A Glorious Onslaught of Magnificent Metal Mayhem! Infected Rain Detonate the Motocultor Festival!

Written by Louise Phillips on January 20, 2025

A glorious onslaught of magnificent metal mayhem! Infected Rain detonate the Motocultor Festival with a spectacular set!

On a cold wet January night at the iconic Camden Underworld, even before the first band took to the stage there was an unmistakable buzz in the air, as tonight, this intimate venue had been taken over by a diverse mix of five much loved metal bands from all over the globe as part of the greatly anticipated Motocultor Festival European Tour.

Whilst Moldovan nu metal hardcore band Infected Rain were certainly the biggest pull of the night, riding high off their phenomenally successful year of live shows and the release of their hugely successful 2024 album ‘Time’; all the bands on the bill tonight put on a jaw dropping performance to a packed audience of absolutely euphoric metal lovers!

This was Infected Rain’s second gig at The Underworld in the last 6 months and they were better and hotter than ever! Frontwoman Lena Scissorhands prowled around the stage, asking the festival goers if they were afraid and telling them that if they weren’t then they should be, before tearing through track after much loved track, her matlocks cascading down like a modern-day Medusa, vipers ready to attack as the audience turned into a heaving mass of chaotic cycle pits and moshing bodies. Tracks like ‘THE ANSWER IS YOU’, ‘PANDEMONIUM’ and ‘Orphan Soul’ created an energy so intense that it could have fueled the national grid! Each track was delivered with a ferocious energy and precision that had to be seen to be believed! Guitarist Vidick Ojog was an indestructible force of nature as he jumped into the air like he was on fire (which in every sense he was), headbanging furiously, his matlocks flying in the air, his guitar creating a sound so ferociously anarchic that the devil himself would have been proud! Bass player Alice Lane’s punching bass lines were magnificent, and with skinsman Eugene Voluta’s thunderous beats, they were the driving force behind this mass musical destruction! One of the best tracks of their set was without a doubt their opening track ‘The Realm of Chaos’ which was absolutely insane and set the scene with Lena’s intense vocal fry and Eugene’s brutal drum beat. An absolute masterpiece!

The dynamic between this band is like a carefully oiled machine, they bounce off each other like they were born to play together and the energy never left the stage from that very first emotion drenched note to their final track, the incredible ‘Sweet, Sweet Lies’, after which they took a quick band / audience rock hands selfie before leaving the stage. Leaving behind them an apocalyptic carnage of elated and annihilated gig goers in their wake!

But long before Infected Rain blew the stage to pieces, the first band of the night took to the stage, Berlin based duo, Skin on Flesh. It’s always tough to be the opening act on a bill of such metal heavy weights, but Skin on Flesh grabbed this opportunity by the balls! Their excitement and energy was infectious as vocalist Laura Jiménez bound around the stage clearly overjoyed to be here! Despite being by far the newest band on the bill and their sound being much more alt punk rock than nu metal, they went down a storm with the heavy metal crowd! The other half of the dynamic duo, guitarist Michiel Sybers and Laura really bounced off each other, tight as tight could be with a stella band behind them. Their songs were emotionally driven and effortlessly cool, certainly a band on the way to big things!

The next band on the bill couldn’t have been more of a contrast in the form of the dark and demonic black metal band Miruthan! Smeared in blood, bloody bones hanging from their belts, they looked like they should be guarding the gates of hell and their music was so heavy, it could have woken the dead!! Their faces concealed in sinister masks, they dominated the stage with their growling vocals and dark melodic guitars as they preached the blackest of masses! They were a bold choice that definitely paid off!!

Next up were French nu metal goth duo Elyose! Oozing Parisian class and sophistication, vocalist Justine Daaé put on a spellbinding performance with her haunting vocals and hypnotic presence. Guitar maestro Anthony Chognard delivered riffs so razor sharp, they could have sliced through the hardest of hearts! A beautifully crafted set with Justine’s beguiling vocals and Anthony’s irresistible soif de vivre as he leapt around the stage much to the delight of the packed audience.

The other big pull of the night were Brazilian symphonic metal outfit Semblant. The dynamic between vocalists Mizuho Lin and Sergio Mazul was absolutely stunning and the crowd were absolutely transfixed! Mizuho’s crystal-clear powerful vocals and Sergio’s brutal growl were a heady combination that left the crowd eating out of their hands! Sergio was constantly reaching out to the audience and despite the many line up changes of this powerhouse band, there seemed to be a genuine warmth between them! Their set was a beautiful combination of their older and more recent material and they were spine-tinglingly good!

Whilst Infected Rain certainly wore the Nu metal crowd tonight, for a festival of this size, the quality of the bands was jaw droppingly impressive! The only question has to be, whilst it was a real treat to see such a line-up in such an intimate venue, it seemed a little on the small side for bands of this calibre, especially the incredible Infected Rain, a band for which superstardom can only be a short step away!!

Review and photos by Louise Phillips

Photos of Infected Rain