A Ceremony Reborn – The Cult Resurrect Death Cult on the Paradise Now Tour
Inside San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre, where gold curtains shimmer beneath a painted night sky, history felt alive again. The Cult, celebrating four decades of mysticism and might, brought their “Paradise Now Tour” to town, a symbolic merging of past and present that saw Death Cult reborn as their own opening act. For longtime followers, it was more than a concert; it was a séance of sound, spanning the raw post-punk origins that birthed them and the anthemic power that made them legends.
Patriarchy Opens with Electric Menace
The night began with Patriarchy, the Los Angeles darkwave provocateurs who turned the room into a fever dream of industrial beats and high-gloss menace. Actually Huizenga commanded the stage with icy composure, like a character torn from a neon-drenched nightmare, her delivery oscillating between deadpan detachment and ecstatic fury. Songs like “Suffer” and “Boy on a Leash” throbbed with metallic sensuality, while “No Touch Torture” dripped with decadent tension. It was performance art meeting apocalypse disco, equal parts threat and seduction, and the perfect prelude to the transformation that would follow.
The Resurrection of Death Cult
When the lights dimmed again, the curtain rose to reveal Death Cult, a name not uttered from a stage in decades. Ian Astbury, draped in black, stared down the audience with the conviction of a shaman about to cast the first spell. From the opening beat of “Ghost Dance”, the sound was primal, with toms pounding and guitars shimmering in ritualistic echo.
The set unfolded like a time capsule cracked open. “Resurrection Joe” swaggered with hypnotic rhythm, “Gods Zoo” snarled in tribal pulse, and “83rd Dream” spilled out in psychedelic grace. Billy Duffy’s guitar shimmered and bit in equal measure, while Astbury’s voice carried the same fiery incantation it did forty years ago, perhaps even stronger, tempered by time and defiance.
By “Christians” and “Horse Nation”, the crowd was fully entranced, swaying under crimson light like witnesses to some long-forbidden rite. The closing “Spiritwalker” felt transcendent, the band moving as one organism, equal parts fury and faith. This wasn’t nostalgia, it was rebirth.
The Cult Ignite the Fire
After a brief intermission, The Cult returned in full force, launching straight into “Wild Flower”, its riff slicing through the theater like a spark hitting dry tinder. The air thickened with smoke and light as “The Witch” and “War (The Process)” followed. Astbury commanded the stage like a prophet in motion, his presence both grounded and otherworldly.
Mid-set highlights included the cinematic ache of “Edie (Ciao Baby)” and the muscular drive of “Rise”, each moment a reminder that The Cult’s power has always lived in tension between beauty and aggression, chaos and control. “Fire Woman” set the audience ablaze, a wall of sound and heat that rolled like thunder through the Majestic’s ornate balconies.
The night closed with a roaring encore of “She Sells Sanctuary”, every note erupting into collective euphoria. Duffy’s soaring guitar rang out like light through stained glass, while Astbury’s voice rose, defiant, timeless, and alive. For a few radiant minutes, everyone in the room was baptized in pure sound.
Between Heaven and Earth
In the end, the Paradise Now 8525 Tour was not a mere retrospective but a ritual of endurance. The Cult did not just revisit their history; they redefined it. From Patriarchy’s dark seduction to Death Cult’s resurrection and The Cult’s blazing finale, the night traced the evolution of a band and a belief that music can still be dangerous, spiritual, and deeply human.
They remain a group suspended between heaven and earth — channeling fire through faith after forty years — but even fire must rest before blazing again.
As The Cult prepare to close out their Paradise Now 8525 Tour, the band has announced an indefinite hiatus following the final four shows. In a collective statement, they explained:
“Mother Nature has a cycle of change and evolution that is inevitable. The moon’s phases change, tides rise and fall. Change is necessary for creation and rebirth. It is with this in mind that, following the remaining dates on our current North American The Cult/Death Cult 8525 Tour, we have decided to step away from touring for an undetermined amount of time. We have toured extensively over the last few years and we shall now shift our focus to writing, recording new music, and exploring other projects that shall be revealed over time. It is a time for us to turn inward to recharge our spiritual batteries. When we return to the stage, it shall be with an even stronger fire and energy that we will share with all of you. Ours is a communal bond, and it will not be broken, simply paused.”
The statement frames the pause not as an ending, but as a necessary renewal — a space for reflection, creation, and recalibration before the band’s next chapter.
Remaining Paradise Now North American Tour Dates:
- Oct. 24, 2025 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl (Palms Casino)
- Oct. 25, 2025 – San Diego, CA @ The Sound (Del Mar)
- Oct. 27, 2025 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
- Oct. 30, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium
Follow The Cult:
Or via: