Author: Abigail Humphries

A mix of heavy eyeliner, leather, and dark denim moved before me in waves of undulating flesh, as if to the command of some fevered hive mind. In the flashes of neon, snatches of flesh and spikes existed suddenly before fading again as swiftly into the gloom. People brushed against me like fish in a crowded lake. Thinking on it now, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than in the crowd of a heavy metal concert. The atmosphere of horror and anticipation which fills me is a familiar one, an old friend which kept me company in the spacious underground and mid-size venue of The Slay, Glasgow.

Moving from a low, haunting, and more crackly spoken word to a melodic sort of rock singing, then to a fast gibberish frack-style metal rap, there is a talent for neck breaking change that keeps you curious about Kim Dracula’s discography. For there is something magnetic about a singer who can surprise you, and Kim Dracula never fails to give me whiplash. Having jumped from ‘Make Me Famous’ into the Australian-born singer’s debut album ‘A Gradual Decline in Morale’, I have found Kim Dracula to be wild and tonally changing, a kind of contemporary Nu-Metal singer with pop flair. Eventually, the pipeline led me into the darkness (Ticketmaster) where I acquired a ticket to see Kim Dracula perform. (A warning, always recheck your ticket on Ticketmaster, I almost went to the wrong place)

Kim Dracula had one opening act, a Canadian band simply named ‘Gore’. The images of violence the name evokes feel fitting, given who they were opening for. Gore’s lead singer strides on stage as though she’s entering battle, iridescent in the blue-green stage lights like a Rose Chafer beetle, one you might keep in a jar as a kid. I was a little surprised when the first note rang out clear as a bell, and then in awe as they seamlessly transitioned from melody to a metal scream capable of rattling the ceiling beams. Reminiscent of a lovechild between Amy Lee and Lauren Babic, the lead singer is confident, and seems so genuinely excited to be in a rock band performing right in that moment that there is a simple presentness to her which captivated the audience as she strode across the stage. The vocal dichotomy of ‘Gore’ is a welcome warmup for the erratic play style of Kim Dracula. They’re appearing again in Scotland later this year, and I highly recommend you all buy a ticket. 

Between sets, we waited semi-impatiently full of adrenaline for the main event. All the while, we stood staring at the stage, amped up and intense, as the venue put on its very own murderous clown shoes to music I can only describe as rock and roll carnival. It’s a singular experience; one I can only assume was curated by Dracula. 

Then, just before the band started, the audience was asked to split down the middle, and Kim Dracula entered from the back. Dressed in a black cloak reminiscent of the evil witch from Snow White, Kim moved like a demented goblin up onto the stage all energy and manic glee. You might think Kim would run out of this energy somewhere in the show, but no — this explosive rhythm continued throughout. 

The band were all in suits, and Dracula was dressed in a black captain’s uniform, worn in the ‘Make me Famous’ music video, epaulettes and all. The energy was truly phenomenal, and the vocal shift from high-fracking rap to the deep low registers changed with a slickness I will admit to being skeptical Dracula could achieve on a live stage. I was glad to be proven wrong. Their stage presence felt like a palpable thing shaking them in jagged waves and being absorbed into the veins of everyone in the crowd, an energy boost like adrenaline taken straight to the vein! As Kim’s energy built and built, our energy did likewise, yet never quite reaching a crescendo. The lighting, costuming, and effects undoubtedly add to the show, but I would watch Kim strut the stage in a bin bag. A minor complaint, though: Dracula exits the stage a lot. This did not affect the overall enjoyment of the show, but could interrupt the flow on occasion and could have been handled better.

My personal favourites from the show include ‘Make Me Famous’, which is a crowd pleaser, and very easy to move to, demanding a kind of attention that the singer already grabs from the audience. It is also a war cry to be noticed, and if you’ve watched the music video, invoking feelings of incredible violence, ideal for moshing. I was also drawn to the cover of ‘Paparazzi’ by Lady Gaga, which had the entire venue singing along, because of course, it’s Gaga. I think Gaga would be proud of the wildly creepy energy Dracula brings to the role. And there was of course the encore song, ‘Killdozer’, which I have had on repeat since the end of the concert as I do love a good bit of shameless rageful energy, which is what Nu-Metal is all about. I relate to this song in particular because, like the protagonist in the song, I do not drive a car; unlike the song’s protagonist, I don’t have a license for an army tank either. 

On the technical side, the lights were some of the best I have ever seen in a smaller venue. The smoke didn’t feel oppressive, and the colours were vibrant. Sound quality was also excellent: loud enough to feel it in my bones, but not loud enough to feel my eardrums trying to escape my ears in a fountain of blood.

In the end it is hard not to conclude that there is a rough, manic magic to Kim Dracula’s performance, emerging from a TikTok-shaped chrysalis, and that I look forward to seeing where they go next. 

Abigail Humphries: Jack of all trades, master of none, but pretty good at art, writing, and comics.