With support from London Extreme Metal veterans Damim and Hull’s death metal new kids on the block Impurist, the return to Newcastle Pestilence on the Echoes Of Horror UK Tour was a celebration of nearly four decades of the legendary sound that they first crafted back in 1986.
Pestilence – Damim – Impurist
Grove, Newcastle – 11 December 2025
Words: Matty Hunter
Photography: thedailyddt at Vision Impact Photography
The venue was the Grove in Byker (yes, it is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the hit TV show), which is an old industrial building turned into a modern cultural spot, just a few miles outside Newcastle city centre, and one that I had not visited for a concert.
From the moment I entered the tucked-away venue, it was clear that this was a special venue. The place had a chill atmosphere that felt welcoming straight away, helped by small touches like free autograph cards laid out on the merch table and a genuinely friendly guy running it.
It was great to see members from the support bands already chatting with fans, and I was officially welcomed by Damim’s frontman and tour booker for this run, Nathanael Underwood.
The Grove had great lighting and crisp acoustics that carried every note cleanly, setting the perfect foundation for the excellent night that followed.
Impurist
First on the bill at around 7:15 were Impurist, the Hull-based Death Metal unit which formed in 2023 and features a wealth of experience in former and current members of Hell Bastard, Extreme Noise Terror, Gorerotted and Winterfylleth.
The band have released two EPs to their name so far, and are already deep into writing their debut full-length, scheduled for release in late 2026. They have completed three songs already, as their drummer mentioned to me before the show, and the fans in attendance got an early preview of some of those tracks.
From the outset, their pedigree shone through, and they wasted no time setting the tone for the evening with a sheer slab of brutality.
An ominous intro slowly built into a sprawling seven minutes of relentless force on the opening number, which was delivered with absolute swagger by vocalist BM, whose presence had the room gripped.
The next couple of tracks followed in the same vein before BM addressed the room with a nod to the night’s headliners: “Back in 1348, pestilence came to the UK,” he said. “Tonight, a different kind of Pestilence comes,” before launching into Bubonic Ecstasy. Taken from their second EP, Evolving Cortex, the track highlighted a clear step forward from their already strong debut, Punishment Without Mercy.
The band’s sound has sharpened and evolved, with subtle shifts in vocal delivery that keep their brutal directness while hinting at a broader, more confident identity.
Another cut from the second EP followed, Teeth and Limbs, introduced with a shoutout to those who have served or continue to serve in the military, before the band launched into an even more aptly named offering for the evening, Pestilence Plains.
Across their 30-minute set, Impurist delivered a punishing performance. Their musicianship was admirable, with MW’s guitar work, PL’s bass presence, and JR’s drumming all complementing BM’s vocals and reflecting their serious experience.
It was a straightforward Death Metal assault, executed to perfection. Impurist warmed the room for the bands that were to follow, and I am already looking forward to their debut album and hopefully catching them live again soon.
Damim
Second on the bill were Damim, joining Pestilence on this tour run, and they proved to merit that spot with their performance. Formed in London in 1997, the band’s music lies somewhere between Progressive Black and Death Metal, fusing atmosphere, insane technicality, and raw aggression into their sound.
Lyrically, they explore philosophical darkness, artificial intelligence, societal collapse, and other territories that many bands avoid entirely.
The band have shown a steady evolution across their discography, from three early demos to a debut album in 2005, a follow-up in 2007, their most recent full-length in 2019, and an EP two years ago. It was hinted that a new album is on the horizon in the new year, alongside an expanded run of tour dates, so exciting times are ahead for the UK veterans.
On paper, Damim are a trio, with founding member Nathanael Underwood on vocals and guitars (previously bassist for Akercocke, 2016–18), Flow Toulman on drums, and Faust Perez on bass, with the latter two previously of the band Lowen.
But for this show, and what I discovered to be the tour, the Newcastle crowd were met by four musicians on stage, with an added guitarist unveiled as a local lad and the band’s new axeman.
At around 8:10, Damim erupted into their set before Underwood delivered the first of several addresses to the crowd, saying, “Please welcome our new guitarist and get ready to boo him, he’s from Sunderland!” Naturally, a wave of good-natured boos rolled through the room before the band tore into Made Of Beasts.
