Crowbar | Legions of Doom | Silverburn
The Phoenix, Exeter
20th February 2026
New Orleans heavyweights Crowbar invoke a perfect storm along with a sold-out Friday night crowd. Touring the UK with Legions of Doom and Silverburn, tonight is a celestial celebration of metal itself.
There’s a sense of mischievous anticipation in the air, despite there being a night of impending doom upon us – A three-band bill, headlined by Louisiana’s lords of sludge, Crowbar. The hall is already reaching capacity as Silverburn take to the stage. The solo project of James ‘Jimbob’ Isaac (previously from Taint and Hark), his music is fleshed out as a three-piece live. Airing songs from 2023s Self Induced Transcendental Annihilation. By the second track (The Unrelenting Will of Boundless Immortality), our first circle pit of the evening has been unleashed.
Feeding off the feral energy, Jimbob and co. up the ante with their mathy post hardcore delivery. Serving up something ‘super extra spicy’ Silverburn drop album closer Bathe in Fire and amidst an auditorium youthful metal exuberance, it seems nowhere is safe if you just want to stand quietly with a safe pint. A low-slung explosive start, Silverburn laid down the gauntlet to what follows.
Chicago’s Legions of Doom is a supergroup of sorts. The death of legendary metal singer Eric Wagner in 2021 left behind a body of work to be reckoned with. Best known as the frontman for doom metal pioneers Trouble, Wagner also produced solo material, and along with former Trouble members Ron Holzer (bass) and Jeff Olsen (drums) formed The Skull in 2012.
At the time of his passing, Wagner was already recording The Skull’s third record. As a tribute to the man and doom genre itself, the project was completed with the remaining players, along with members of St Vitus and Corrosion of Conformity, to release The Skull 3 under the Legions of Doom banner.
Their set tonight is a victorious affair. Live, the quintet oozes showmanship, with the playful power of drummer Henry Vasquez’s and OG doom wails from singer Karl Aggell. They cover songs by both The Skull and Trouble, Corrosion of Conformity’s Dance of the Dead and even a few bars of Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town. Following years of gigs at Exeter Phoenix, I cannot remember a crowd so animated or pit as constant as tonight. Stars have seemingly aligned for this show, and the repeated chants of ‘Legion’ at the end of the bands set seem to have already cemented tonight as one for the Devon metal ages.
Where do we go from here? How about being engulfed by the sound of NOLA itself? Crowbar, like many of their peers (Eyehategod, Down), seem to carry that heavy southern groove naturally with blues in their blood. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein, it would normally be Mardi Gras back home (see Down’s celebratory-themed recent new music video), yet instead Kirk and co. are midway through a UK winter tour, playing many towns they’ve never hit before.
With no recent album to promote (their last being 2022s Zero and Below), this run seems more of a greatest hits lap and, with sold-out shows and venue upgrades, what a ride it’s proving to be. With a setlist spanning their career as far back as 1993s self-titled breakthrough, it’s clear when they roll out the hits as dozens of phones are raised bravely within the rabid crowd.
To Build A Mountain, Planets Collide, and Existence is Punishment each fight for supremacy amongst a doomy clutch of heavy hitters. Crowbar demonstrate they are the masters of the slow down-tuned breakdown, and Kirk encourages the melee in front of him to applaud themselves too, declaring us a great audience. Many crowd-surfers later and with curfew approaching, Crowbar managed to squeeze in two last songs, despite the band and fans both seemingly keen for much more.
In a night where the energy and volume never dropped, the kings of the deep south gave the folk of the south west one hell of a night to remember.
~
Crowbar are touring the UK until the end of Feb, with a US tour starting in March.
Dates can be found on the official Crowbar website here
Socials: Facebook | Insta | X
Legions of Doom socials: Facebook
Silverburn socials: Bandcamp | Facebook | Insta
All words by Chris Perkins – his author profile is here
Photos by Charles Derry @ Capture Photography
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