Dance With The Dead with Magic Sword
Mercury Ballroom
Louisville, KY
April 22nd, 2026
On April 22nd, California darksynth/metal/electronic duo Dance With The Dead (along with tour drummer John Terry) brought The Face Off Tour 2026 to Mercury Ballroom to a modest but excited crowd of fans! The band is mostly instrumental, combining heavy metal guitar with 80’s-inspired synth sounds, but occasionally feature vocal samples in some of their songs. The duo’s horror genre influences were apparent in their stage production this evening, with a large skull placed at the front of the keyboard/synth, as well as a large zombie looking head (reminiscent, in my opinion, of the Iron Maiden mascot Eddie!) on a stand on both the front left and right sides of the stage. Their lighting this evening was a heavy mix of reds, blues, yellows and greens, adding to the spooky vibes. They put on a lively performance, with Tony Kim (lead guitar/programming) and Justin Pointer (keys/rhythm guitar/programming) moving about the stage throughout the set and engaging with the crowd! This year saw the release of their latest album Malombra and the band performed several songs from the album, including “Black Clouds”, “Psycho Disco”, and “Chaos Theory”, along with older tracks from their catalog. It was a fun and lively set, with the crowd having a great time all evening! Opening the show was Magic Sword, an instrumental electronic trio from Boise, Idaho. These guys were so much fun, with their band theme revolving around their fictional personas of immortal beings linked to a magical sword. The members wore dark clothing with robes and knight-inspired helmets that had strips of lighting across the eyes, giving them a medieval meets sci-fi look. And they had a magical sword sheathed in a block on stage that they weilded from time to time, which added to the fun of the live experience. I would highly recommend seeing these guys live if you ever have the chance! It was a really fun evening all around!
Magic Sword
Dance With The Dead
