In a short amount of time, Crossfaith have gone from supporting bands both big and small to performing on the main stage at festivals and having their own headline shows in Europe. Currently embarking on their ‘Apocalyze Now’ UK tour, they announced that they would be recording their very first live show at the KOKO so what better time than now to see them perform at their top of their game.

A white sheet is released from the ceiling, covering the stage, projecting their logo onto it and a while later, a short movie starts playing, leading us to the first song of the evening, We Are The Future. There is a continuous spiral into insanity from that point on as they play a chunk of songs from Apocalyze such as Hounds of the Apocalypse and The Evolution.

Bassist, Hiroki gulps down some Jägermeister before playing fan favourite, Jägerbomb where everybody waits for the lyrics “Take that drink and chug it” as the world descending into chaos once more. Carrying over that same energy to Photosphere, the crowd shouts, “We are, we are existence!” The lights hit the mirror ball as Scarlett begins to play over the sound system, covering the venue in a blue hue, equally beautiful and equally intense.

After the MC, their newest release, Madness, is next but unfortunately, it falls short as it fails to work live, ultimately becoming one of their weakest songs of the night. They soon dismiss that feeling with their dance number, Eclipse, taking away all of those worries as the crowd jumps along.

The lights turn red and yellow for Stars Faded in Slow Motion, ending in Kazuki and Hiroki doing their solos next to each other. As they leave the stage, the crowd wants more and they get it in the form of Tatsuya. Drinking his beer, the audience chants as he finishes it which gives us an explosive drum solo that is bound to impress anyone, leading us onto Monolith.

If that wasn’t enough, the intro to Omen set people off into a frenzy where in the middle of the song, Kenta asks the audience to sit down, telling them to jump at the count of three before the audience can be let loose again. Leviathan was the most fitting song for the end as confetti and smoke shoots into the venue making it wonderful end to a wonderful night.

Dayle Corbin