“You already broke my hand that reached out in hopes of getting help from you”
Shot on the 2nd of March 2025. Photography by Kieran White, contact before any use. Words by Jack Crosby-Griggs.
Destined to be the first of many lineup-topping treks through Europe embarked upon by the Swiss Cheese Specialists: the CURSED tour has laid the groundwork for the rise of Paleface Swiss as a potential headliner and certified “big deal” within in the scope of the genre, owed in part to the album of the same name and the traction accumulated as a result of its notable accessibility in comparison to previous efforts. Naturally such a celebration requires a stacked full package – and frankly it doesn’t get much better than core royalty The Acacia Strain & the UK’s own beatdown clean-up crew Desolated to assist in making a dangerous night even more dangerous.
Alongside the dimming venue lights, a sinister public service announcement beckons the arrival of the purebred London Hardcore syndicate Desolated – (spin)kicking off the the evening by calling upon “London’s hardest moshers” to “fuck up” a variety of targets ranging from your friends all the way up to the very walls we stood within. Whilst no release in particular was favoured by the band as the centrepiece of the set, this didn’t matter to a crowd who seemingly walked through the entrance ready and primed to throw down for whoever and whatever walked out on that stage as long as they provided a classic fix of primal rhythms and crunchy riffs to feed upon. Be that as it may, tracks from the bands third EP Disorder of Mind seemed to garner the largest and most frenzied response – with vocalist Tony Evans remarking on how the breakdown for “Suffering” had caused individuals to be banned from multiple venues in the past due to the conduct it instigates and quite frankly I believe him.
As the end of the tour loomed overhead for Desolated one final hurrah in the form of “Death By My Side” set out to properly limber up the audience for the night ahead, guaranteeing that those who dared set foot in pit territory would wake up with a splitting headache the next day; And for but a fleeting moment… Electric Brixton became your favourite local grassroots venue, with a sea of spin kicks, backflips and general purpose violence flooding the dance floor in order to see them out.
At this point into their career The Acacia Strain are nothing short of legends, which is why even as a fan of Paleface myself it came as a shock that the Godfathers of Beatdown settled into a support slot for this tour; nonetheless they put their stomping foot forward. An overwhelmingly warm energy radiated from frontman Vincent Bennett at all times, who made it his utmost mission to inform the assemblage that their only concern for the night was ensuring that everybody was having fun – regardless by which virtue this escapism resonated. Betwixt bouts of down right demonic howls, he could often be found giddily smiling from ear to ear and high-fiving various crowd surfers as they made their way down towards him: It was particularly amusing watching the venue’s security preemptively mounting the barrier upon hearing him instruct the horde along the lines of “do somethin’ stupid!”.
In terms of material covered it would be nigh impossible for such an outfit to completely encompass their entire discography within the span of forty minutes, however it’s clear a good effort was made in constructing an adequate crash course, balancing out crowd pleasers and deep cuts alike whilst obviously honing in on more recent releases Slow Decay and Step Into The Light. Wormwood opener “Beast” found itself at the centre of attention as it featured a surprise appearance from not only Desolated vocalist Tony Evans, but oddly enough Paleface Swiss drummer Cassiano Toma both stepping up to the mic to deliver a cooperative vocal assault. It’s moments like this that really make you appreciate a good tour dynamic, in which the participating bands genuinely enjoy each other’s company and music enough to bond to a level beyond contractual obligation.
Following in the footsteps of their fellow support act, Acacia’s set ended in what can only be described as an absolute wild west bar-fight of a pit, attributed of course to the decision to close things off with the 76 second long, three stringed explosion that is “Carbomb” – the type of song that you can not only feel in your chest, but also probably your jaw if you aren’t keeping tabs on your fellow attendees. As someone who admittedly hopped onto The Acacia (s)Train fairly late, this band is not one to scoff at – they wholeheartedly stole the show for every second that they bestowed us with their brutalizing presence.
And so closed in the moment that just about everyone had been waiting for… despite a consistent energy throughout the night it quickly became evident that a good chunk of the present attendance were diehards and devotees alike to the men of the hour, as a densening river of black hoodies adorning the same spiked logo tensed up at the sight of the now-illuminated noose dangling above the drum kit via gallow. With only the ominous wails of “un pobre niño murió” as warning Paleface Swiss immediately and effectively dominated the stage: helming a setlist hell-bent on showcasing newly released LP CURSED, to nobody’s surprise given the title of the tour. What was initially surprising however, was the lack of tracks from the band’s back catalogue due to the new record’s inclusion in its entirety (albeit shuffled amongst the deck) – which left little room for previous mainstays like “Curse Us”, “The Orphan” or even “Best Before: Death”.
MIA classics aside, this once again held little bearing on the entire floor hollering every single tongue-twisting syllable back at frontman Marc Zelli – who in tandem with his animalistic associates delivered a performance enhanced from the already visceral recordings. Whether it was the “and with hope you’ll be damned…” ‘crowd surfer event of the decade’ as I dubbed it, the introductory wall of death in “The Gallow” or even the cathartic karaoke singalong that was “River Of Sorrows” – the way in which the room transformed at their will constantly brought forward an intense feeling that Paleface Swiss belong here, that they were made for a room like this; Where the booming mix of unrelenting beatdown rattles your soul and the chants of “SWISS CHEESE GEEZAS!” can be heard all the way back home.
With the final curtain of the CURSED tour rapidly scaling the horizon, thanks were in order as the band utilized Zelli as their mouthpiece in expressing several tangents of gratitude in between songs. First reflecting upon romps of yesteryear across the UK as a support band (Namely for Counterparts on their 2023 EU tour as well as their own Fear & Dagger release show at New Cross Inn in 2022) and later going on to lighten the mood after audial gut punch “River Of Sorrows” with a rather cheesy highlight reel of their crew and management teams, set to an almost comedic commercial rock caricature courtesy of instrumentalists Yannick, Tommy-Lee & Cassi. The whole thing was absolutely drenched in a lovely community vibe that you couldn’t help but feel a little mushy about, ironic considering the way that this band sounds. Overall, it’s always a pleasure to see these guys repeatedly hit new heights and this time was no exception.
Check out our review of the new Paleface Swiss record CURSED, as well as The Acacia Strain’s latest double-album Step Into The Light / Failure Will Follow. Paleface Swiss will be taking bringing the CURSED tour to the United States later this month, check out their dates here.