THE DUST CODA + BAD TOUCH + LEADFEATHER – ISLINGTON ACADEMY – 8TH OCTOBER 2025
Three of the UK’s finest purveyors of modern classic rock – The Dust Coda, Bad Touch and Leadfeather – lit up Islington Academy on 8th October 2025. From Zeppelin-infused riffs to swaggering blues grooves and dual-guitar fireworks, this was a masterclass in how to keep rock’n’roll alive and kicking in the 21st century.
Tonight promises to be an absolute extravaganza of 21st-century classic rock. Whilst the term ‘classic rock’ can sometimes evoke images of lumbering behemoths from the 1970s, that is absolutely not the case here.
Leadfeather Soar and Stomp
First up in support is Leadfeather. The band’s name reflects their keen sense of dynamics: their music being as heavy as lead one minute, and light as a feather the next. It also perhaps reflects the clear influence that Led Zeppelin have had on them. That’s okay, though, because they have the chops to carry it off. During the middle eight of the opening song, guitarist Simon Hurts even uses a theremin!
Shoot For The Stars is another Zeppelin-esque riff monster, with drummer Thanos sounding every bit as powerful as John Bonham. Roll The Dice from the EP of the same name has a similar pace to Zep’s Whole Lotta Love and features vocalist Apostolos (I’m not making these names up – honest!) singing Simon Hurts’ guitar parts back to him. Whilst I have mentioned the Led Zeppelin influence, Leadfeather are very much their own band, and are well worth checking out.
Bad Touch Find Their Groove
The first of tonight’s headliners are Bad Touch. Second song in, they play a newie – Don’t Look Back. It’s very reminiscent of UFO, which is definitely no bad thing! Good On Me features a superb slide guitar solo from Pete Lance, who is clearly no slouch. Nothing Wrong With That also features an impressive solo. However, they somehow lack the stage presence of Leadfeather. It’s as if a spark is missing — certainly at this stage of the set, anyway. Drummer Brad Newlands, who only joined the band earlier this year, plays an awe-inspiring drum solo before Lift Your Head Up. It’s concise though — no self-indulgence here!
On occasion, and Skyman is one of them, they stray perilously close to Bon Jovi territory. It’s also a shame that the lead and rhythm guitar roles are so strictly demarcated. Without getting too Thin Lizzy about it, they’re missing some great dual-lead guitar opportunities. By I Get High, the band definitely seem to have regained their spark. Dan Seekings plays the intro, and Pete Lance has an utterly incendiary guitar solo spot. Towards the end of the set, there’s an unexpected cover: Alanis Morissette’s Hand In My Pocket. Unsurprisingly, it rocks somewhat harder than the original, and it’s an excellent version. It’s been a great set, despite a slightly uncertain start, and I can only recommend Bad Touch. What more can I say? When they rock, they rock, and when they roll, they roll.
The Dust Coda Prove Their Mettle
The Dust Coda close tonight’s show. Their walk-on song is Iron Maiden’s Number Of The Beast. Luckily, their own material matches that particular classic. Opener Let Me Go has a cool dual-lead guitar intro, and a psychedelic-sounding middle eight which becomes a bit of a maelstrom. Vocalist Andrew Knightley seems to be caught in a crosswind from the onstage air-con, which has the effect of making him look rather like Barry Gibb on the cover of The Bee Gees’ Spirits Having Flown album. However, this probably unwanted likeness doesn’t prevent him from turning in a cracking guitar solo during Jimmy Two Times. More surprising than his (alleged) similarity to Barry Gibb is the fact that Andrew has only been in the band since January, and that this is his first tour with them! He performs as if he’s been in the band for years!
Demon starts with an awesome bass riff from Tony Ho, and features more dual-lead guitar — I hope Bad Touch are watching this! Weakness from the first album is something of a crowd-pleaser. Apparently, the band haven’t played it live for a while. It has an ace Sabbath-style riff but with added groove. Adam Mackie’s lead playing is really quite outstanding. Breakdown starts with a shred-tastic guitar solo and features some sweet wah-wah on the riff. Call Out The Dogs from the latest album Loco Paradise, meanwhile, features a superb Page-esque intro. Dream Alight features Adam and Andrew swapping solos, whilst Limbo Man, a Dust Coda classic, sees Adam tapping — this is awesome stuff! Set closer Road To Hell has a clear AC/DC influence.
The number of influences mentioned demonstrates what a wide sonic vocabulary The Dust Coda have. Ultimately, however, they sound like themselves. Whilst there was a decent crowd at the Academy tonight, it wasn’t sold out — which is a shame, as it should have been. Tonight we saw three bands at the top of their game. If you like your rock with something of a classic touch, you could do a lot worse than see any of these three bands. Or maybe see all of them!
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON
Photo Gallery
