Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, Germany 23rd January 2026
Lionheart - “European Tour 2026” - Special Guests: Madball, Gideon, Slope
Originally, LIONHEART planned their tour for November, but they had to reschedule to January 2026. And this was a night worth waiting for, as they brought a roster of three massive support bands with them to the Carlswerk Victoria hall: SLOPE from Germany, GIDEON from Alabama, US, and the New York Hardcore godfathers MADBALL.
Slope
Hailing from near Ruhr area from Duisburg, SLOPE was the first band on the roster with their signature blend of Punk, Hardcore, Hip Hop and Funk elements. Formed in 2014, the five piece has quickly carved out a niche with their two studio albums ‘Street Heat’ (2021) and ‘Freak Dreams’ (2024). https://slope-gang.com
Music & Performance
Starting super early at around 7pm, SLOPE’s performance was a technicolor explosion of energy; the two shouters Simon and Fabio commanded the stage with a lively, infectious charisma that bridged the gap between Pop sensibilities and aggressive outbursts. The band visibly had a lot of fun on stage. However, next time the two shouters should grab cordless mics, as the stage hands had trouble untangling the microphone cords during the set, as the two singers sped back and forth on stage, successfully warming up a cold Cologne evening for the early arrivals.
Gideon
Next up were Alabama-based GIDEON from Tuscaloosa. They formed back in 2008, and are on their sixth album, which is titled ‘More Power, More Pain.’, and was released in 2023. https://gideonal.com
Music & Performance
GIDEON entered the stage with a bang with the first riffs of their song ‘Wrong One’, and they hit the approximately 1,500 people inside the arena with the power of 10,000 hp steam engine locomotive. This much more grove-oriented style did not fail to stir up crowd, who was here to party, as the first circle pits and crowd surfers started to appear instantaneously.
Front shouter Daniel McWhorter, wearing his signature white cowboy hat, and his band mates delivered an extremely energetic show, which made it clear they took their job very seriously. After that, the band put the pedal to the Metal music-wise once again and gave the people in the mosh pit the heavy riffing they were waiting for. The fans thanked the band in the form of a giant wall of death, which underscored what an excellent addition GIDEON have been for this line-up.
Madball
The very but final band on the line-up were the NY Hardcore veterans MADBALL. Founded in 1988 by the younger half-brother of AGNOSTIC FRONT singer Roger Miret, MADBALL certainly belong into the Hardcore “hall of fame” together with SICK OF IT ALL and AGNOSTIC FRONT. Check out http://madballhc.com for more information.
Music & Performance
Seeing these legends on stage certainly commands a lot of respect. However, as singer Freddy Cricien started the band when he was a mere twelve years old, he was in excellent shape, and the band should definitely not be written off. And boy did the musicians do a good job!
The band really set it off (sic!) with their performance and kept the energy levels in the crowd up. Judging from the number of concert goers wearing MADBALL’s merchandise, the set head real sub-headliner vibes to it. Also, MADBALL invited three different guest shouters onto the stage (among them Rob Watson from LIONHEART), so that singer Freddy joked: “We are the Wu-Tang Clan of Hardcore”. At the end of the 45-minute performance everyone in the crowd probably agreed that the title of the last song ‘Hardcore still lives’ rang true.
Lionheart
The kings of Hardcore from the Bay Area in California first stormed the scene in 2007 with their debut album ‘The Will To Survive’. Influenced by bands like BLOOD FOR BLOOD, HATEBREED, and MADBALL, LIONHEART launched straight into a brutal storm of killer Hardcore. Shortly thereafter, in 2010, ‘Built On Struggle’ followed, and in 2012 they followed up with ‘Undisputed’ and years of consistent touring. After a short hiatus following the release of ‘Undisputed’, the band returned stronger than ever in 2014 with ‘Welcome To The Westcoast’. The album entered at #1 on both the iTunes Metal and the GooglePlay Metal Charts. LIONHEART conquered the scene again in January 2016 with ‘Love Don’t Live here’.
The album title, which is an allusion to the R&B / Motown classic of the same name, shows the band’s reluctance to be put into the same old “hardcore box,” as do the bitter and harsh lyrics for which the band is known. In November 2017, LIONHEART then released ‘Welcome To The Westcoast II’. As a sequel to ‘Welcome To The Westcoast’ (2014), the album ushered in a new era of Californian Hardcore and once again earned the band #1 on the iTunes Metal Charts and Google Play Metal Charts. In 2019, after two years of relentless worldwide touring, LIONHEART returned with their heaviest album to date: ‘Valley Of Death’. With a mix of metallic hHrdcore and hard West Coast groove, frontman Rob Watson offers an insight into a life full of torment, violence, and an unyielding will not to give up. https://www.lnhrt.net
Music & Performance
Shortly before 10pm, the curtain with the LIONHEART logo shielding the center stage was bathed in blue light. When it fell, the six band members kicked off their set with ‘Welcome to the Westcoast’ and sent the crowd into frenzy. Front man Rob Watson fired up the audience, and the whole front of stage section was ready to party. The band members exuded an incredible amount of energy, engaging the crowd from the very first note. Guitarist Walle Etzel addressed the crowd in German during a song break, instructing everyone to get down on the floor and jump up at the same time.
A short cover of LIMP BIZKIT’s ‘Break stuff’ was ecstatically received by the audience, as was the penultimate song, the BEASTIE BOYS cover ‘Fight for your right’. The evening ended in style after a good hour of playtime with their biggest hit ‘LHHC’, during which the fans released any last reserves.
Setlist
01. Cali Stomp
02. Death Grip
03. Burn
04. Trial by Fire
05. When I Get Out
06. Vultures
07. Bulletproof
08. LIVE BY THE GUN
09. Lifer
10. Love Don’t Live Here
11. DEATHBED CONFESSION
12. Roll Call
13. Born Feet First / Break Stuff
14. Chewing Through the Leash
15. Hail Mary
16. DEATH COMES IN 3'S
17. Fight for Your Right (Beastie Boys cover)
18. LHHC
Pictures by Christian Beyermann
