Trumpets, djent, jazz, and absolute carnage. The ‘What Is Paledusk??’ tour rolls into The Dome and answers its own question in the most violent way possible.

Words & photos by Jamie Orr (@diabolicallywicked) | May 12, 2026

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Paledusk took London by storm, bringing the UK leg of their ‘What Is Paledusk??’ tour to a chaotic and explosive close. The band delivered a ferocious display that showcased exactly why they are one of the most exciting, ambitious, and downright insane acts to emerge from the metalcore scene in recent years.

I first had the opportunity to witness Paledusk last year during a trip to Japan, on their home turf, at Hyper Planet 2025, a festival featuring a mix of Japanese artists such as SiM, Age Factory and Maximum the Hormone, alongside UK heavyweights Enter Shikari and Wargasm. At the time, the band wasn’t on my radar at all, I had never even heard of them. My god, did that change quickly.

Taking to the main stage early in the day, Paledusk immediately became the highlight of the entire festival for me, delivering a blisteringly intense performance that left me desperate for more after their short but unforgettable 30 minute set.

Fast forward a year later, and the opportunity finally came to witness them in their full glory, this time delivering a full, no holds barred headline performance as part of their first ever headline UK and European tour at The Dome, London. Armed with a plethora of new songs from their recently released self-titled debut full length album, Paledusk, ensured that they were and are going to let everyone know who they are this tour.

I arrived at the venue early, and even then it was already clear just how much admiration and dedication the band had cultivated among their fans. The queue wrapped around the entire building, and that didn’t even include the number of VIP ticket holders who had already made their way inside earlier. With the doors open and the night finally underway the audience were about to get obliterated for the next four hours as Paledusk had assembled a stacked lineup of support acts for the tour, bringing along Headwreck, Greyhaven, and Knosis.

First up were the lads in Headwreck, and straight out of the gate the Australian metalcore outfit made their mark, immediately whipping the crowd into a frenzy with their blend of metalcore, pop-punk, and rap influences. Headwreck certainly lived up to their name, I’m sure a couple of the audience members had their heads wrecked as it wasn’t long before chaos erupted throughout the venue. Mosh pits opened up across the floor, giving the first real indication of how intense the rest of the night was going to become. From spin kicks to relentless two-stepping, there was no shortage of karate in the pit on display as the crowd threw themselves headfirst into the action, and that was just the warm-up.

Greyhaven were up next, the crowd ready to take this night to the next level. The American post-hardcore four-piece made sure that if anyone in the room was still half asleep or not fully locked in after the opening act, that wasn’t going to last much longer especially for the folks up front. Greyhaven delivered a relentless set of heavy hitting songs, breakdowns and guttural screams as the first crowd surfers went up over the crowd reaching the stage before promptly launching themselves at some of the poor VIP audience waiting for Paledusk. With the moshes becoming more ferocious, I can sense that shift in the audience as the venue has turned into a haven for hardcore lovers for the rest of the night.

Right, I can’t stress this enough, the final support band before Paledusk was about to drag the night into a far more vicious and aggressive direction, and I loved every minute of it. This was one of those rare occasions where a band I’d never even heard of, much like the first time I witnessed Paledusk back in 2025 stepped onto a stage and completely killed it. The energy, the showmanship, and the unbridled chaos they unleashed before the headliners took over showcased exactly why they were such a perfect fit for this tour.

Japanese band Knosis turned the DEFCON level of the audience all the way up, delivering a furious, high-energy, and relentlessly vicious metalcore set that frequently veered into hardcore territory. I couldn’t take my eyes off the absolute insanity erupting throughout the crowd circle pits, relentless moshing, spin kicks, windmilling arms, two-stepping, crowd surfing, stage diving… you get the picture, the venue was a battleground.

Frontman Ryo Kinoshita commanded the stage with feral intensity, darting from one side to the other while unleashing punishing vocals over the crushing breakdowns delivered by the rest of the band. But staying on stage clearly wasn’t enough for him. Throwing himself directly into the crowd, Ryo fully embraced the chaos alongside the punters, moshing and crowd surfing in the middle of the carnage his band had helped create.

Finally the moment everyone in the audience was waiting for including myself. Paledusk hailing from Fukuoka, Japan took the stage. The venue went black as their intro song ‘Theme Song #1’ introduced the band to the stage, as they stormed out one by one accompanied by the audience erupting in admiration. For the next hour and twenty minutes it was Paledusk’s stage, showcasing why they sold out The Dome.

