SUiCiDE BOMBERS’ HOMECOMING IN OSLO, NORWAY!
Date: June 21, 2025
Venue: Goldie
Location: Oslo, Norway
Reviewer: Jerzy Nykiel
Photos: Jerzy Nykiel
SUiCiDE BOMBERS were playing a gig in Oslo for the first time in 16 months, hot on the heels of their successful tour of the UK with Trench Dogs and Continental Lovers along for the ride. Sleaze Roxx readers could follow the tour due to tour diary instalments written by singer Chris Damien Doll and published on Sleaze Roxx (see Tour Diaries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11). The band, featuring also Stevie Teaze on guitar, C. Slim on bass, and Lyle Starr on drums, was now back in Oslo and I was there to see them for a fourth time on the All For The Candy run and interested to see how the show compares to the previous times I have seen it.
I only come to Oslo a few times a year and I should admit that it is, more often than not, to see a rock show. It’s no wonder then that, for me, Oslo is dotted with places that trigger rock n’ roll memories, like this crosswalk where I bumped into the Crashdïet guys before their show a few years ago or this street where I waited two hours to talk to Eric Martin from Mr. Big after their show some time back.
I was not familiar with Goldie, a bar/club in the center of the city where SUiCiDE BOMBERS were to play this evening. When I showed up about an hour before the show, I got my wrist stamped with a ticket and I entered the club. There was a small stage there, a bar and tables, everything was as you would expect on the face of it but, at the same time, something was off. The place was too bright and sterile a setting for a SUiCiDE BOMBERS’ show. I retraced my steps in order to confirm with the guy who had stamped my wrist that it was the right place, at which point he directed me downstairs. The downstairs level of Goldie presented a totally different universe. More space with a larger and sleazier bar, the right kind of crowd judging by the t-shirts, sticky twilight in the air and a stage already set for SUiCiDE BOMBERS.
There was no support band slated for the evening. The SUiCiDE BOMBERS guys simply sneaked onto the stage to the sound of a very calm intro, which I think I haven’t heard before (but I may be wrong). I paid attention to this unimposing intro because it sounded in stark contrast with what was to come next. If you’ve never seen SUiCiDE BOMBERS live, you should know that what came next was a series of 14 unrelenting sleaze metal punches that left you sweaty and exhausted but you took them all on the chin because those punches also are also shots of energy which you’re likely to get dependent on. If you’ve seen the SUiCiDE BOMBERS live show, the punches are more familiar and you are here just to get more. Suffice to say that the beginning chords of “Worlds Without End” are the only chance to hear the sound of undistorted guitar.
The setlist was pretty much consistent with that used during the earlier shows promoting All For The Candy. There was however one surprise as “Take It Off” was replaced with “We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists” off Murder Couture, performed for the first time since 2023. I had been secretly hoping the band would perform a version of “Where Time Always Goes’ after they had released it as a single recently. This was however not to be.
SUiCiDE BOMBERS are both brilliant performers and entertainers. With this band, you’re guaranteed to get great pics as there is a lot going on onstage. With Chris Damien Doll, you get the impression that he doesn’t make even one random movement for the duration of the entire show. The snarls, the voice, the pointing – all these little things reinforce his onstage persona. The man is a sleaze metal star – it’s just that the world doesn’t know that yet. The greatest change in comparison with the previous shows is perhaps how effectively guitarist Stevie Teaze and bassist C. Slim use the space on the stage. This show was already brilliant 16 months ago at the record release so no major improvements could be expected but the intensive touring has had the benefit of everybody easing into their stage role even more. Stevie Teaze’s solos were sharp as nails while his blond guitar god persona shines as bright as ever. Collectively, they have this punk energy that makes them mostly occupy the edge of the stage and stay as close to the audience as possible, propelled by this raw power generated behind them by Lyle Starr on the drums.
There were no clear highlights as every song in a way is. It really depends on which track hits you most or which track is your favorite. I really enjoyed those songs where the verses are super melodic, dynamic, and full of swagger. The powerful rhythm section drives them right into your chest, which makes the choruses even more satisfying, such as “Ready For Tonight” and “Out of Love”. But then “Murder Couture” simply slayed. It was pure bravado. In the meantime, Chris Damien Doll thanked the fans from Norway and from different countries who had been coming to the band’s shows. A test run of the “Oh! Oh!” with some instructions for the audience preceded the performance of the final track of the evening “Bladerunner (Tokyo Nights)” and the band left the stage in a way similar to how they had appeared there an hour and 15 minutes earlier.
SUiCiDE BOMBERS’ setlist:
01. Dynamite Playboys
02. Let’s Rock’n’Roll
03. Ready For Tonight
04. All For The Candy
05. Videodrome 2049
06. We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists
07. Worlds Without End
08. Out of Love
09. Keep An Eye On You
10. Murder Couture
11. Tonight Belongs To Us
12. So Bad
13. Suicide Idol
14. Bladerunner (Tokyo Nights)
As usual, the band members came out after the show and I got a chance to hear some UK tour stories first hand. On top of that, I want to mention two people I met when hanging out before and after the show because I think it is great that they still come out and support SUiCiDE BOMBERS and the scene. One of them was Georg Rozz, the bassist from a little known glam metal band Wild Flowers, which was active in and around Oslo, Norway in the late ’80s/early ’90s. He told me a few stories about the band from back in the day. The other person was Andy Hunter – the drummer from Chris Damien Doll’s former band Trashcan Darlings — with whom we reminisced back to the glam punk scene of the ’90s.
One of the recorded messages played in-between the songs during the SUiCiDE BOMBERS show stated that “Rock n’ roll has never been this good”. If you want a visually exciting and musically fulfilling sleaze metal show, do yourself a favor and check out SUiCiDE BOMBERS live. I certainly will time and time again.