Live Review: DEATHPACT- From Darkness, Comes Light (The Tour)

2/26/2025

Riviera Theatre Chicago
Saturday - Feburary 22, 2025

DEATHPACT.
Questions galore-
Who is DEATHPACT?
How do you classify an artist such as DEATHPACT, or better yet, is it even necessary?
In regards to the second question, and my experiences in covering all facets of EDM for quite a number of years now- DEATHPACT is all over the map.
You hear experimental everything, whether it be low bass, bass, bass house, dubstep, deep dubstep, of progressive house.

But all of those terms don't really cover it, since DEATHPACT is a force of nature bounded by no one, let alone subgenres.
Why the secrecy in regards to puzzles when releasing (or finding) new releases, such as a treasure hunt with clues on top of more clues?
This is genius, in my opinion.

It's ultimately clever, not relying on standard and set in stone ways of releasing new material, also with a level of mystery surrounding each and every said release.
If for anything, it keeps the fanbase growing, getting more rabid with each and every nugget released in a treasure trove of clues and a deep dive into whatever single (along with remixes ) comes forth.
And it's all done with patience, nothing rushed, nothing brazen and over the top with a projected end date.

In my opinion, you can't get more indie, up from the underground, than that.
So like most artists that have an undeniable mystery, the music to back it up, the visuals and live performances to back it up- I'm all in when documenting, when discovering an artist, a collective, such as DEATHPACT.
The added bonus to all this is the tour stop at the intimate Riviera Theatre in Chicago, capacity around 2500.
Unheard of, at least for me, to have a sophisticated EDM artists appear in that venue, and put on an extravagant show for the masses.

And like most prominent EDM shows- everything runs on their clock- the "Night Owl" clock.
Doors at 8pm, show starts at 9:30pm, two (or three) acts to open, followed by the headliner.
Headliner usually goes on around 11 / 11:30, or midnight, or even later.
So back to DEATHPACT, and the ever evolving puzzle with deep rooted clues.
A cool definition- "DEATHPACT has and will remain an anonymous harbinger of forward thinking art and music".

And if you were to investigate further, the stories are intact- and done with class, along with preceded clues since the beginning, nothing wasted, done and thought up sophisticated and entertaining, nothing dated, with a collective (I assume) of like minded people who are all in and creating an appeal that is worthy of your attention, without much need of pushing out press to the regular masses, equal in the display and might of simple word of mouth.

And like everything in regards to DEATHPACT, this speaks volumes in my opinion.
And again, I'm not privy to the inner workings of DEATHPACT, nor do I wish to make my own deep dive on assumptions.
What attracted me to the show in the first place was the choice of venue, followed by who's involved- a co-promoter kind of show, with Jam Productions and also Collectiv.
And then of course I saw the advert for the Riviera Theatre, the sophistication of that, followed by some YouTube feeds from previous performances, and holy shit.
This is good.
I mean REALLY GOOD.

No matter the size of the venue, let alone festivals...
The visuals, the slow build in the intro, the overall pummeling from the get go, and also, unrelenting in brute force / take no prisoners kind of approach.
And that's just from I witnessed on YouTube and such.
Live and in person-

A whole 'nother level of whiplash sophistication.
For the show at The Riv- obviously dialed down to fit the intimate stage consignments, but still, just so damn well thought out.
What really made the show more definitive for me, was the foot stomps and full upper body forward lunges from DEATHPACT.

Unlike most EDM shows burying the lower body in table curtains, or even small filler LED screens to enhance to DJ Rig- this minimizes the feel and attachment to the actual artist performing, like a recessed detachment from the mood and excitement of whichever crowd.
For me, witnessing DEATHPACT in almost full body adds to the allure of excitement equal to the crowd, like everyone's all in, beyond the occasional arm gesture waves, which are also common.
The look and feel is definitely renegade, added even more so by of course DEATHPACT, and his chosen and oh so sophisticated LED Mask, shrouded in a hoody and what looks like black military garb.

A definitive show of force, a show of force with bludgeoning impact.
And the lighting, the blinding strobes, the lasers throughout- all used accordingly with maximum impact.
Yes, I was in the pit at first, for approximately the first ten or so minutes of the show, which is all well and good.

But like most sophisticated EDM shows I've covered over the years- my equal enjoyment is usually by the soundboard, for maximum effect in overall mood and lighting.
No different with DEATHPACT- from that vantage point the show excelled for me, took off like a F15 fighter jet that never landed.

The overall feel was settling into a multi-sensory universe that visually and musically just knows how to suck you in, and never let up.
Setlist wise, could've fooled me.

One song zipped and blended into another, no brakes whatsoever.
But that doesn't matter.
The overall feel was one big gigantic story to tell, and obviously lots more stories to tell down the road, with proof of anonymity and literally everything shrouded in secrecy in regards to monthly (yearly) plans.

And I assume as tech constantly develops, whether it be stage presence, let alone recording and new recording techniques, and also sounds of the unknown, it makes sense to have a collective, let alone a guy like DEATHPACT at the controls.
If for no other reason than to embrace the freedom of not knowing anything from the outside looking in.

For me, that's the solid and cool appeal, knowing that I think they know that wholeheartedly, and let other people discuss, with the occasional forthcoming clues of existence and creative intellect.
Again-
How fucking cool is all that?

Count me in for further documentation- ready willing and definitely able.
Such was the show from last weekend at the RIV.

Bobby Talamine - JBTV Music Television Chicago

DEATHPACT, Riviera, Live Music, Chicago, Jerry Bryant, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, JBTV Music Television, JBTV Blog, Live Review

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Live Review: DEATHPACT- From Darkness, Comes Light (The Tour)

DEATHPACT, Riviera, Live Music, Chicago, Jerry Bryant, Bobby Talamine, Fiza Javid, JBTV Music Television, JBTV Blog, Live Review

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