- UADA w/ Mortiis, ROME, Wraith Knight
- 04/18/2026 - The Annex - Madison Wisconsin
- ©Justin Nuoffer
The Annex is a small hidden gem built for proximity and atmosphere. This is the kind of intimate club where you’re nearly face-to-face with the bands, with no real separation between artist and crowd. The room stays packed, energy constant, and the lighting sits low and moody, perfectly dialed in for the dark, immersive tone of The Witches of Dystopia Tour.
Wraith Knight is a unique blend of synthesizers and keyboards. A solo project that is simply him at the back of the stage with fog completely engulfing his body, leaving his hands and spiked armor on his forearms visible. With organs and layers of sound, the adventure and journey felt mysterious.
Check out the Wraith Knight concert gallery here:
His fingers glide and tap the keys as he sways back and forth with his hooded cloak covering his identity. The music transports you to a simpler, more primal time where paganism rules time and space. One could imagine being at home with headphones on, engulfing themself in this ritual.
Jerome Reuter’s ROME took the stage with nothing but an acoustic guitar, a microphone, and the kind of presence most full bands spend years trying to build. The Belgian artist, whose lengthy career has produced a deep and emotionally charged catalog, transformed the room with a performance that felt raw, intimate, and hauntingly powerful.
Check out Jerome Reuter’s ROME concert gallery here:
Reuter’s songs pulled from history, love, loss, and the darker corners of the human experience, delivered through a deep baritone that carried equal parts grit and sorrow. Every lyric landed with purpose – sharp, stripped down, and painfully honest. There was no need for elaborate production or theatrics. For thirty-five minutes, the crowd stood completely locked in as Reuter poured everything into the performance, proving just how commanding one man alone on a stage can truly be.
The room swelled with the legendary Mortiis taking the stage next. With a brand new album releasing in June, Mortiis kicked their time off with “Ghosts of Europa.” The new track hits the ears with pleasure. Mortiis took center stage, leaned into his mic stand, and moved around it as close to the crowd as possible. Every hop had a life of its own, and his look is described as a goblin or troll. However, he doesn’t recognize it as such. Scrims on each side of the stage depict a crucifixion on one and a crowd gathering on the other. The screen behind drummer Tim Van Horn flashed various versions of the band name across the entire set.
With fans squeezed up against the railing, cell phones were out capturing video as fans sang along. The electronic and industrial elements had bodies swaying in place. The layers of programmed sound filled The Annex as Mortiis cruised through “Marshland,” “You Put A Hex on Me,” and “Mental Maelstrom.” With the album The Smell of Rain being twenty-five years old, some of the unsuspecting fans realized Mortiis was three songs into a six-song run from the album. Voices filled the air. Fans loved singing along to the classics and progressing through “Spirit in a Vacuum” to “Monolith” and “Parasite God” to cap off The Smell of Rain run. This was special.
Guitarist Levi Gawron played a key role in maintaining the true sound of the albums. His playing impressed, as he was a calm force standing off to either side of the stage. His bottom jaw with fake blood and his eyes in a blank stare, the demeanor matched the doom and gloom.
This is where Mortiis took to the microphone for a few brief words: “Right on. Well, I think we have a brand new fucking song. Let’s see how this goes.” The new track was “Tundra. Heart of Hell,” off the forthcoming album Ghosts of Europa. There is a clear departure from the earlier material, and there are hints of ’80s new wave with ’00s dungeon synth intertwined with Mortiis’ signature vocal delivery.
A total standout for a unique sound, but this was where the band really kicked into high gear with two tracks from The Great Deceiver. First, the guitar-driven “Demons are Back” raised the temperature of the general admission floor, but the industrial “Doppelganger” had the crowd moving around. Mortiis’s voice was as full of raspy screams as could be before jumping back into singing and dancing around the front of the stage. The faster tempo had the room in motion.
Check out the Mortiis concert gallery here:
That acceleration carried into the final track of the evening, “Smell The Witch.” Fans sang along as the anthem rang throughout the venue. It was impressive to see someone of Mortiis’s stature and career maneuver through a set like this. It was blatantly obvious the love of the material hasn’t faded.
