Striking 13
Pumpehuset, Copenhagen - 2026
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Biohazard came to town with their Divided We Fall tour, and while it had a whopping five support bands listed on the poster, these were not all coming to every single show. In Copenhagen, we got Striking 13 and Sworn Enemy, both unknown names to me. So, who was going first..?
Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Not knowing either, I had no idea which band might be the bigger one, in lack of a better term. The backdrop however, said it was Sworn Enemy. There was only a drummer on stage for the start of the show, humorously proclaiming it to be a one man show. He was wearing a Sworn Enemy shirt. Things had a definite lean.
Then the rest of the band came on. One more Sworn Enemy shirt, two Striking 13 shirts, and the bassist wore a neutral shirt. 50/50. This wasn’t helping. Neither was the case that the band didn’t properly introduce themselves through the entire show.
Ok, so the entire show wasn’t more than about 25 minutes, but that’s still plenty of time to say; “Hi, we’re so and so from wherever!”
Rant aside, Striking 13 (yes, that was the band, in case you didn’t catch that already) came on strong, launching directly into World Full Of Hate, a heavy and aggressive piece of work that should be perfect to get an evening like this going. It is also, as far as I can see, the only song they’ve released for streaming as of writing this - a fun aside, if you check out this show on setlist FM, you’ll get the most delightfully weird mix tape in the known history of the universe - except for a few live clips on their Instagram. No wonder they weren’t a well known entity when coming here.
That didn’t stop Striking 13 delivering a great show starter however. Kyle Dorow was an active frontman, screaming his lungs out, and the two guitarists were headbanging hard. The bassist and drummer had a more laid back, groovier approach, which worked as a good counter weight to the former three, especially given that they didn’t have all that much space on stage to work with. Yeah, sorry about the lack of names, but they’re nigh on impossible to locate.
The band did what they could in order to get the party started, delivering energy and asking for audience participation, but sadly and strangely, in the end it wasn’t enough to get the Danes off their feet. There were a few nods and respectful shouts between songs, but other than that, the half empty floor was content with standing still to watch. It’s not an uncommon reaction to a new acquaintance, but in my mind, Striking 13 deserved more for their efforts. Hopefully next time, people here will be better prepared for what will hit them. Maybe the band will even let them know next time..?
Setlist:
World Full Of Hate
Self Immolation
Panic Machine
(The Call) From Inside
Sacrifice Me
Future Ghosts
Sleep Demon
Well, that was the question, wasn’t it? Not knowing either, I had no idea which band might be the bigger one, in lack of a better term. The backdrop however, said it was Sworn Enemy. There was only a drummer on stage for the start of the show, humorously proclaiming it to be a one man show. He was wearing a Sworn Enemy shirt. Things had a definite lean.
Then the rest of the band came on. One more Sworn Enemy shirt, two Striking 13 shirts, and the bassist wore a neutral shirt. 50/50. This wasn’t helping. Neither was the case that the band didn’t properly introduce themselves through the entire show.
Ok, so the entire show wasn’t more than about 25 minutes, but that’s still plenty of time to say; “Hi, we’re so and so from wherever!”
Rant aside, Striking 13 (yes, that was the band, in case you didn’t catch that already) came on strong, launching directly into World Full Of Hate, a heavy and aggressive piece of work that should be perfect to get an evening like this going. It is also, as far as I can see, the only song they’ve released for streaming as of writing this - a fun aside, if you check out this show on setlist FM, you’ll get the most delightfully weird mix tape in the known history of the universe - except for a few live clips on their Instagram. No wonder they weren’t a well known entity when coming here.
That didn’t stop Striking 13 delivering a great show starter however. Kyle Dorow was an active frontman, screaming his lungs out, and the two guitarists were headbanging hard. The bassist and drummer had a more laid back, groovier approach, which worked as a good counter weight to the former three, especially given that they didn’t have all that much space on stage to work with. Yeah, sorry about the lack of names, but they’re nigh on impossible to locate.
The band did what they could in order to get the party started, delivering energy and asking for audience participation, but sadly and strangely, in the end it wasn’t enough to get the Danes off their feet. There were a few nods and respectful shouts between songs, but other than that, the half empty floor was content with standing still to watch. It’s not an uncommon reaction to a new acquaintance, but in my mind, Striking 13 deserved more for their efforts. Hopefully next time, people here will be better prepared for what will hit them. Maybe the band will even let them know next time..?
Setlist:
World Full Of Hate
Self Immolation
Panic Machine
(The Call) From Inside
Sacrifice Me
Future Ghosts
Sleep Demon
Striking 13
