For the hundreds of fans of DESPISED ICON who were devastated when the band announced its break-up in 2010, April/May 2014 has a very special treat in store: a reunion tour across Europe, the so-called "The Brutal Road to Impericon Festival" tour!
 

Walking into the venue, I was quite surprised to see so many people; in fact the crowd had almost reached the wall right at the back. However, whilst making my way forward, I soon found out why the venue seemed so packed:  the first half of the room in front of the stage had been left clear. This ominous portent of insane mosh pits was soon realised, with the crowd being one of the most energetic I have ever seen. Starting off the night was DEAD LIKE SWANSEA, a Djentcore band from Germany which was founded in just 2009. With their recently released first full-length album, most of the setlist was drawn from this release. With a bit of a home-ground advantage, the crowd received this band well, even going as far as screaming the lyrics along with the vocalist.
 

Setlist:
1. Intro
2. Heavy Rain
3. Apolonia
4. Spotlights
5. Y.O.U.
6. 2^nd Lap
7. To The Grave
8. In Hope and Fear
9. Earth
 

Next up on stage was CEREBRAL BORE, a Deathgrid band from Glasgow, Scotland; a fact that the vocalist repeatedly stated, just in case we missed it the first few times. Although sadly lacking Som on vocals, CEREBRAL BORE nevertheless has found another female addition to their lineup, this time in the form of a very talented bass player. Despite being an obvious newcomer to the band, as evidenced by her being the only one to need a setlist to keep on track, she absolutely nailed the performance; definitely more than just a pretty face! Fans of the band were also pleased to find out that there are currently plans underway for a second full-length album, hopefully to be released this year some time.
 

Setlist:
1. Maniacal Miscreation
2. Horrendous Acts of Iniquity
3. Entombed in Butchered Bodies
4. Mangled Post Burial
5. Epileptic Strobe Entrapment
6. The Bald Cadaver
7. 24 Year Party Dungeon
 

The penultimate band of the night was none other than BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL. This Welsh band has just released their fourth full-length album "Suspension of Consciousness". BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL put on the most energetic show of the night, never standing still for a moment. Fans of the band went absolutely crazy when given the opportunity to scream into the mic; I'd even go as far as saying the crowd did almost as much of the vocals as the vocalist himself! The vocalist understandably took this brief intermission to stage-dive and go crowd surfing one full circuit around the venue, before being somewhat unceremoniously dumped back on the stage by the overly enthusiastic crowd. There was a slight hiccup with the band's sound though, with the bass disappearing for a few minutes half way through their set. But despite this, the band definitely succeeded in getting the crowd positively frothing at the mouth in anticipation of the final band: DESPISED ICON.
 

Setlist:
1. Delirium
2. Tower of Silence
3. The Path
4. Casket
5. Abandon
6. Trapped Doors Moving Walls
 

The headliners of the night were DESPISED ICON. Due to having disbanded in 2010, the last time that this Canadian Deathcore band played in Munich was over four years ago. 2014 sees the band on a slew of reunion shows across Europe, much to the ecstatic delight of their fans. This reunion is however only temporary, at least according to the band themselves. And knowing just how special this show was, the audience went all out, with a seemingly endless barrage of mosh pits, circle pits, walls of death, stage diving, and crowd surfing. Each song received a tumultuous explosion of enthusiasm and energy from the audience, and each person there made sure that DESPISED ICON will definitely remember this reunion tour in the years to come.
 

Setlist:
1. In the Arms of Perdition
2. Day of Mourning
3. Les Temps Changent
4. Sheltered Reminiscence
5. Bulletproof Scales
6. Retina
7. Quarantine
8. A Fractured Hand
9. Oval Shaped Incisions
10. One Last Martini (But You'll Never Notice)
11. The Sunset Will Never Charm Us
12. Furtive Monologue
13. MVP
 

All in all, it was most certainly a night to go wild, leaving more than a few people to tend to their injuries the next day. I'm pretty sure one guy got his ribs cracked by a stray roundhouse kick that connected straight in the chest, and another guy was gently checking his nose for breaks after having an elbow slammed in his face. Regardless of this, they still stayed in the mosh pit until the very end, pouring everything they had into making it an unforgettable night.