With no time to spare, Paledusk hit the ground running as frontman Kaito greeted the crowd, shouting about his love for the London audience before launching straight into ‘I ♡ YOU BABY!!’ from the band’s newest album. The audience was thrown headfirst into the chaotic brilliance that defines Paledusk’s sound, a relentless fusion of shifting tempos, genre bending elements, and unpredictable song structures that somehow come together flawlessly in the live setting.

Next up is one of my personal favourite songs Paledusk has produced, ‘SLAY!!’. This is probably the best example of Paledusk’s fearless experimentation of genres across their music discography adding elements of jazz, rap and metalcore all packaged into one of the grooviest songs that you can’t help but smile and vibe out to. Do you dance? Do you mosh? I don’t know? Do what feels right!

Paledusk continued their masterclass domination of the metalcore landscape, tearing through material from both Paledusk and Palehell, with each member getting their moment to shine showcasing just how tightly honed their musicianship is.

The crowd, already fully primed by the support acts, showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, the intensity only escalated mosh pits in every corner of the venue, continuously churning circle pits. The entire venue felt like it was in constant motion. If Knosis had turned the room into a battlefield earlier in the night, Paledusk transformed it into a warzone.

Another stand out track ‘PALEHELL’ from the EP Palehell began, as calls for a circle pit and moshing from singer Kaito echoed throughout the room. A lyric from the song, “Make fun of this Hell”, lands hard, it feels like a shared attitude, especially in a moment where everything outside the venue feels uncertain and loud in its own way. There’s something fitting about how Paledusk turn that noise into something fun, even cathartic, reminding you that sometimes the best thing you can do is show up, do something stupid with your friends, and take a chance on a band you might never have heard before, because they might just become the one you don’t forget.

Paledusk kept the momentum surging as they tore through deeper cuts from their discography, including ‘Q2’ and the fan-favourite ‘AREA PD’, with the energy in the room refusing to dip for a second. Frontman Kaito continued to push the performance with raw, screeching vocals, while guitarist DAIDAI turned the stage into a blur of movement, spin kicks between riffs, commanding stage presence, and technically intricate guitar work that stood out in his chaotic movements. His wider production credentials, including work on Post Human: NeX GEn by Bring Me The Horizon and DETOX by ONE OK ROCK, only underline how structurally tight and ambitious Paledusk’s own material is, with that level of craftsmanship on display throughout their live shows and their night in London.

Singer Kaito took a moment to introduce ‘HUGS’, explaining how meaningful the track is to him and to the band. He noted that the song holds a special place in their journey and has quickly become one of Paledusk’s most significant releases in terms of reaching a wider global audience.

As the opening theme for the hit Shonen Jump anime Gachiakuta, ‘HUGS’ has helped propel the band into a new level of international recognition. This exposure has opened the door for Paledusk to headline their own shows, connect with fans around the world, and showcase why I personally think they are a fresh and forward pushing force in the modern metalcore scene.

As the night drew closer to its end, Kaito once again stepped forward to speak to the crowd. He pointed out something that clearly moved him, an English speaking audience singing Paledusk’s lyrics back in Japanese, word for word.

He took a moment to reflect on what that meant, speaking about how music has the power to break through language barriers and borders in a way few other things can. For him, it wasn’t just impressive, it was meaningful.

He emphasised how powerful it is to witness that kind of connection, especially for a Japanese band performing far from home. In that moment, the language difference didn’t matter; what mattered was the shared energy in the room, and the way music was bringing everyone together as one audience.

This was it, the final chance for the crowd to get whatever energy they had left out of their system as Paledusk came back for their encore. ‘RUMBLE’ hit, and the audience was straight into it. The mosh started pushing further and further toward the front of the stage as the song kept flipping through its many tempo shifts, sudden switch-ups, heavy breakdowns and guitar solos.

Live, it’s chaos in the best way. It’s loud, messy, kind of overwhelming, but it just works. There’s so much going on at once, loop pedals, stacking layers of synth and keyboards, saxaphones, djent, guitar solos and parts that feel like they belong to completely different songs all stitched together somehow into this amalgamation of insanity. It shouldn’t make sense, but it does.

Last up, ‘LIGHTS’. Kaito explains that this song holds a special place in his heart as it was written for a friend who passed away, he asked the audience if they could take out their phones, put on their flash lights and illuminate the room as the band delivered a memorable final performance of the night.

It goes without saying how immensely talented Paledusk is. This current UK/Europe tour feels like a statement more than anything else. This is Paledusk’s time to take over.

They don’t just feel like a band passing through, they feel like a group forcing their way into a much bigger conversation across the scene, showing what modern metalcore can be. The momentum they’ve been building is hard to ignore, and if that trajectory holds, festival stages across Europe and beyond feel like the obvious next step.

So, ‘What Is Paledusk??’ You’ll just have to go to a show and see for yourself!