It was clear from the opening riffs that their sound was dense, blackened, and commanding, and any curiosity about what the band were about instantly flipped into full attention.
“Thank you, Newcastle, thank you Geordies. It seems we’re talking to you in a language you understand,” Underwood teased next, introducing the opening track of the A Fine Game Of Nil album. This song was a particular highlight as it had a groove that hooked you in instantly.
It did not take long for another nod to the Geordie crowd when Underwood added, “If I do say so myself – why aye man,” which only spurred the crowd on further.
The connection between the band and the growing audience was electric as Toulman’s drumming thundered throughout and the collective sound shook the floor, led by Underwood, who balanced vocals and intricate guitar work with ease.
At one point, the vocalist raised his pint to toast the crowd, only for someone to yell “SLAYER!” from the back. He cracked up immediately. “No, we don’t play that. But we do play this,” he replied, as the band broke into Mirror Image Ritual, my personal favourite, before closing with a final flurry of tracks.
By the time Damim wrapped up just before 9 pm, their 50-minute set felt both perfectly measured and blisteringly tight. The band had done more than just warm up the venue, they had blown the roof off it. Their musicianship and sound was phenomenal, and they completely gripped me.
I can now say I walked away a Damim fan, and I thoroughly look forward to their new record and tour.
Pestilence
It was time for the legendary Dutch Death Metal pioneers, Pestilence, to take to the stage. Almost forty years into their career, Pestilence arrived with an expansive, career-spanning set, taking the Newcastle crowd through material from across their discography and charting the evolution of their sound.
Led by legendary vocalist/guitarist, lyricist and founding member Patrick Mameli, the only ever-present member in the band’s history, Pestilence’s journey has never been a straight line.
From a split in 1994, to a 2008 reunion, a hiatus in 2014, and a final resurrection in 2016, Mameli’s resilience mirrors his band’s relentless and uncompromising music.
The current lineup sees Michiel Van der Plicht on drums, Max Blok on guitar and Dario Rudic as the freshest member on bass. However, on this run, former bassist Roel Käller is seeing out touring duties for the year before handing the torch over to his counterpart Dario in 2026.
This UK tour marks Pestilence’s first return to these shores since 2019 and their first appearance up here in Newcastle since October 1991 on the Testimony Of The Ancients tour. The venue on that occasion was the Riverside, just a few miles from this evening’s gig.
As the crowd packed in tightly for the headliners, I could not help but wonder how many fans in attendance, if any, had been there some 34 years earlier.
Following a meticulous sound check, Pestilence took to the stage and the band exchanged fist bumps before surging into their opening number, The Secrecies Of Horror. With the final note ringing out, vocalist Mameli roared, “Newcastle, what is up? How are we doing? Let us get to it then,” before the band burst into Lost Souls, and the response was deafening.
A classic from their Consuming Impulse record in Dehydrated followed, and by the time they reached Morbus Propagationem, five songs in, the floor had opened into a mosh pit. The collective momentum from band and crowd carried into The Process Of Suffocation, and the room clearly loved hearing that song live.
Resurrection Macabre followed, and the band showed no sign of letting up, at least that was until Mameli snapped a guitar string, proving just how hard he was attacking every note. This only fuelled him further.
Once sorted, a few minutes later, the band soldiered on and picked up that intensity, and riff after riff was impossible not to headbang to as they reached tracks from their back catalogue before ending with Land Of Tears and delivering an unbelievable performance.
The band wrapped a little earlier than scheduled at around 10:30, but the night did not end when the final note was played, as I had the chance to chat with the band post-show and get their autographs.
I had a particularly enjoyable conversation with Patrick Mameli himself, a true Death Metal trailblazer who was humble, passionate, and generous with his time as he signed everything that I asked him to.
I had to ask how he keeps his voice sounding so close to the albums after all these years, and his secret? “Drinking milk on stage,” he told me. “None of this beer when I’m performing, I drink milk to lubricate my vocal cords so I can sing to the best of my ability” and that just summed up the Dutchman’s dedication to his craft.
With a new album around the corner, entitled Portals, due in Spring next year, the future looks bright for Pestilence. This current lineup looks to be going places and shows no signs of slowing down.
Witnessing Death Metal elder statesmen in my hometown felt like an honour and tonight proved their legacy will continue to pulverise audiences and ears alike for years to come.
