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Fear Factory Finishes 2026 European Tour In Kentish Town With Help From Crystal Lake, Hate And The Nocturnal Affair

Which kind of lineup do you prefer; one that sticks to the genre/sub-genre or one which offers a lot of variation? Personally, I'm a big believer in variety being the spice of life and when a bill comes along which offers plenty of different metal styles, it's very appealing. Such was the case this Autumn, when industrial metal legends Fear Factory stampeded across Europe, bringing an eclectic collection of support acts with them. It was a lengthy and I'm sure gruelling tour, but one which I'm sure will stay with every fan who attended and everyone who performed for a long time, and where better to end it than in London, at the Kentish Town Forum?

To get proceedings underway, Las Vegas rockers The Nocturnal Affair took to the stage, with some in the crowd very eager to see them, while others were new to the band. It must be said that they were an odd choice for this lineup, as they were considerably lighter in sound than the rest of the acts and also don't have much of a discography, having only a few singles and a demo collection to their name. Whatever the case, they were determined to make their mark tonight and for the most part, received a warm reception from the London crowd. They were very reminiscent of mid 2000s alternative metal/rock bands like AM Conspiracy, which isn't a bad thing, though the posing and blazers weren't very endearing to an audience used to grittier shows. They finished with a cover of Haddaway's "What Is Love?" which in all honesty felt like an easy way to get the crowd to interact, with plenty singing along, while others rolled their eyes. A bit of a mixed bag and this was definitely not a suitable card for them to open, but I didn't dislike them. Check them out if the style fits your taste.

Up next was Hate, who was much more like it. The Polish blackened death metal veterans have been going for thirty six years now and despite their impressive legacy, often feel like the underdogs on a bill, with many fans of the headliners saying, "I've never heard of them." That being said, almost all of them leave saying, "I'd never heard of them, but they were awesome!" and that's exactly what happened in Kentish Town. Their setlist was mostly composed of their three most recent albums, "Auric Gates Of Veles," "Rugia" and "Bellum Regiis," and was intense from start to finish. Frontman ATF Sinner casts an imposing figure as he gazes out from his podium-like mic stand, while guitarist Domin looks like an absolute madman as he thrashes away to the side. In truth, Hate was probably the heaviest band performing tonight, relentlessly crushing the room with a brutal display, that felt like it was over before it even began, but that's probably more of a testament to how enjoyable they were. Never miss them if they come near you.

Every metal fan has their preferences and prejudices. I will admit that when I hear the word "metalcore," I'm immediately thinking of plaid clad moustachioed bores who think breakdowns are the be all and end all of a song, but I'm also a fat guy who's happy to eat his words. Hate may have been the heaviest band on the bill, but Crystal Lake were by far the most energetic. The Japanese crew (now with a South Korean vocalist) exploded on to the stage and didn't slow down for a second. As one might expect, their latest album, "The Weight Of Sound" was represented quite strongly, with the title track being performed near the end of the set, while "Everblack" opened it.

From the first note to the last, Crystal Lake was an absolute whirlwind, ripping through the stage with incredible ferocity, and it wasn't just limited to that. Frontman PK dived into the crowd a few times, screaming through the songs while fans swarmed him and held him high and I don't think I've ever seen a new member of a band look so comfortable amongst new colleagues as he did. The band did a phenomenal job of thrilling their fans and winning new ones with songs like "Hail To The Fire" and "Prometheus" before bringing their time to a close with "Apollo." As I'm sure you've gathered by now, this was an absolutely exhilarating performance from Crystal Lake, one of the best I've seen from any band this year and I can't wait to see them again.

Something which can really make a difference but doesn't get talked about much is the importance of time between bands. While it was a relatively short wait between the support acts, it was forty minutes before Fear Factory took to the stage, long enough for the adrenaline that the previous two bands had built up to wear off, and so by the time "Acres Of Sin," opened the set, it wasn't as exciting as it could have been. Nonetheless, it was cool to finally witness the band for myself and the crowd didn't seem to be as grumpy as me, bouncing from the get go. On a technical level, Fear Factory were very impressive, ironically playing with a machine-like precision, and it's hard to find a steadier hand when it comes to metal bassists than Tony Campos.

Crystal Lake's KP returned to the stage shortly to join the headliners for "Edgecrusher," while ATF Sinner also came out to perform "Martyr," though I suppose what many people who haven't seen this lineup of Fear Factory will be wondering is, what's new vocalist Milo Silvestro like? Being completely truthful, he's... fine. He has some enormous shoes to fill and I don't envy his task one bit, but he has plenty of energy and throws himself into every song, though I'm begging them, as well as every visiting band, to stop shouting "London, England," and "London, UK." We know what country we're in, we know we're not in Ontario and we're a nation of pedantic arseholes who get annoyed by little things like that. Anyway, the band did play "Robotocist," their first single with Silvestro on vocals that came out in August of this year. The song has received a mixed response online, but live it sounded pretty good, and fans were into it, so you can't really ask for more than that.

Of course, there were plenty of classics in the setlist, including "Linchpin," "No One" and "Archetype," all of which received a massive response from the crowd, as did "Zero Signal," which Fear Factory were proud to boast was featured on the soundtrack to Mortal Kombat (crazy that there's been a sequel, a remake and a sequel to the remake since then.) Sole remaining original member Dino Cazares then addressed the crowd, to thank them for coming out to finish the tour in style, and introduce bandmates, before launching into arguably their most famous song, "Replica." This wasn't the end of the show though, as "Resurrection" followed, before the night drew to a close with a rendition of Gary Numan's "Cars," during which all of the support bands appeared on stage. All in all, this was a good night. No doubt many of the musicians were tired after such an extensive tour and while everyone enjoyed themselves, I would say it was to varying degrees. Nonetheless, there was something for all tastes on this tour and Fear Factory still sounds devastatingly heavy live.