Dead Pioneers were brought to our attention here first by our Anarcho hardcore punk writer Nathan Brown and we’ve never looked back after their DIY debut album. This year they released their scorching second album Po$t American which will possibly top our Album Of The Year list, judging by the votes coming in. A more polished production which brings to mind the leap Nirvana made from Bleach to Nevermind, yet this is not grunge as we know it, leaning more to the hardcore sound from those DC days. To me they’re the next massive band to capture the world and to top this they’ve made a fan of film maker Ron ‘Rom’ Scalpello, who caught them in action at The Dome in London. Read on…

Last May, Dead Pioneers, the indigenous punk rock band from Denver, played their debut
headline London gig at The Dome in North London. Over two albums – their self-titled debut in 2023 and ‘PO$T AMERICAN’ from earlier this year – the band have concocted a unique blend of politically charged spoken word, hypnotic post-rock and punk roots that really came alive within the sweat drenched walls of The Dome.

This first London appearance was such an important show for the band that Ron Rom
Scalpello, the film maker and music journalist who started his career at seventeen years old working for legendary English music paper Sounds, wanted to document the event. Among many other creative works, Ron has directed many music videos (including The Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’) and was the perfect person to capture this unique band at a pivitol point in their career.

“It felt like this was an important moment in the band’s trajectory,” explains Ron. “They had
released two amazing albums and ‘PO$T AMERICAN’ was such a prescient, urgent album,
it felt that their prestigious first London gig needed to be filmed as we are at a unique
moment in time when freedom of speech is under intense pressure on both sides of the
Atlantic. They are in the middle of the storm, unapologetically holding power to account and independent venues like the Dome have always been the natural home for grassroots
counterculture to interrogate, explore and make us question the stories we are fed.”

“I was brought up with alternative music with bold voices, like Gil Scott Heron, Public Enemy, Dead Kennedys, The Clash,  Gang of Four, The Slits and The Specials, Rage Against The Machine who used punk, hip-hop, spoken word and ska to supply audiences with an
education in dissent and  encourage confidence to challenge class politics, power dynamics
and the rapacious nature free market capitalism,” continues Ron. “Music, like books, was
always a place for personal and political growth.  They shape us, define us and challenge
preconceived ideas around identity and your place in the world.”

Through interviews and live footage from the gig, “Everything Counts Presents Dead
Pioneers Live From The Dome” really gets to the heart of the words and sounds that make
Dead Pioneers so distinctive. Produced by Sujata Naik and directed by Ron Rom Scalpello,
the film is now available to view in full below.

“We are thrilled to have been part of this short film with Ron,” says frontman Gregg Deal.
“Ron reached out to Hassle Records about documenting our headlining show at The Dome.
He had already connected with our music and its subject matter, and he was eager to
capture that first London headliner in a sold-out room Downstairs at The Dome. We were
honoured to have him and his crew there. “This feels like the first of many moments of growth for Dead Pioneers, and we’re grateful to have shared it with Ron,” continues Gregg. “Documenting not only our performance but also our words — within this political and social movement, through a cultural and Indigenous lens — is something deeply meaningful to us. As we continue to find our voice, we also find action, healing, support, and compassion through this medium of music. Ron’s care and thoughtfulness, both in his documentation and in his interview questions, were essential to capturing this moment — and we’re truly humbled by his work.”

Dead Pioneers are confirmed to play their first EU and UK headline tour in February and
March, 2026. Support for all UK shows comes from Yakkie, featuring Janey Starling formerly of Dream Nails.

The band have already commenced work on their third album, due for release in 2026.

See Dead Pioneers at the following dates in the UK and EU in 2026:

January
3rd USA Denver, The Gothic Theatre
February
26th UK Bristol, The Croft
27th UK Manchester, Rebellion
28th UK Leeds, Key Club
March
1st UK London, The Underworld
3rd NL Arnhem, Willemeen
5th DE Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
6th DE Stuttgart, Juha West
7th DE Cologne, Helios37
9th CH Zurich, Bogen F
11th AT Vienna, Arena
12th DE Munich, Backstage
13th DE Berlin, Cassiopeia
14th DE Hamburg, Hafenklang

Tickets available here.

Find Dead Pioneers online HERE.

Forewords by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here