Cradle of Filth and Devildriver dominate on the Double Trouble Live co-headliner

Posted by Ramon Gonzales in Culture on March 13, 2023

Dani Filth and Dez Fafara shine as veteran voices and consummate showmen in extreme music.

The Southern California stop of the Double Trouble Live US tour, saw the union of two of heavy music’s most venerated, accomplished and dynamic frontmen showcase why they remain at such high rank.

Dani Filth and his cohorts in Cradle of Filth, along Dez Fafara and his brethren in Devildriver began the first weekend of their Southwest stretch and delivered an evening loaded with vile spectacle and volatile stage energy.

Unloading 10-song set that revisited the enduring greatness of their first decade, Cradle of Filth reached as far back as their 1994 debut with the title track of “The Principle of Evil Made Flesh” in what amounted to a celebration of nearly three decades of damnation.

Including beloved cuts from Dusk and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast, combined with more recent offerings including “Crawling King Chaos” from Existence Is Futile, Filth also took on their latest, “She’s A Fire” which will be included on the band’s first live album in 20 years, Trouble and Their Double Lives which arrives next month via Napalm Records.

As for Devildriver, the tour underscored the band’s return to the stage for the first time in nearly three years and came packaged with the news of a forthcoming studio album, Dealing With Demons Vol. II. Operating with an obvious sense of momentum, Devildriver proved dominant from the jump, opening with a rendition of “Keep Away From Me” that reiterated a punishing return to form.

Anthems like “Clouds Over California”, “Grinfucked” and the band’s colossal cover of AWOLNATION’s “Sail” served as powerful reminders of how sorely Devildriver was missed and spoke to the prowess of Fafara as one of the best to ever do it.

Paired with the opening sets of progressive metal prospect ONI and New York noir-rock outfit Black Satellite, Double Trouble Live was a complete presentation of rock heavy revelry that showcased legends in their prime along reasons to feel optimistic about the next generation just the same.

Check the gallery of images shot by Maurice Nunez via HeaviestofArt.com

See the remaining dates for Double Trouble Live with Cradle of Filth and Devildriver below.