch hawk”).

They started off with an explosion–really fast drumming and a black metal riff that reminded me of the style of Bathory.  And then Kreiger started….singing.  The songs have lyrics but live, it was like one explosive growl after another.  I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was singing anything or just making guttural sounds.  He never spoke to us, although he did occasionally gesture for more applause.

The band was incredibly tight–the drummer was a machine of fast drumming and I loved watching the guitarist in front of me.  After a few minutes of intensity, things slowed down and it seemed like Kreiger was singing, but it was still so animalistic that it was hard to tell.  He had an intensity that was unstoppable. (more…)

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Black Satellite (Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA, October 24, 2026) [CRADLE OF FILTH]

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Black Satellite, Blackbraid, Cradle of Filth on October 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 24, 2026] Black Satellite

Black Satellite is from New York City.  The two constants in the band are singer Larissa Vale and guitarist Kyle Hawken.  Their debut album is kind of slick (but heavy) metal.  Their later album is a lot heavier and angrier.  [They had previously supported Starset and now are supporting Cradle of Filth].

They came out and were pretty high tech looking.  The drums lad lights in them and the lights changed color with the stage lights.  The rest of the band was pretty intense looking.  One guitarist had on whiteface and skull lines.  The other two had various corpse painting and Larissa herself had a very cool look with her head half shaved and a black line under her eyes.  They also wore a lot of leather–they looked cool for sure.

Larissa doesn’t growl/sing she snarl sings and her voice is pretty deep.  I enjoyed that she used the old blocky microphone that you palm to sing in.  Between that and her lengthy coat, she definitely had a “leader” look about her.

Their songs were heavy and dark but with some seriously catchy elements.  And now that I know some of the lyrics, I can hear that she was singing them and not just making sounds (like on Broken).

A few songs into the set the guitarist on the far side of the stage (I don’t know who was who) who had long long long hair, reached into a pouch on hos belt and threw something to someone in the audience.  They caught it, he smiled and nodded. He did this several times throughout the set.  At the end of the set, he came over to our side and threw a few things which I later found out were–Twizzlers.  It was so cute for such a heavy and intense sounding band.

There was some serious headbanging and even a song called Kill for You

I will kill for you
I will hurt for you
For you, I would do anything (anything)
I will kill for you
Take a bullet for you
I’ll keep you safe from everything
I will kill for you

I enjoyed their whole set quite a lot, and I’m really fascinated by the makeup on their guitarist.

They didn’t play anything from their debut (which makes sense) although they did play one song that came out before their new album and then they surprised me by ending with a Depeche Mode cover.  And not something heavy like Personal Jesus.  They went with Never Let Me Down Again.   They made it really heavy and it sounded good.

It felt weird singing along to a Depeche Mode song at a metal show, but I did!  They even did goofy synchronized guitar waving.  So despite the darkness and heaviness, they clearly were having fun, too.  Which I appreciate.

I really enjoyed their set.

  1. Dead Eye ∇
  2. Broken ∇
  3. Far Away ∇
  4. Here It Ends ∇
  5. Void ∇
  6. Kill For You ∇
  7. Doom or Die ∇
  8. Downfall §
  9. Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode cover)

∇ Aftermath (2025)
§ single (2025)

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Cradle of Filth / Black Satellite / Blackbraid / Worm (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 17, 2016) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Satellite, Blackbraid, Cradle of Filth, Moonspell, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Worm on October 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[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. (more…)

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