It’s 11 pm and I’m standing outside The Exchange, blinking my eyes in relief that I don’t, in fact, need a cataract operation after all. It’s the dry ice, you see, and these dark wave types bathe in the bloody stuff, so much so there are times tonight where I could have been on set at a Hammer horror film… But that’s the point; it’s all about setting the mood, and tonight the mood is brooding.

There was no way I was going to miss the return of Then Comes Silence, the undisputed kings of Swedish gothic gloom pop, to the UK, and thanks once again to the sterling work of promoters Reptile, they are also back in Bristol for the third time in just two years to keep all of us local(ish) boils and ghouls happy. The other great thing about a Reptile night is that they always pack it full of quality music, from the DJs spinning the graveyard dancefloor fillers to the support acts, and tonight The Foreign Resort are a new name to me but are a trio who immediately impress.

Hailing from Denmark, The Foreign Resort initially hit me like a Scandinavian Home Front (yup they are that impressive), with frontman Mikkel hanging off his mic stand whilst his bandmates Henrik (on guitar) and Morten (on drums) weave their widescreen sonic magic, but it’s when Mikkel picks up the bass guitar a few songs in that the band truly hits their stride. For a band who’s 16 year old back catalogue I’m totally unfamiliar with to instantly grab my attention, is ultimately down to just how immersive the Foreign Resort live experience is. Yes, there’s a HUGE Cure influence (largely due to Mikkel’s vocal stylings) but there’s also swathes of Killing Joke, Depeche Mode and (bringing things bang up to date) Home Front in their sound too.

‘Flushing’ is the track that really did it for me, a song I later discovered was released well over a decade ago. It’s Bauhaus meets Gary Numan, if Depeche Mode had written it…and it’s fucking fantastic.

Which is something I also seem to say quite a lot when describing tonight’s headliners to anyone willing to listen, and tonight Then Comes Silence are even more fucking fantastic than ever before.

Someone remembers to finally turn on The Exchange’s air conditioning as the band hits the stage with ‘Flashing Pangs Of Love’ and it’s almost like an evil entity has entered the room, as a shiver suddenly runs down my spine. There’s nothing evil about Then Comes Silence’s music, though, as guitarist Hugo pirouettes around the stage like a marionette Richie Manic, and to his right singer/bassist Alex thunders and growls away like Peter Steele if he’d been a veteran of The Blitz Club and not CBGBs, whilst songs like ‘Ride Or Die’ and newbie ‘Like a Hammer’ all pulsate to a hypnotic backbeat courtesy of the ever rock solid Jonas on drums.

I must admit that ahead of tonight, I was a little worried that if the band’s set were to lean heavily on tracks from last year’s ‘Trickery’ album, I might be a little lost at sea, as, thanks to a house move and the insane price of the CD online, I’d yet to fully absorb its gothic goodness. Fear not, though, as it’s just ‘Blind Eye’ along with the aforementioned ‘Hammer’ that (as far as I can recall) make it into tonight’s set. Otherwise, it’s banger after banger from the band’s hugely impressive back catalogue, and when the band tears into the likes of ‘Dead Cry For No One’ and ‘Warm Like Blood’ mid-set, I’m still left wondering how Nuclear Blast didn’t make Then Comes Silence the household names they so deserve to be. Well, on Mockingbird Lane at the very least.

There’s always something that makes me stop and take a step back at a Then Comes Silence show, and tonight it’s when Alex ditches his bass guitar for a stint at the keyboard, and the carnival-esque throb of ‘Feed The Beast’ has me thinking of early Roxy Music, whilst it’s ‘Strangers’ also from the band’s third album, that brings things to a close.

You know, after witnessing Suede deliver a post-punk/gothic masterclass in London over the previous weekend in support of their excellent ‘Antidepressants’ album, I’m pleased to say that Then Comes Silence more than matched them here tonight. In fact, if anyone has Brett’s number, give him a bell and get him to put these Stockholm lads on their UK and European tour in 2026, now that really would be something truly exceptional.

Author: Johnny ‘Nosferatu’ Hayward