The Cost / Foreignwolf – The Doppler Affection Tour live gallery and review from The Grand Social Dublin 10.02.2026

If you were at  the high-octane performance by The Cost at The Grand Social this past Tuesday (February 10, 2026), you witnessed what many I would consider the sleeper hit of the February gig calendar so far, and it will be difficult to top.

The Grand Social was the perfect choice for this, gritty, intimate, and packed to the rafters with a crowd that clearly knew their technical metal and hard rock. 

Support on the night was from Northern Irish band Foreignwolf, who managed to achieve the most technically perfect, studio quality sound I’ve heard in a live gig outside an arena. They played a relentless set and you could see the crowd edging closer and closer to the stage with each song as they became more and more engaged with the music. With a sound like that, it was hard not to get pulled in.

There was a tangible buzz for the Spanish-born trio, fueled largely by the viral reputation of their drummer, El Estepario Siberiano, who has deservedly surpassed 6.5 million followers on Instagram for his drum videos that me makes look both effortless and impossible at the same time.

Watching him (Jorge Garrido, aka El Estepario Siberiano) in person is almost disorienting. His “one-handed” fills and relentless polyrhythms aren’t just for social media; they drove the entire set with a precision that felt clinical yet incredibly soulful, while he also came across as extremely modest and you could tell he was playing for the pure love of drums, not for any kind of attention.

Peter Connolly’s vocals were a standout. On their hit “Not for Me’, he managed to balance the melodic hooks with a raw, aggressive edge that got the first massive sing-along of the night.

For a three-piece, their sound was massive. Chris Attwell’s bass work filled every frequency gap, making the transition from their more progressive sections to straight-up anthemic rock feel seamless.

They veered off set a few times, engaging with the crowd to the point where they were asking what songs everyone would like to hear. With musicians of that calibre, I would imagine any song shouted out could be attempted, so this could be a dangerous ask of any crowd! A standout for me was their impromptu cover of SOAD’s “Chop Suey” in homage to Seth Tankian, who recorded vocals on their latest single.

Another highlight was the inevitable extended drum solo leading into the finale, which saw the entire room go silent in awe before descending into the night’s most intense mosh pit. Garrido giving the people exactly what they came for.

The Cost proved they are far more than an “internet band.” They delivered a tight, 75-minute masterclass in modern rock. If there’s one critique, it’s that the set felt slightly short, the crowd was definitely ready for another twenty minutes of chaos.

Their tour is brief, but they are very much worth checking out, and not just for the drums. 

Foreignwolf photos:

The Cost photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Into the Drone
Counting Every Dime
Chop Suey! (System of a Down cover)
Her Eyes
Rogue
One of a Kind
King Illusion
Nueva (Snippet)
Ginger
Floods
The Bricklayer
Nueva
____________________________________
Not for Me

Photos & Words – David McEneaney @experimentzero