Blackbriar and Forever Still at The Underworld, London 28/10/2025

It was the end of October, pumpkins were lit to guide the living and the dead and everyone was ecstatic for their favourite holiday – Halloween. Outside of The Underworld in London, five-hundred people gathered to witness the magical ritual of Blackbriar, who honoured the capital with its presence. Arriving from the Netherlands with its enchanters Zora Cock (vocals), René Boxam (drums), Siebe Sol Sijpkens (bass), Bart Winters (guitars), Robin Koezen (guitars) and Ruben Wijga (keyboards), the band is currently on its EU and UK tour supporting their latest release A Thousand Little Deaths, that has been unveiled in August.

The six-piece’s sold-out set at The Underworld was supported by the Danish band Forever Still.

Forever Still

Before the opening act began its set, the venue was already filled with fans who were eager to see both bands. Around an hour after the doors were opened and few technical issues, Forever Still fiercely took over the iconic stage. The founding members Maja Shining (vocals, piano, synth, theremin) and Mikkel Haastrup (bass, guitars, keyboards, synth), as well as members who joined them for the live shows Innuteq Kleemann (guitars) and Viktor Enebjörn (drums), brought with them a mystical atmosphere and enchanting vocals, that made the full floor move around. Shining was moving around the stage gracefully while singing flawlessly, taking over the keyboard a few times. The set featured nine songs, Survive, Find a Way, This Dark Abyss, So I Run, Do Your Worst, Breathe In Colours, Yell To The Sky, Vermillion Fade and Embrace The Tide, showcasing the band’s rich repertoire from their founding until recent times. At the end, Forever Still were met with loud applause and cheers, indicating the fans indeed enjoyed the performance.

Blackbriar

After the strong opening act, it was already time for the headliner to take over the infamous venue, and how else could that be done than in a true Blackbriar fashion. Starting the night with an excerpt from Lana Del Rey’s hit song Young and Beautiful transitioning into the first song Bluebeard’s Chamber, while having a working spinning wheel on the stage, has already set the expectation for the night very high, but it all skyrocketed when the whole band came out on the stage. Cock took over the venue with her strong aura and voice and had the whole audience watching her in awe, as she effortlessly sang the high notes in the songs. Although the band was primarily promoting their newest album A Thousand Little Deaths with songs such as A Last Sigh Of Bliss, Floriography, Green Light Across The Bay, The Catastrophe That Is Us, The Fossilized Widow and The Hermit and the Lover, which covered only a fraction of their setlist, they also performed songs from their previous albums such as Cicada, Crimson Faces, Far Distant Land, Spirit of Forgetfulness, Deadly Diminuendo, Selkie, The Séance, Arms of the Ocean, I’d Rather Burn and their all time hit Until Eternity. The biggest surprise of the night was when all five-hundred people in the audience sang one of the songs completely on their own word to word, just with the support of the musicians.

The atmosphere of the whole evening was unforgettable, the interactions between both the band and the fans were constant and it was noticeable the band was taken aback by the amount of people in The Underworld that showed up on a Tuesday night just to see them perform. Although London was the only stop on the tour that took place on the islands, that evening absolutely showed Blackbriar that their British fanbase is big, which was also evident by the amount of fans who bought the VIP package for the show. London loves bands that are revolving their songs around legends, mysteries and folklore, and Blackbriar is not an exception to this.