JILUKA, Japan’s hottest metal export, returned to London just 3 months after their intense, sold-out UK debut—this time as part of their K4RMA – The Return – world tour. For their only UK stop of the tour, the band graced the stage of the 600 capacity Victorian venue The Dome in Tufnell Park.
As fans piled into the venue, the pre-show playlist could be heard across the speakers, playing favourites from the likes of DIR EN GREY, MUCC, D’espairsRay, and BABYMETAL. A sizeable line for merch had already formed, with fans eager to get their hands on the coveted 2-shot cheki (Instax Polaroid photos) tickets. It was interesting to hear from various attendees about why they came to the show- some into electronic music had found JILUKA and fallen in love with their blend of djent and dubstep, while others were there through their love of VK. The crowd were dressed in their best, with bangya in elaborate VK styles and even a couple of Sena cosplayers. Hung at the back of the venue was the JILUKA banner made by the street team with illustrations of each band member, and many messages from the fans written across it.
At 8pm the lights dimmed, and the crowd prepared themselves for the coming onslaught. The band eventually emerged; Zyean (dr.), then Boogie (ba.), Sena (gt.), and finally Ricko (vo.), to increasingly loud screams. JILUKA’s first song of the night was ‘BLVCK’, with its welt-forming drum beats, synth laced melody, and huge breakdown.
Fired up, the crowd exchanged smiles and screams with the band, then Ricko announced the next song- the absolutely eviscerating ‘S4VAGE’. As always, everyone went wild for Sena’s rapping, and the gunshot sound-filled breakdown got the crowd stamping and headbanging.
As last time, the band had mini interludes separating many of the songs, each as musically intense as their full songs. Ricko yelled “Make some fucking noise!” to which the crowd obliged chanting “JILUKA!”, Ricko responding with a big smile and thumbs up. The 4-piece led us into 2021’s ‘KUMARI’, a mostly slower track than the first two, but still heavy and intense. The chorus allowed moments to sing along between headbanging to the thudding, chugging djent breakdowns; the crowd may already need neck braces at this point (writer’s note; I certainly did).
Next came the fan favourite- ‘BaLa-DeDa’. The crowd went wild, with the front row joining hands and headbanging in unison. During the lull toward the end of the song, the band appeared to bask in the screams of the crowd.
RELATED: JILUKA live in London: Electro-gothic metallers sell-out UK debut
Into the next interlude, this time heavier, and inviting more chanting, JILUKA went into 2015 single Screamer. A pure metalcore track, it has a long guitar solo for Sena to show-off with while it felt like he stared into our souls, smiling and winking. In fact the band all made a conscious effort to interact with the crowd in small ways when they could, somehow making it feel like we were as much a part of the performance as them.
Next came ‘Lethal Affliction’, another metalcore track, originally released in 2016 and re-recorded in 2019. It has a hardcore tinge with a two-steppable beat at points, as well as a djenty breakdown, getting the crowd swept up in a frenzy.
Ricko, Sena, and Boogie all then left the stage for Zyean’s famous drum solo section. A 10-minute multi-part affair, it gave us a chance to truly appreciate Zyean’s insane drumming skills. Doing tricks mid-drumroll, appearing so effortless in his drumming, Zyean is a force. The rest of the band rejoined the stage, Ricko introducing Zyean to a wall of noise and applause. They turned their backs preparing for the next song, while Ricko encouraged the crowd’s chanting by raising his arms.
Now hurtling into ‘Twisted Pain’, Ricko gestured for the crowd to jump, and Sena and Boogie switched sides to make sure to interact with all parts of the crowd. The older more purely metal focused tracks always go down a treat, this being no exception.
The next interlude came, this time more dancey, before heading into ‘Eclipse’ from 2021’s ‘IDOLA’. With an almost Crossfaith-like opening, the track leads into Sena rapping, followed by Ricko’s yelling, and a melodic chorus. Each rap section of the song sent the crowd wild, along with the guitar solo. The breakdown in this track felt absolutely huge performed live, then the trance-tinged electronic lull leading back to the final chorus brought us right back to headbanging territory.
Ricko then announced ‘SUZAKU’, another favourite also from ‘IDOLA’, raising screams from the crowd. We were getting no rest here tonight. The relentless drums and the immaculate guitar work were impressive to say the least. Ending by heading straight into the next interlude, this time with an epic build, the crowd were hyped.
‘Ablaze’ began with Ricko signalling for a circle pit as the impossible pace of Zyean’s drumming kicked in. At one point Ricko got real up close and personal with Sena, much to the fans’ delight. The massive breakdown was the grindiest yet, Ricko’s growls permeating the air around us, and the deep heavy guitar and bass reverberating around the venue.
Ricko thanked us, before the band played another fan favourite ‘Raison d’etre’. The extremely danceable track had everyone moving, despite it being later in the setlist.
