To call Coldrain “cold” is a delicious cosmic joke. There is nothing glacial or distant about this band live. If anything, attending a Coldrain show is like stepping directly into a combustion chamber. The name may be tinted blue – and if you know the band, you’ll understand why they chose the name Coldrain – but the reality is inferno: a blaze of distortion. Their London show at the Electric Ballroom was a physical trial by fire, proof of how heavy music, when performed with fierceness, becomes something, almost, spiritual.

A band active since 2007, once tearing through intimate UK stages, now filling an iconic London venue with the presence of veterans and the hunger of outsiders still with something to prove. The UK audience has grown with them – and on Sunday night, that growth was loud and ferociously alive. Nobody stood still. You either headbanged, jumped, collided in the pit, or surrendered entirely to the current; there was no middle ground.

The night opened with support from NOISEMAKER, who did not behave like an opening band so much as a bomb detonating far too early in the evening. Their set was ruthless and mercilessly energetic. The scream work was great, the instrumentation locked in and violent in the best possible way. Supernatural became a real treat, made even more exciting by Masato joining them on stage.

Revnoir, a French metalcore band, followed, and where NOISEMAKER were raw force, Revnoir were beautifully calculated chaos. Their performance leaned into the hypnotic side of heavy music – the way metal and post-hardcore can pull you in through rhythm as much as through volume. The drumbeat became a heartbeat inside your ribcage, while the screamo was a siren call straight into the mosh pit. Their 45-minute set lit the room with savage intent, before breaking into moments of unexpected atmosphere – phone lights raised and tempos slowed – only to drag the crowd back into violence with crushing, electronic-laced drops.

After the intense warm-up, it was time for Coldrain.

Red lights flooded the stage, and the darkness thickened. The opening notes of FREE FALL (from OPTIMIZE) hit like the sound of the floor giving way beneath you. From that moment, the show became a sustained assault. Masato was untouchable, a frontman in the purest sense, fearless and wild; his vocals claw and tear your soul. The same went for the rest of the members: Y.K.C (lead guitar), Sugi (guitar, backing vocals), RxYxO (bass, backing vocals), and Katsuma (drums), who absolutely tore up the stage.

INCOMPLETE detonated the room, and the energy spike was seriously “violent”.

Throughout the set, Masato addressed the crowd with the kind of sincerity that can’t be faked: “It took us six f*ing years to come back here. This energy is another level.” And later, with sweat dripping and breath ragged: “We’re gonna go home with sore throats. We’re gonna go home sweaty, and we’re gonna go home with the memories.”

PARADISE (Kill the Silence), The Revelation, and REVOLUTION appeared early in the set, establishing the concert’s intensity and direction within the opening stretch of the night. DIGITOLL, ripped straight from OPTIMIZE, showed their modern evolution. The band also performed Bloody Power Fame (Nonnegative, 2022) and Here With You. Boys and Girls took a notch down, giving space for the crowd to breathe and feel before being dragged back under.

The Alanis Morissette cover of Uninvited (from Faithless, 2017) was a masterstroke. One of the boldest and most emotionally textured covers in heavy music. Dark and beautifully arranged, it was a reminder that Coldrain are exceptional at what they do.

The latter stretch of the set, Cut Me, Rabbit Hole, MAYDAY, Chasing Shadows, turned the room into a furnace, the floor seeming to melt beneath us. Masato taunted the pit: “Is the mosh pit tired? Do you still have power?” The answer came back in bodies. The encore was warfare: OPTIMIZE, ENVY, and the final blow, VENGEANCE. By the end, voices were gone, clothes soaked, muscles shaking.

Coldrain has firmly earned its place alongside the titans of Japanese rock and metalcore – X Japan, ONE OK ROCK, and BABYMETAL – a band whose music doesn’t just travel overseas, but conquers it.

Coldrain’s London show was spectacular, a full-throttle display that proved their live power is as undeniable as their recorded sound.

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Written by Maggie Gogler

Featured image courtesy of Maggie Zhu for View of the Arts

_{View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to films, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. With rich content already available to our readers, we aim to expand our reach and grow alongside our audience by delving deeper into emerging platforms such as K-pop and Asian music more broadly. At the same time, we remain committed to exploring the vibrant and ever-evolving global landscape of film, music, and the arts, celebrating the immense talent and creativity that define these industries worldwide.}