Visual kei EGM pioneers JILUKA hit London once again on June 19th. A rarity in music in general, and even rarer within visual kei, is performing 3 European tours within the span of less than 12 months, yet JILUKA have done just that.
Their last show in London was just 9 months ago, with their sold-out London debut less than 3 months before that. THE KVLT tour came as a surprise to many, expecting that perhaps the band would be settling into the studio to concentrate on their new album before touring again. JILUKA aren’t ones to sit still though.
This time, the band stepped up to the 800 capacity O2 Academy Islington. Though not quite sold out, the room felt respectably full. However, unfortunately for JILUKA, they had the unlucky task of performing in yet another London heatwave. Still, the gaggles of VK fans came decked out in their best, determined not to let the heat interfere with their outfits.
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Before the band took the stage, the venue filled with the classic pre-show playlist featuring artists such as ONE OK ROCK, Crystal Lake, DIR EN GREY, and NIGHTMARE. The latter’s ‘The World’ triggered a wave of nostalgia with fans singing their hearts out with the “sekai wo”, just as hard as they did just 6 months ago in these very walls.
Soon, it was time for the support act to take the stage. NiNi, a band fronted by Taiwanese folk metal musician Nini, quickly got the crowd on side. Nini plays traditional Chinese instruments, tonight delighting us with her skillful playing of both the sanxian and the zhongruan. The band focused more on instrumentals, but also feature 2 vocalists; Nini, and bassist Jesse.
In amongst their original songs, including one introduced as being about the legend of the Monkey King, Wukong, were a few covers, including Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’. Other songs allowed for some teach and sing moments, while the closing number invited a full 90s nostalgia party. Their metal cover of Britney Spears classic ‘…Baby One More Time’, ended the set on a high, with NiNi earning whole lot of new fans, myself included.
Just a short time later, JILUKA took to the stage. Donning their Gantz-like fits here in London once again, they launched fast into latest single, and tour namesake, ‘KVLT’. The heavy dubstep line broke the crowd into an instant moshpit.
From here they went straight into ‘VENOM’, the members all with arms outstretched welcoming the screams of the crowd. Ricko thanked us, and after a very brief MC, the opening sounds of ‘BaLa-DeDa’ rang across the venue. THE fan favourite of every show so far, it got everyone moving and screaming along, the front row incessantly headbanging in unison over the barrier, and the yells of “Take it fuckin’ beat!” sounding from across the crowd.
The next 4 songs were older cuts; 2015’s ‘Screamer’, ‘Twisted Pain’, and ‘Raison d’etre’, and 2018’s ‘Hellraiser’. It’s ‘Raison d’etre’ that always stands out though, with its irresistible groove giving chance for some dancing over moshing. Here, Sena approached Boogie, raising his arms into a heart shape above his head, the two cracking smiles at each other before continuing to play face to face and headbanging along.
After this, Ricko, Sena, and Boogie exited the stage, making way for Zyean’s drum-solo, which feels like tradition at this point. Clocking in at around 10 minutes, it was as impressive as ever, seeing the precision and power that Zyean brings to the table, or drums I suppose.
Coming back to the stage, Ricko took then introduced all the members, as if he even needed to, the crowd’s screams rising with each introduction. ‘KUMARI’ was up next, Ricko holding the mic out to the crowd for the chorus, although I’m not sure how many actually knew the words.
‘Lethal Affliction’, ‘The Purge’, and ‘Ablaze’ followed, with Ricko gesturing for a circle pit multiple times. The crowd did as they were told, despite the aforementioned heatwave.
Ricko then told everyone to “push it back”, and gestured with his arms a parting, indicating a wall of death. ‘S4VAGE’ hit us next, the wall of death swallowing the formerly parted venue floor. The crowd screamed the words out loud and clear. Multiple walls of death followed into ‘BLVCK’, Boogie and Sena now switching places to see the fans on the opposite ends of the stage, much to the delight of the fans. Ricko continued to gesture for circle pits, along with the wall of death.
Finally came ‘OVERKILL’, the final song of the evening. Looking up and out at the crowd, Ricko spotted me in the rafters and pointed and grinned, then focusing his attention to Nini beside me, both of us waving frantically back. This was one of the hints we saw of Ricko’s bright and funny personality through the night, with the moments until now showing him in a different light; more cool, collected, and charismatic, a distance from his usual antics at their previous London shows, although still with boundless energy.
Gesturing for one last circle pit, Ricko stared down the crowd with a wild look in his eyes, more serious than goofy and excitable. The crowd, now likely sweating through their elaborate outfits after multiple circle pits and walls of death, chanted for more. But that was it. JILUKA moved across the stage, waving and thanking fans, holding the traditional signed flag, and took their photo with the crowd. Thanking everyone again, the band left the stage. Chanting began once more, but security signalled to the crowd there would be no more. The lights came up, and it was over. No encore, no “BUY IT!” QVC moment.
Exiting the venue, people swarmed the merch stand, while NiNi stood aside taking photos with new fans, and waving everyone goodbye. Continuing out, I heard snippets of conversations from attendees, many remarking they had absolutely fallen in love with Ricko tonight, that there was something different about him this time. Maybe he didn’t need to do his “BUY IT!” schtick after all.
In some ways, I feel this show suffered; being only months after their previous London shows, another heatwave, little MC time, no new releases aside ‘KVLT’, similar setlist to the previous shows aside the inclusion of ‘The Purge’, same outfits, no encore, and no 2-shot. However, the technical mastery of these men is something else. Never missing a note or a beat, a level of perfectionism rarely seen, as well as getting the crowd to participate in multiple walls of death in 30+ degree heat, smiling and playing around with each other, and always looking like they’re having the time of their lives, you can’t deny that JILUKA are impressive.
JILUKA are a technically impressive band, able to get the crowd going with very little effort. They know what the crowd wants and the crowd doesn’t want for much, happy with familiar setlists, familiar movements (such as Boogie’s choreographed whipping of his hair, or Sena’s finger gun rap moments), and familiar outfits. They’re practised and polished. JILUKA have become a comfort band for many fans, and their shows feel like coming home. This isn’t a bad thing at all, but I hope that with their next return, they come with a whole new album of material to obliterate us with.
The band have now wrapped up the European leg of THE KVLT, and will soon head to South America for the next. From August, JILUKA will then return to Japan to complete the tour, with the tour final set for November 18th. Their next album is on the horizon too, with a slated release of next year.
Photos by @kentaro_minato_
JILUKA – THE KVLT – London 19/06/25 setlist
- KVLT
- VENOM
- BaLa-DeDa
- Screamer
- Twisted Pain
- Raison d’etre
- Hellraiser
- Drum solo
- KUMARI
- Lethal Affliction
- The Purge
- Ablaze
- S4VAGE
- BLVCK
- OVERKILL
JILUKA
KVLT
Release Date: 16/02/2025
Label: FAIZH MUSIC LLC
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
