Gideon End January With a London Headline Show
As January finally came to an end, London was given one last heavy show to close out the month. Gideon brought their tour to The Dome, joined by Still In Love, XILE and Grove Street. With this being the final date of the tour, there was a clear sense that the night needed to end on a high.
Opening the night were London-based quartet Still In Love. With their 2025 release ‘Recovery Language’ behind them, they started strong with ‘Tell The Truth’ before moving into ‘Nervous Impulse’ and ‘Inherit’. Midway through the set, vocalist Nick took a moment to dedicate ‘Pillar of Strength’ to a close friend. He was visibly emotional while performing the song, and the room felt noticeably quieter. They closed their 30-minute set with ‘Preserve and Cherish’, leaving a strong first impression.
Next up were XILE, the New Zealand band who brought a sharp shift in intensity. As the venue continued to fill, they opened with ‘Damaged’ and ‘Penalty Death’ from ‘I Am Your God’ (2020). Their heavy riffs quickly got the pit moving. ‘369’ from the ‘Grafton’ EP followed, before the set closed with ‘Diamond Eyes’, ‘World Demise’ and the title track. By the end, the crowd was fully locked in.
Hampshire’s Grove Street took things to another level. From the opening notes of ‘Hunting Season’, the floor visibly bounced, and by ‘Self Sabotage’ the room was fully engaged. Frontman Sully encouraged stage dives while downing a beer mid-set, as chaos unfolded during ‘Lessons of the Past’, ‘Ultimate Penalty’ and ‘Divided Kingdom’. Ending with ‘The Path of Righteousness’, they thanked the other bands and Gideon for bringing them on tour. After witnessing that set, it’s clear Grove Street are a band to keep firmly on your radar.
As darkness fell and silence took over, Gideon emerged to a deafening roar. Opening with ‘Wrong One’, they immediately threw their Alabama hammer down, surging through ‘Too Much Is Never Enough’ and ‘Til The Wheels Fall Off’. Dan McWhorter demanded full commitment from the crowd, and London delivered. Tracks from ‘More Power, More Pain’ hit like wrecking balls, before a massive wall of death erupted during the title track. With no encore promised and nothing held back, ‘Cursed’, ‘Bite Down’ and closer ‘No Love / No One’ brought the night, and the tour, to a ferocious end.
An unforgettable show, and an incredible way to close out January.
