A Night of Chaos and Emotion with Paleface Swiss
Paleface Swiss took their latest EP ‘The Wilted’ on tour across Europe and the UK, leaving a trail of shaken venues. It’s hard to imagine a Saturday night better than the last one at London’s Troxy, as Paleface Swiss tore through their set and had the entire room moving. Yet it wasn’t only mosh pit and chaos. That Saturday night was deeply emotional, which came as no surprise given the ep. When the band stripped things back for an acoustic performance, the venue lit, ‘River of Sorrows’ gave the night a deeper meaning and a moment to breathe amid the intensity.
That Saturday night kicked off in a surge of energy and chaos, as ‘Stick To Your Guns’ set the pit in motion from the start. Bodies collided and the room came alive, immediately establishing the intensity that would carry through the rest of the evening. Giving the crowd their favourites like ‘Invisible Rain’, ‘Spineless’, and the old favourite ‘Amber’, pulled from across their catalogue, performing tracks from ‘Diamond’, ‘Disobedient’, ‘Keep Planting Flowers’ and even a nod to ‘The Hope Division’- ‘Amber’. Long before the headliners took the stage, the night was already in full chaos, with Stick To Your Guns firmly to blame.
On the second round of “facing the mosh pit” Static Dress took the stage. Not as aggressive as the opener, they brought a storm of creativity and screamo energy that captivated the crowd, who were more than ready to start another round of crowd surfing. The performance began with dimmed lights and a striking visual setup: dozens of ’90s-style TVs displaying static and the band’s signature face motif. For those who haven’t heard ‘Face.’, it opens with a heavy, pulsating instrumental intro, driven by distorted guitar riffs. Behind the band, the same monochromatic wallpaper that has become their visual trademark reinforced their identity, making the stage unmistakably theirs. They performed some of their standout tracks, including ‘Clean’ and ‘Push Rope’, before midway through the set unleashing the setlist highlight ‘Human Props’, and closing with the intense: “Crying on big screen. Remember everything you did to me”…
As the night approached its finale act, the audience pulsing with expectation — and then it hit: the band opened with the fierce, screaming intensity of ‘I Am a Cursed One’, with Zelli unleashing his powerful vocals. Flames erupted across the stage, lighting the venue on fire and sending waves of energy through the crowd. Fans surged forward, fists pumping and voices raised- screaming. Kicking off in Dublin last week, The Wilted tour brought the EP to life just months after its January release, with several songs already becoming crowd-pleasers.
The band tore through the EP tracks with searing, chaotic energy that seamlessly blended in fan favourites from ‘Cursed’, ‘Fear & Dagger’, and their debut album, ‘Chapter 3: The Last Selection’. Each song hit with full force, keeping the crowd locked in from start to end, people screaming, crowd-surfing, and even Zelli joining the fans, singing from atop the throng.
Near the end of the set, Zelli commanded the crowd to sit down on the floor, and the next minute, the crowd erupted, jumping up and down and screaming along “-Let me sleep… I’m wide awake.”
Following ‘River of Sorrows’, Ron Deris joined Paleface Swiss on stage for a heartfelt acoustic performance, with the crowd illuminating the venue in a truly memorable moment.
And there was no way the night would pass without Jesse and Josh from Stick To Your Guns joining Paleface Swiss on stage for ‘Instrument of War’, a moment that sent the crowd into overdrive.
On Saturday night Marc Zellweger reminded the crowd of the band’s beginnings, recalling their London show back in 2022 at the beloved New Cross Inn. It was a powerful and motivating moment, highlighting just how far the band have come, from those early shows to now releasing a killer EP that has firmly earned a place among my top releases.
From Stick To Your Guns’ relentless opening chaos, through Static Dress’s creative intensity, to Paleface Swiss’s emotional and explosive headline set, the night delivered on every level.
