Death Cult – 3Olympia – Live Review
by Killian Laher

Death Cult at the 3Olympia – 07/11/23

The Cult weren’t very good at being goths, they were much better at being rockers and it was the rockier material on Love, Electric etc where they really made their mark.  So it was with trepidation that we approached this gig, a revival of their pre-Cult incarnation as Death Cult.  They promised to play nothing later than the Love album.  First up was support act Lili Refrain who combined keyboards, drumming, guitar playing, operatic singing and theatrical hand gestures, all looped over and over creating something of a wall of sound.  Playing lengthy pieces seemingly without a beginning, middle or end, shades of John Carpenter crept into her set as it went on.  Certainly an ‘arty’ performance.

Death Cult, featuring singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy from the original line up opened with 83rd Dream and played their early material flawlessly, clearly well-rehearsed.  Astbury cut a lean and mean figure, very trimmed down from how he appeared a few years ago, while Duffy cut something of a rock god, cranking out the guitar lines.  Resurrection Joe proved to be an early highlight, while Hollow Man showed just how tight the four-piece band were.  The guitar action didn’t let up throughout, and the set culminated with excellent versions of Spiritwalker and Rain.  After briefly leaving the stage, they returned with Astbury clad in a hoodie to do a short encore of Moya and She Sells Sanctuary, the latter sounding fresh and vibrant, showing no signs of the fact they’ve probably played a few thousand times.

Although it was an enjoyable set with the songs played energetically and flawlessly, it felt like half a Cult concert.  With nothing from their rockier era, you found yourself wishing for some Rick Rubin-era material.  There wasn’t even a ‘yayow’ from Astbury but let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of these guys.