VampireFreaks hosted its first Dark Force Fest at the Sheraton Castle in Parsippany, New Jersey and had one hell of a lineup for the three day festival between March 31st and April 2nd. There were performances by Psyclon Nine, Danny Blu, Curse Makey, Empathy Test, and dozens more. Saturday night’s headliner was none other than the industrial/aggrotech powerhouse, Combichrist.
Throughout the hotel’s corridors and lobbies were a mass collection of creative vendors, musicians, and the best dressed of the goth and industrial community. Anywhere you looked there were endless works of art, jewelry, clothes, and trinkets to purchase. Honestly, the hardest thing to do was to keep firm to my budget while waiting for Combichrist to take the stage.
The band had organized an old school set with an all-electronica hit list of crowd favorites. Fueled by a never-ending cascading stream of bass and rhythmic beats, Combichrist’s performance was on fire. Frontman Andy LaPlegua accompanied by Elliott Berlin on keys and back-up vocals blazed through the stage and ignited the high energy set that engulfed the entire venue. Guitarists Jamie Cronander and Eric 13 joined intermittently throughout the show and further propelled the already crazy fun setlist. With smiles beaming from the audience and band alike, whenever these guys are in town there is a guaranteed music party of industrial proportions.
Combichrist has also announced an upcoming tour in September and October with Megaherz throughout Europe.
Make sure to check out the links below:
Dark Force Fest
Combichrist Instagram
Megaherz Instagram
