Alice Cooper, 24th June 2026, Helviti, Copenhell Festival, Denmark

Photo: Goran www.urbanmescalero.com

With the magnificent The Revenge of Alice Cooper album from the Alice Cooper Band in the bag, one could have hoped that Alice Cooper would play a few songs from it on his solo tour, but no such luck. The Alice Cooper Band’s first new album since 1973 was unfortunately not represented yesterday when Alice Cooper took the main stage at this year’s edition of Copenhell.

Accompanied by the band that has been with him for some time now, including the last time they played the festival, seeing Alice Cooper in 2026 means you pretty much know what you’re going to get. The only unknown was Anna Cara, who is stepping in for Nita Strauss while she is on maternity leave. The 22-year-old has some big shoes to fill – not only Strauss’ but also those of the long line of outstanding guitarists who have shared the stage with Cooper over the decades.

And at the age of 78, with six decades of live performances behind him, you would think it might start to show, but Cooper still delivers with passion, a flair for entertainment, and, above all, professionalism . “Spark in the Dark” has found its way back into Cooper’s setlist in 2025 and for the first time since the late ’80s, when it was originally released. The drive it has on the record did not quite translate live, but by the time “No More Mr. Nice Guy” hit, Cooper had gained a better hold on the audience, a grip he only tightened over the course of the next few songs.

Apart from playing the majority of his live classics from different eras of his career, Cooper also served up a few surprises – the biggest being the magnificent “Dangerous Tonight.” Who would have thout we’d get to experience that live in Denmark.

“Poison” is, of course, one of the highlights of the show, which makes the uneven follow-up, “Brutal Planet,” fall even flatter. “Ballad of Dwight Fry” also seemed to go over most people’s heads but it was such a strong display of nunaces in the band’s performance.

“School’s Out” was another of those expected sing-along highlights, but it did not close the show, as is so often the case. Instead, another big surprise followed: a cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which on paper should fail as hard as it gets, but actually worked rather well. And if he is ever going to perform that song, then I guess a festival show is a good place to do it.

Alice Cooper has always ben accompanied by good players, and it is such a pleasure to watch them play and command the stage. True professionals. As for Cara, she also did her job very well and, on top of that, carried herself in a nonchalant yet convincing manner.

At almost 80 years old, Alice Cooper is still standing strong – both when it comes to creating new music and, by all means, when it comes to performing six decades’ worth of music live.

SETLIST:

1. Hello, Hooray
2. Who Do You Think We Are
3. Spark in the Dark
4. No More Mr. Nice Guy
5. House of Fire
6. I’m Eighteen
7. Feed My Frankenstein
8. Dirty Diamonds
9. Hey Stoopid
10. Dangerous Tonight
11. Poison
12. Brutal Planet
13. Ballad of Dwight Fry
14. Cold Ethyl
15. Only Women Bleed
16. Second Coming / Going Home
17. School’s Out
18. Smells Like Teen Spirit