Rising visual kei metalcore act DAMNED made their first leap overseas with the JUKAI tour. On December 7th, 2025, the band wrapped up their first overseas visit with a tour final at The Underworld in Camden, London, a venue long revered by alternative acts. DAMNED aren’t the first, and won’t be the last visual kei act to perform here, but the chaotic evening that ensued may have raised the bar.
The band eventually emerged, a little later than billed, but better late than never. Drummer Masaya and bassist Sakura entered first, followed by guitarists Kou. and Suica, then lastly vocalist Hitone. They quickly got right into the first song, ‘Fla:ill’, opening with Hitone’s deep growls shifting into ear-splitting shrieks. Mass frenzied headbanging persisted through the verses, with hand furi in the chorus. Kou.’s signature spinning moves brought an extra level of drama, while Sakura sweetly smiled and waved out to the crowd. They finished with a group pose before launching into ‘Dokuai’.
The band hurtled through ‘Beauveria’, ‘Shadows’ featuring a mic-less scream from Hitone that rang through the venue, and then into the 2-step beat of ‘Yani’. Suica and Sakura beamed at the crowd throughout, with Suica also taking a moment to show off his split tongue before the huge breakdown.
The band ran through several more songs, posing, grinning and spinning across the stage with an inextinguishable excitement, before Hitone briefly addressed the crowd.
“What’s up London? We are DAMNED. Nice to meet you”, the crowd’s screams cutting him off. Speaking gently, he told us this is their first European tour, and this is the tour final, thanking us for coming. He then asked “Are you ready?” with audience screams mounting, finally screeching the words again to even more furore.
Riding the wave of screams, DAMNED jumped into their latest track ‘ShoKu’. A fast paced mini-epic, layered with intricate melodies, breakdowns, lo-fi bridges, a twin guitar solo, and an obliterating chorus, it hit like a truck. Suica, Kou., and Sakura spun in unison, a whirlwind of fabric and hair, while the crowd created their own frenzy.
‘Suikyou to majiwaru kyouhakuteki kachikan‘ came next, Hitone’s vocals so clean and beautiful here, hitting the highest of pitches then the lowest of growls, sounding just as good as the recorded version. The breakdown led into a call and response yell, the crowd screaming their hearts out, unaware of the upcoming onslaught.
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Fan favourite ‘STAIN’ signalled the night was heading toward its end, but both DAMNED and the crowd weren’t going to slow down. Suica and Sakura visited side stage, getting up close and personal with the crowd, leaning over the barricade quite literally into my face. Sakura’s short bass solo was slick and groovy, before heading into the next breakdown and guitar solo, a mess of hair whipping around the crowd as the headbanging continued on. As the final chorus ended, Hitone left the stage, the rest of the band left to round out the song. Finally Kou., Suica, and Sakura left, leaving Masaya who came to the front of the stage eliciting huge screams.
The encore chants began the moment Masaya left. DAMNED didn’t leave us waiting long, with Suica and Sakura re-emerging soon after the chants reached their peak. Sakura filmed the scene on his phone, smiling from ear to ear. Both held bottles of beer, invoking a “chug, chug, chug!” chant, Suica quickly obliging, while Sakura struggled on, before grabbing the mic and entering into the longest MC of the night.
“In fact, I was so nervous before the show”, the crowd aww-ing in response, “because today is the tour final”. He continued on to tell us he already misses Europe, that they had good shows everywhere, and reassured us there were still five songs left to go. Sakura then told us he thinks that London’s audience could be number 1, to deafening roars. Then, a little more vulnerable, he told us “By the way, during the show I noticed my pants zipper was open… I feel so embarrassed! Please double check your zipper!” laughing at his own misfortune. The crowd laughed along.