After an evening full of different styles of music and performance, it was time for UADA. The mood shifted, and the Madison crowd prepared for black metal from the great Northwest. Fog filled the stage to the point that it began to roll out into the room as strobe lights popped from the backline of instrument cabinets. This set the atmosphere chillingly as the sound of wolves howling slowly started.
Through the heavy fog, outlines of UADA emerged, with frontman and band founder Jake Superchi moving behind the microphone at center stage and unloading a scream as the rest of the band kicked into gear. This tour is split into two parts. The first is celebrating ten years of Devoid of Light. The album was their first release and set the groundwork for everything since. They cultivate their own brilliant form of black metal with traditional themes of mysticism, paganism, and ritual. Performing the album in order, “Natus Eclipsism” set the tone and gave The Annex a reason to start a small pit in the middle of the floor. Bodies circled through the fog as the band moved into “Devoid of Light” and “S.N.M.”
UADA are kings of anonymity outside of Superchi. Donning cloaked hoods over their heads and masks covering their faces, they are indistinguishable from each other outside of their leather jackets. The mystery is part of the story and charm. Buried behind cover, their drummer dished out lethal combinations, while their guitarist manned the entire left side of the stage. He was quite active in the face of the fans lining the security barrier, whipping his guitar around and swaying back and forth. His playing, intertwined with Superchi’s, is a masterful blend of traditional black metal, speed, and thrash. The frontman often stepped back and joined his bassist on the right side, playing off each other.
Rounding out the first half of their show with “Our Pale Departure” and “Black Autumn, White Spring,” they completed the full album play without stopping for a break and performed it in one continuous flow. Devoid of Light is an album that should be put on a pedestal of American black metal. From the incredible performance of each member to the impressive vocalizations, whether screaming or chanting, it is a blending of several subgenres that separates them.
The back half of the set was dedicated to Ceremonial Castings, the band Superchi led before forming UADA. After a short break to retool and prepare, the stage fogged over once again, and the backdrop swapped from the UADA logo to the Ceremonial Castings one. Fans were well aware of the previous band’s history as they headbanged and rattled the security barrier from the first note of “Immortal Black Art.” There was a noticeable difference in sound and demeanor on stage. The shift represented a more back-to-the-beginning style of black metal.
Pushing through “Into The Black Forest of Witchery” and “Barbaric is The Beast,” the subject matter shifted slightly to a more primitive take on ritualism, paganism, and esotericism. Superchi’s vocals became even more harsh and haunting. His screeching screams rang through the venue as “Come Forth Damnation” and “Damned Be Those of the Craft” felt like lessons being taught through immersion. The fog misted as the pit smashed into itself and built up condensation above the crowd. The band’s silhouettes moved violently through the flashes of light. The hooded musicians were relentless in their performance. They did not stop playing during this section either, and when it came to the final track of the Ceremonial Castings portion, “Midnight Deathcult Phenomena” closed it out as fans matched UADA’s energy while the synths chimed in true black metal fashion.
However, the night was not over yet. The band took a moment to catch their breath, having performed for an hour and fifteen minutes straight. Audience members screamed as the band took their places one last time. For the encore, they broke into an Emperor cover. The speed and precision of “I Am The Black Wizards” opened many eyes. The harsh vocals and airy backing synths held the mood in place. Emperor is a giant of the genre, and UADA delivered it well. As they played through the final section of the song, the fog began to lift, but the fans’ eyes remained locked on the stage. When the final notes rang out, they simply walked off to an eruption of applause.
Check out the UADA concert gallery here:
Walking back into the barroom and common space, lines slowly built as people conversed with various band members. The Annex was still packed with energy, and that is the bottom line. Not many shows these days give you access to be this close and involved. The performance was impeccable and, no doubt, worth every penny. With a new album of acoustic material just released, it would not be surprising if UADA had more tricks up their sleeves for future performances.
Catch UADA on the Road…
