Check out Dance With The Dead’s new album, “Loved to Death” here!
Cold air from entrance door bites at the back of my neck and soon dissipates as I ascend a short staircase to the main floor of the “Big Room Bar.” The brewery-district venue has a partnership with the local alternative station, CD102.5, but it’s the first time I’ve attended a show here. The “Big Room Bar” is, in fact, deceptively big – but that’s hard to discern with so many bodies packed in so tight. The show hasn’t yet begun, and already the main room is nearing at least 75% capacity.
The attendance is a great surprise for a Wednesday night synth-metal show. Ohio is often overlooked by artists on tour and I’m pleased to see the number of fans here showing their support. One lone bartender furiously works the bar – the poor bastard – it’s clear that not even the venue was expecting such a turnout.
Of course, they’ve never dealt with Dance With The Dead or Daniel Deluxe.
I meet with the tour manager and step into the green room to meet Justin and Tony of DWTD and Daniel of Daniel Deluxe. Their mood is very relaxed as they sip on a few beers, readying for the show. Tony looks up, guitar in hand, and introduces himself. While we chat he continues to practice almost subconsciously – not unlike Skwisgaar from Metalocalypse. I begin our small interview before the show.
How has the tour has been so far?
“It’s been awesome man – it’s been great. We’re at the halfway point right now,” says Tony. Justin nods and pipes up, “I feel like our tours always go by pretty fast.”
Tony relates that it’s Daniels first time to the states. I ask him how he’s liked it so far and he gives it a good to mixed review.
“So far,” Daniel says with a laugh, “the most surprising thing was how cheap our sodas are!”
So, you’ve been touring a new album, “Loved to Death,” How do you feel about the reception of the new album?
“It’s the most energetic records we’ve put out and written, one of the hardest. We’re really proud of it. Sometimes we can pump out songs pretty fast, but with this one we took our time and dissected every part of the song until we got what we thought was perfection. We’re stoked on it, we’re touring for it – and so far we’ve had great feedback!”
“Loved to Death” is one of your most intense albums so far – how was your production different between this album and your previous?
“We put in a lot of time for this record. We wanted to make sure the record slammed into fifth gear and took the listener on a journey.”
Do you plan on getting heavier over time? What’s next in the Dance with the Dead sound?
“We’re not sure yet… but we’re always exploring for new inspiration so we shall see!”
The synthwave and darksynth scenes have been steadily growing over the past few years – do you think the genres are getting to big for their own boots, or do you think it still has room to grow?
“I think there’s still room to grow and it should be interesting to see where it’s at in the next year or so.”
How has the tour been so far? What are you favorite highlights or conversely, some of the more difficult moments?
“Tour has been great so far. Some of the highlights are playing places we’ve never been to and meeting and making new fans. Difficulty’s would be dealing with Van and trailer issues. Those are never fun…”
(After the show) How did you like the Columbus crowd?
“We didn’t know what to expect since it was our first time but the crowd and energy was great! Looking forward to coming back.”
I notice Daniel has exited behind me to start the show, so I thank them for their time and make my exit to take some photos.
Daniel Deluxe puts on one hell of a show. He mixes his tracks together in a deft manner – subtly changing the tracks to amazing effect. His darksynth sound is deep and raw enough to get even the metal heads in the audience head banging.
Too soon, his set is over – and Dance With The Dead takes the stage. As they do so some curtains are lifted, revealing two massive skulls that blast neon green light into the audience. The crowd rushes forward and soon it becomes difficult to get photos with the erratic mix of head banging and dancing going on. They absolutely tear up their sound – hitting every note with an expert flourish. Often they switch between keyboard and guitar.
I had specifically chosen not to listen to their new album beforehand, and I’m greatly surprised by the evolution of their sound into heavier, darker territory. Vocal stabs from horror movies punctuate the end of tracks, and as soon as it began the show is over. The audience screams for an encore before they’ve left the stage – and they return quickly with three full final tracks.
This tour is certainly not one to miss – grab your ticket for one of their last remaining shows if you haven’t already!
Click Here to see their remaining tour dates!