In a continuing series of unfortunate events, we were then told that Suica had forgotten his stage costume in the hotel, so in turn, tonight’s costume was special. Suica showed off his outfit, while Sakura encouraged him to take off his jacket. From here things devolved a little, Suica grabbing Sakura for an exaggerated bit of stage fanservice that drew screams, laughs, and some facepalms around the venue. Sakura, while laughing, quickly told us to promise not to post video of this online, holding up his pinky finger. The crowd responded with the same gesture, pinkies in the air.
Now it was Suica’s turn to speak, this time in Japanese, shyly introducing himself and telling us he loves us all. Sakura carried on, telling us that for one song they want a circle pit, “but not in the next song! The next song is a ballad. You have to listen in silence, okay?”, everyone hushing and shushing each other. Masaya and Kou. then entered, each taking a short moment to speak. Kou. told us he was happy to be here in the home of rock, then yelled “LET’S GO CRAZY TOGETHER, OKAY!”. Lastly, Hitone had his moment to speak. Rumoured to be extremely shy, he very quietly introduced himself, and mentioned that “I wanted Nandos”, “let’s go Nandos”, Sakura and Suica laughing. A Nandos chant broke out around the venue, before Hitone ended the segment almost whispering, “Peri peri sauce”.
The gentle guitar intro to ‘Anemone’ then began, the ballad we promised to not start a circle pit during. This was the quiet before the storm, and a welcome moment of respite from the onslaught up until now. From here, the night rapidly descended into chaos. At some point Kou. lay himself across the barricade separating the standing and seating areas, fans grabbing at his hands between strums.
Then devolving further into a whirlwind of madness during ‘ArtrA’, Sakura ditched his bass and launched himself onto the floor to join in with the circle pit, Suica took the opportunity to break the venue rules further by crowdsurfing, and Kou. launched his new guitar case into the crowd to be crowdsurfed all around and eventually back to the stage. Somehow, Hitone, Kou., and Masaya kept the music going, flurries of hands and hair in the air throughout.
Eventually Suica and Sakura made it back onto the stage, ready to round out the night with the final song, ‘REIMEI’. An intense high speed opening whipped the fans up again, while the strong melodic chorus felt like a cathartic outlet for both band and fans. Hitone left the stage before the song was over, and before the obligatory post-show photo, emphasising his mysteriousness, and rumoured shyness. The rest of the band slowly left one by one, not before high fives and fist bumps with as many people as they could reach.
And thus, the night came to a close. DAMNED’s first foray into Europe was far from a disappointment, and this chaotic tour final was a sight to see. Throughout the night, the band engaged in heavy fanservice, from band members kissing, Suica stripping, the aforementioned simulated sex act, Kou. whipping his leg up onto the stage side pillar, members leaning and laying on the crowd, to the more sweet and tame examples of Sakura waving and making hand hearts to fans, and members holding hands with and high-fiving the crowd. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed so much fanservice at a show, and in the visual kei world, that’s saying something. I’m left wondering if it’s even necessary for a band so musically talented with so many bangers, but the fans lap it up all the same.
DAMNED have solidified their presence with this tour, and are going from strength to strength. 2025 saw the release of several singles, including a collaboration with Cazqui (Cazqui’s Brutal Orchestra, ex-Nocturnal Bloodlust) on ‘ShoKu’, their largest solo show to date back in September was followed by the JUKAI tour, and in June 2026 the band will hold their first solo performance at Spotify O-WEST. This new wave of visual kei acts is full of heavy hitters, with DAMNED truly cementing themselves as the cream of the crop.
Photos by Charles Shepherd
Setlist:
- Fla:ill
- Dokuai
- Beauveria
- Shadows
- Yani
- Thanatosis
- ANHEDONIA
- Kyo
- Poada
- ShoKu
- DAEDRA
- Suikyou to Majiwaru Kyouhakuteki Kachikan
- STAIN
Encore - Anemone
- Hollow
- SET ME FIRE
- ArtrA
- Reimei
DAMNED
DAEDRA
Release Date: 13/09/2025
Label: Independent
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
