> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blackmetalzine.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Live Review: Gathering of the Damned (2026, Glasgow) - URL: https://blackmetalzine.com/live-review-gathering-of-the-damned-2026-glasgow/ - Published: 2026-11-02T14:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-02T16:06:19.000Z - Description: Gathering of the Damned, Glasgow: Nyctopia wheeled in a war horn and a dripping deer head, and the best act of the weekend was set. - Author: Jordyn - Tags: Live Reviews ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034499.png) Two nights, eight bands and more blood than any Glasgow stage has a right to. Productions Interdites' Gathering of the Damned brough Glasgow's black metal out in full force, and one band made sure a fair few didn't go home clean. ## Day One ***Aonarach***Technical issues plagued before the set even started "It worked five minutes ago during soundcheck", but once the issues resolved the room went with them, a pit opening from the get-go. It's a big ask to open a weekend like this, yet their atmospheric black metal was perfect with tracks like "The Ritual", I loved the set and it was the second time catching them live this month. ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034494.jpg) Credit: blackened.visuals (IG) ***Dreich***Bringing some Aberdeen's depressive suicidal black metal to Glasgow, and they sank the venue into a crushing misery. Adorning the stage with noose ties and an energetic performance despite the theme, it was great to catch them live and hear some personal favourite tracks from them such as "Cold" and "Tower of Sorrow" from their latest EP "Edicus". Bleak, cold and exactly like the name, (If you know Aberdeen, which is my birth city the city is in fact "Dreich" looking. Gray everywhere you go, depressing!) ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034495.jpg) Credit: blackened.visuals (IG) ***Ruadh***The crowd came alive Ruadh. Sonically they are excellent, and their set is steeped in Scotland from top to bottom, with the vocalist (Tom) pulling the room in through the lyrics and a voice the carries some amount of weight. With a new album on the way, they gave us a taste in "Tandem", delivered with absolutely everything put into the vocals before closing out with a full-length mosh. One of the stronger sets of the opening night. ***Hecate Enthroned***Night one's headliners leaned on new material, airing fresh tracks from their latest album. The standout moment came from the floor rather than the stage: a bit of hugging in the pit egged on by the vocalist turning it into a full-blown hugging pit, which is pretty fucking wholesome as a black metal crowd gets. Not quite my thing personally live but love some of their studio discography. ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034498.jpg) Credit: blackened.visuals (IG) ## Day Two ***Blasfeme***I'd only come across Blasfeme earlier in the week, and word in the venue was that their live line-up changes from show to show, with different members on stage each time or rotated out frequently. An unusual approach, and one that makes them hard to pin down. Their set was decent, if a slow-burning start to the second day. ***Miško Boba***The Lithuanians were a highlight. Live, Miško Boba are cracking: commanding stage presence, and a vocalist whose range is outstanding. The stark contrast between the harshness she produces on stage and the soft "thank you" between songs had my friend in stitches. With blood smeared across her face, they were also visually interesting to capture. No complaints about this set at all, and I even picked up a shirt to prove it. I was lucky enough to chat with the band after Nyctopia's set about their upcoming album, which I've already had the privilege of hearing early. It's one to watch out for. ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034496.jpg) Credit: blackened.visuals (IG) Nyctopia (Best Act of the Weekend) Where to begin with this one. Nyctopia are, without much of a doubt, the best live band in the Glasgow scene right now: visually stunning, fiercely theatrical and utterly committed to it. The set opened with frontman Nechtan being wheeled onto the stage, beer in one hand and war horn in the other, sounding the horn to signal the start. True black metal followed. Less than a minute in, he produced a real decapitated goat's head, still dripping from the neck, placed it on a pedestal and stood beside it, caressing it. By the next song the head was getting a tour of the stage, shown off to the front rows up close as blood dripping across the stage and onto those at the barrier. Later, Bloody Mary came out who is 110% committed to a great show led a ritual with bones arranged in an inverted cross and a chalice full of blood. She not only covered herself in blood but then offered the crowd the same, smearing it onto willing participants faces before starting to flick the blood across the front rows before consuming the rest of it and slowly drooling it up all over herself and the stage. In between songs, the band announced new material in the works and aired a couple of new pieces. Later in the set, guest musicians on drums and vocals travelled in for the night to do a Bathory cover. It was the set everyone was talking about by the end of the night, and rightly so. ![](https://blackmetalzine.com/content/images/2026/10/1000034497.jpg) Credit: blackened.visuals (IG) ***Heathen Deity***The Sunday headliners had a strong stage presence, but they faced a near-impossible task. The crowd thinned noticeably after Nyctopia, who were the most anticipated act in all but billing: the most headline non-headliner you'll find. Heathen Deity are not quite my thing, but they gave it their all to those who stayed and yet still managed to pull decent crowd interactions. ## Conclusion Gathering of the Damned delivered a weekend that showed off the Scottish black metal scene alongside some national guests from England. Despite being booked the same weekend as Darkness over Edinburgh, another black metal festival the turn-out was still good. Day one brought atmosphere and misery; day two brough the spectacle. My friend, at his first black metal show in Scotland since moving here from Poland, summed it up best: "Dude, comparing Day 2 to Day 1, Day 1 was a fucking disco compared to today. Nyctopia are fucking sick live, black metal as f\*ck." He was stoked to come along and witness the best, without a doubt a great introduction to the scene. ### Signup to our newsletter and Social Media Below you can sign up to our newsletter(s) one of those is The Infernal Records, a weekly newsletter where Fractal our dedicated researcher finds new releases of the previous week that are worth your time. You can sign up here: ## Unleashing the Darkness Within become a member of Black Metal Zine Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. 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