Again turning their backs to us for another interlude, JILUKA then played their final two songs of the main set; ‘OVERKILL’ and ‘VENΦM’. I previously described ‘OVERKILL’ as “an insane wall of sound”, and I stand by that statement. The breakdown went HARD. The track is one of the band’s heaviest, and leading right into the equally heavy, if not heavier, ‘VENΦM’ we had no time to even think about anything else. Ricko’s screams here felt particularly impressive, especially considering he’d been screaming for nearly an hour and a half straight. The crowd gave their all during the final breakdown, matching JILUKA’s seemingly endless energy. The band waved to us all, Sena making a half heart shape with his hand, all eventually leaving the stage to prepare for the encore.
Those who attended the previous London show knew what would be coming soon. The encore chants faded and the band filed back onto the stage wearing their tour merch; a few chants of “Buy it!” could already be heard around the hall. Ricko asked us “London, are you fucking ready?!”, the crowd cheering back. He wagged his finger and loudly tutted “tch tch tch!”, to which the audience screamed even louder, Ricko now looking satisfied.
This led us into ‘Ajna -SgVer-‘ which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Afterwards, Ricko screamed “Oh my fucking god!” followed by the audience chanting again.
Our scheduled VK QVC time was here, Ricko disappearing and coming back with the tote bag filled with merch. Fans began chanting “buy it, buy it, buy it!” before Ricko even had a chance. Showing off each item before screaming the now infamous “BUY IT!”, Ricko then eventually turned to Boogie who was sat at the back of the stage to scream “Boogie! BUY IT!” making Boogie laugh, before pressing his finger against his lips to shush everyone. Ricko continued the segment, the fans lapping it up.
We also had an MC segment from each member, all of them expressing their happiness and gratitude toward us. Sena took to the mic and joked “Long time no see” then asking “What’s up?!”. The crowd cheered, and he looked disappointed, asking “Huh, are you tired?!” to which the crowd screamed in reply “no!”. He asked again, “What’s up?!” the audience this time screaming it back at him. Then he took the chance tell us not to worry- having previously lost his belly-bar, he has a new one! He lifted his shirt to reveal his new, much blingier, belly-piercing jewellery with the fans screaming in delight.
The last song of the night was ‘Obliterator’. A fitting close to the setlist, and one last chance to let loose. Ricko called for a wall of death, signalling us with his arms as if parting the sea of people. As the breakneck guitar from Sena kicked in the crowd lunged into action. The track came to an end in a blur, the crowd breathless from the final pit.
The members each said their goodbyes. Sena thanked us all again, and made a heart shape with his hands to everyone. The band members slowly left the stage, each smiling and waving at the crowd, and Boogie blew a kiss to us all. The show was over.
Despite the smaller turnout, It was obvious that they still gave their all to us, acknowledging the crowd’s enthusiasm and adoration. The members were smiling back at us all night, with Ricko grinning ear to ear even through screams and growls. JILUKA made their return to London a night to remember. And the boys still had more work to do, with the 2-shot session beginning shortly after the show ended. A queue for the merch table quickly formed, while the queue for 2-shots assembled on the opposite side. JILUKA may be one of the first bands to play here that have offered a 2-shot session (a normal occurrence at many VK shows in Japan), so fans clamoured for the chance (I’m still kicking myself I didn’t get one too to be honest).
The setlist had a good range of songs on it, but only a handful different from the previous London show. Some fans who attended the first show may have been left wanting for other tracks in the setlist, but the hardcore fans didn’t really seem to care, they’re just happy to see their favs in the flesh again and go wild! Additions to the set like ‘Screamer’ and ‘Lethal Affliction’ felt at home, despite the band’s change in direction in recent time, straying from metalcore and deathcore into their signature EGM style.
RELATED: JILUKA return to the US for 4-city tour this fall
The band have just wrapped up their European return tour, with their return to the US coming up in just under 2 months. If you were on the fence about going, this is your sign to book those tickets- you won’t be disappointed.
Relive the night by listening to the ‘JILUKA K4RMA – The Return – London setlist’ on Spotify below.
Photos by Charles Shepherd
JILUKA K4RMA – The Return – | London Setlist
- BLVCK
- S4VAGE
(interlude) s.e. -PRG:KRM- - KUMARI
(interlude) Mad Injection – Shot.1 – - BaLa-DeDa
(interlude) Mad Injection – Shot2. – - Screamer
- Lethal Affliction
- Zyean drum solo
(interlude) s/e/ -Krishna- - Twisted Pain
(interlude) Mad Injection – Shot.3 – - Eclipse
- SUZAKU
(interlude) s.e. -PRG:ODL- - Ablaze
- Raison d’etre
(interlude) s.e. -KILLA- - OVERKILL
- VENΦM
ENCORE - Ajna -SgVer-
- Obliterator
JILUKA
S4VAGE
Release Date: 10/06/2024
Label: FAIZH MUSIC LLC
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
