ARTIST – Ward XVI
VENUE – The Waterloo, Blackpool
DATE – April 2026
Words and Pictures – Graeme Wright
Ward XVI are a theatrical horror/metal band who play a totally unique brand of storytelling music that is drenched with blood and carries an atmosphere of ghoulish fun and depravity throughout their live set. People talk of Alice Cooper as being a major influence on the band, but for me their spirit animal is the Parisian Grand Guignol Theatre, which operated from 1897 to 1962 and specialised in graphic gore, laced with comedy and shock effects, and was once described as being like “Punch and Judy for adults”. Many modern horror movies are influenced by the Grand Guignol style, and for me that influence drips from every pore and permeates the very being of Ward XVI.
The venue was packed early on tonight because this line-up featured three quality bands, and Ward XVI would have their work cut out due to the excellence of what we’d already seen from both Another Thursday and Pulverise. Anybody who has seen these guys before could rest easy, however, because we already know how good this band is, and they didn’t disappoint tonight. The only real worry was around whether the elaborate stage show would fit on the stage of an intimate venue like The Waterloo, but everything went like clockwork, and much ghoulish fun was had by all.
Tonight the band play their latest and best album, ‘ID3NTITY’, in full (this is important because the album tells the story of Psychoberries’ release from the asylum after her previous abominable crimes and the mayhem that follows.) The songs this band produces are intricate, intelligent, and amazingly choreographed, and there aren’t many outfits around that would spend the time, money, and blood, sweat, and tears it must surely take for a stage production with these levels of showmanship and imagination. We are treated to decapitations, lobotomies, dead skin masks, disembowelments and all kinds of amazing debauchery. I still have the smell of a petrol-fuelled chainsaw in my nostrils as I write this review.
The music itself is resolutely heavy rock in its most operatic form, with more than a touch of heavy prog thrown into the mix, making the wares on display totally unique. The band have a huge connection with their rabid fan base, many of whom I chatted with tonight, to the extent I may sign up to be one of the band’s inmates myself! There is an interlude before the final song, ‘We Are Legion’, where the band plays three of their most well-loved songs, and the crowd is in meltdown, audience participation being the name of the game here.
When the band are finished, they spend time mingling with their inmates, and as is often the case with those of us that love horror and metal, they are all so down to earth and even a bit shy when you are gushing your love for their music to them like a rabid fanboy. I loved this show. I love the bands’ connection with their fans as well as their theatrical personas, and above all, I loved the originality, intricate choreography and talent that these guys possess in spades. You owe it to yourself to catch them next time they are on the road. In the words of my missus, who was seeing them for the first time tonight, “Oh my God, what are they going to do next…?”
Setlist
1. Regeneration
2. Into The Wilderness
3. What’s In The Box
4. Macabaret
5. Blood Is The New Black
6. At The Window
7. I Spit On Your Grave
8. Darkest Desire
9. Amoeba Of Madness
10. Cry Of The Siren
11. Ward XVI
12. Shadows
13. We Are Legion
Band Members
Psychoberrie – Vocals
Doktor Von Stottenstein – Guitars/Vocals
Wolfy Huntsman – Bass/Vocals
Rico Rameres – Actor/Vocals
Marshall Kadavers – Drums
Nurse Betty – Vocals
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