This month was a good one for horror-themed and ’80s synthwave, so after attending CARPENTER BRUT’s gig, we had a chance the following day to catch the second of three Finnish dates during the final leg of DANCE WITH THE DEAD’s “Driven To Madness” European tour.
In front of an extremely packed Tavastia (if not damned near sold-out), first was Copenhagen-based, Russian DJ DANIEL DELUXE to entertain the audience with his tunes, which included parts from the soundtrack of the cyberpunk video game, Ghostrunner. The crowd seemed to be in a dancing mood from the start, making it easy for the DJ to prepare the ground for the main act.
The American duo – or rather trio, with the addition of the live drummer John Terry – started immediately with “March of the Dead,” first song from the new record, which features both John Carpenter and his son Cody. The heavy-influenced sound attracted yet again quite a few metal fans to the venue, although the audience was very much of a mixture, mainly between a more electronic-oriented crowd (dancing throughout the show) and those with an heavier taste, who tended to be more “restrained.” The audience was notably on the younger side as well, which comes as no surprise, given the kind of music.
Of course, “Driven to Madness” stood out on this tour’s set, but there was still a good balance, touching all of the bands’ albums and more, including the final cover of MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “Kickstart My Heart,” as the crowd kept on going wild until the very end.
The show was intense, loud, and powerful, quite as expected from the Californian duo, who certainly knew how to ignite their fans through the night. A very successful one for them, I’d say.
DANIEL DELUXE
DANCE WITH THE DEAD
