Twisted Firestarter has been an official Infest warm-up party for six years. The promoter behind it is Stigmata (previously Flag Promotions) and they've been doing official and unofficial aftershow parties for big names touring the UK for decades, and because they're close to the organisers of the annual Infest Festival it must have been a no-brainer to come up with the idea of a warm up event before Infest kicks off on a Friday over a long weekend.
For some reason this was the first time I'd actually been to a Twisted Firestarter event. I'd committed to Infest the following day and the clincher for me this year to come up a day early to catch tonight was that Clan of Xymox were headlining. A band that I love, and they are reliably good live. With the ticket price of around £30 for Xymox plus five support bands, this was a no-brainer for me.
This was my first time to Rebellion in Manchester. it's a good venue with low ceilings, straddling over two levels with the stage and dancefloor on the lower level and the bar (and space for merchandise stalls) on the upper level. This event was a sold out in advance so it was packed and it was warm evening - with punters heading outside to cool down between the acts.
I'd seen Clan of Xymox, Massive Ego and Dead Lights live before, so half the bill were new to me live. Strange Futures in particular I had checked out online and quite liked some of their stuff. Dead Lights were a known (and appreciated) quantity, and Strange Futures sounded promising from my pre-gig listening so those were the main draws and that's pretty much how it turned out.
Not sure why, but I was quite surprised at how commercial IAmImperfect sounded live. It's a kind of mixture of melodic synths and rocking guitars which is not a great combination for me personally but they presented themselves with some polish and it came across well.
Strange Futures are a Bristol-based self-styled synthpop-tinged darkwave outfit. There's a kind of basic simplicity to their songwriting and composition - which I don't mean negative way at all - that actually really appeals to me. A lot of modern stuff is too dense, too over-produced and 'muddy' for my tastes.
A two-piece male female outfit, their minimal live setup - just a keyboard and the lead vocalist - is brave because it's easy to be exposed. The female lead vocalist exudes an attitude that's a refreshing change from the norm - even on this scene.
Moth Slut I had checked out in advance online and from my brief sampling I sort of instantly took to them in a 'this is old school goth' kind of way. Not that I was ever hugely into goth, but, again, I liked the simplicity of their approach to songwriting and the bass guitar work was effective. On stage it was just a guitar and bass - everything else was on a backing track. But it just didn't work for me. Far too rocky, and the whole theatrical goth thing on stage is never really done much from me, so I only watched the first few songs before retiring to the bar.
Dead Lights are one of those bands that I've seen I think probably three or four times now, but over the course of several years and I always forget that I've seen them! Except this time. Last time I saw them was in London in December 2023 supporting Berlin-based Zanias. Despite a patchy memory, I do have vivid memories of that one, and being close to the stage. Their sound is something of a blend: electronic 'glam goth' with an industrial edge.
This time out I was content to stand further back to take in their performance. Another two-piece, the lead vocalist is regularly clad in a glittering face mask and uses a handheld spotlight to add dramatic beams of light on and off the stage to memorable effect. They were good, and yeah they they stand up to repeat viewing even if you are just a casual observer like me. So, whilst not a band I've bought anything by yet, if they're on a future bill that would be another reason to go.
Massive Ego are a pretty
established name on this scene. Not just in the UK but overseas too, and
the single Broken Tomorrow released in collaboration with Boy
George* in January this year helped raise their profile wider still.
(Though the less said about Boy George's subsequent public support for
Israel's war on Gaza in an AI-assisted reggae song the better.) Anyhow,
Massive Ego, although they've changed a little bit over the years, their
sound is consistently solid and they're a stylish-looking group.
Their single I Idolize You taken from the 2017 album Beautiful
Suicide, and appearing midway though tonight's set, remains a
banger. Its unforgettable chorus is a real earworm and is always a
highlight of their performances. I guess all bands have to have one or
two songs that always stand out particularly if you're not a steady
follower, and I Idolize You does that for Massive Ego - 100%.
Polished and professional on stage, Massive Ego continue to stand out in
a busy field of competition.
* Marc Massive, frontman of the band, got his start in the music industry back in 1990, dancing for Boy George's side project Jesus Loves You, an experience that later inspired him to launch Massive Ego in 1996.
And so we came to the main attraction Clan of Xymox. Kudos to promoters Stigmata for temping the long-running Dutch legends to Manchester for their only UK date in the midst of their European tour. I've been a fan of Clan of Xymox since their self-titled debut album on 4AD in 1985 - and going to see them live across the past 40 (WTF?!) years.
They are one of the most consistently good bands live. One of only a handful that I'll buy a ticket for as soon as they go on sale. They rarely under-deliver despite numerous lineup changes down the decades. I last saw them in London at the Garage in October last year (another Stigmata event) and that was an absolutely stunning gig with a setlist packed with early classics and many of my favourite more modern tracks.
To top that was always going to be tough, and honestly, tonight's setlist in comparison didn't grab me, relying more on the second half of their catalogue. Still, there's always some more gems in there. There's No Tomorrow (2002) is a great example of a decent enough single that is consistently better live. The desperation of the lyrics given far more impact live by Moorings' passionate delivery.
Jasmine and Rose (1999) is well established in their set as a highlight of their mid-period material, and they had Emily, Louise, A Day and Stranger to keep the old ones like me satisfied enough. Ronny apologised for the lack of backing videos (due to some technical oversight), so they had to make do with a looping projection of the Clan of Xymox logo twisting in the background. But that didn't matter at all. They've always been a fantastic live band and that's all I care about.
Although the setlist wasn't entirely to my personal taste or preferences, they delivered yet again and the next time they play in the UK I'll be there too.
So, my first Twisted Firestarter finally under my belt, what did I
think? Well, it's a great proposition and despite a lineup that was a
little more varied than my personal tastes, it definitely delivered both
in its own right and as the perfect warm-up for the three-day Infest
beginning the following afternoon. I'm already curious to see what
lineup they can conjure up for next year.
8/10 as an evening out and Infest warm-up, 7/10 for the
lineup.
Review: Rob Dyer
See also: Infest 2026