Yet another gigantic bill has hit Manchester, but this time it’s spooky because it’s Halloween. Swedish melodic death metal legends Arch Enemy close out a gigantic yet diverse bill made up of death metal, prog, and strange instruments that I couldn’t begin to name. Gatecreeper, Eluveitie, and Amorphis helped make this a night to remember despite some flaws.
We started the night with some crushing death metal. Despite being aware of Gatecreeper for some time, this was my first time listening to them, and they made an amazing first impression. It took a few songs to fully place why they sounded familiar and why it clicked so quickly. Then it dawned on me that this will likely be the closest I’ll ever get to seeing the band Bolt Thrower live.
The big harmonised guitar lines, the punishing drumming, and slamming groove invoked Bolt Thrower so vividly that I could picture all of their music being played by Jo Bench and company. Tracks like ‘Caught in the Treads’, ‘From the Ashes’, and ‘Flamethrower’ all invoke the mighty infectious grooves and brutality of Bolt Thrower while adding the vocal proficiency we’ve all come to expect from modern extreme metal bands. Frontman Chase Mason had all the flexibility and fluid movement of a wacky waving arm-flailing inflatable tube man but the ferocious intensity and vocal chops of a grizzly bear. A truly unique combination and arguably the heaviest band on the entire bill.
If all that wasn’t reason enough to see Gatecreeper, they managed to become even cooler by walking off stage to the Mission Passed song from Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
Mission Passed
+Respect
Next up was Eluveitie, a gigantic folk metal band made up of multi-instrumentalists and multi-linguists. The fact that all eight members of the band fit on stage was impressive enough, but they also managed to nail down a near-perfect mix. Tracks like ‘Call of the Mountain’ and ‘Inis Mona’ managed to show off all the complexity of the band’s sound without becoming an overwhelming wall of noise.
It should surprise no one that the folk elements were more interesting than the metal sections. Tracks like ‘King’ balance this beautifully and give this overwhelming sense of scale, although it does become confusing if you try to follow which member is performing a solo. But I suppose that gives you more reason to pay close attention to what’s happening on stage.
Eluveitie had every opportunity to become a sound engineer’s worst nightmare, but tonight’s show sounded like a beautiful dream full of lutes and mandolins and so many more weird and wonderful instruments that make them stand out amongst an already stacked bill. It was an unfortunate reality that many people were only here for Eluveitie, as the audience started to diminish. But everyone else was still ready to continue with a night of heavy metal.
Next up was Amorphis, and not to be that guy, but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that they were top-billed support. Amorphis are a massive draw and a great live band, but Eluveitie had much more marquee appeal and, to put it bluntly, even some novelty appeal. Despite the running order weirdness, Amorphis did a good job and made a fantastic impression with the gigantic symphonic soundscapes and stomping riffs of ‘Bones’.
The set was a mix of ultra-dramatic symphonic soundscapes with dynamic drumming and interesting effects-driven guitar work like the delay-riddled ‘Wrong Direction’. The inclusion of a keyboardist gave the sound a much richer and fuller sound, adding to the gigantic power metal moments like ‘The Moon’ and ‘Dancing Shadow’. It even added an exotic touch with the sitar intro that led into the dark and heavy riffing of ‘Death of a King’.
It made sense that ‘The Bee’ would be the closing song of Amorphis‘ set, considering Manchester’s signature is the worker bee. It’s a borderline trance song with heavy guitar work and dramatic jazz-style synths that closed off a set that had the potential to lose some momentum the rest of the show had built, but really acted as a much-needed rest. According to all known laws of music, there’s no reason that Amorphis should fit this bill, but they were a pleasant surprise.
Finally, Arch Enemy took their positions behind the giant screen that read “pure fucking metal,” and the band made their cool and epic poses through silhouette before the curtain dropped and ‘Deceiver, Deceiver’ kicked in. From the get-go, the show is full of high-octane Accept-style guitar choreography and high kicks from a particularly skeletal Alissa White-Gluz, who fully commits to the Halloween spirit with her metal-as-hell spooky scary skeleton outfit.
The set contains many Arch Enemy staples including the tension-building ‘Ravenous’, the stomping intensity of ‘My Apocalypse’, and the arena death metal majesty of ‘War Eternal’. There are certainly some absent classics like ‘Dead Bury Their Dead’ and ‘As the Pages Burn’, but the strangest omission is ‘We Will Rise’. The absence of ‘We Will Rise’, a track that embodies that arena rock sensibility, would be perfect, but alas, we remain seated.
Arch Enemy seem to be going for an arena rock shift with the show being a bit of a storm in a teacup situation. The band is frothing at the mouth for bigger venues and more elaborate production, but the fact that the audience was becoming more and more sparse was somewhat disappointing. This all may seem like harsh criticism, but it’s really down to facing the reality that Arch Enemy are more fit for smaller venues. Melodic death metal just isn’t built for these gigantic theatres.
There are tracks that bridge the gap really well, however. The glorious buildup and vicious punch in the face of ‘Dream Stealer’ shows the band at their most ferocious and demonstrates that new guitarist Joey Concepcion can keep up with Michael Amott and the absolute powerhouses that have played guitar for Arch Enemy over the years. Tracks from the latest album, Blood Dynasty, contain some of the heaviest moments of the show, like the thrashy drumming of ‘Liars and Thieves’ starting a fairly rowdy pit that I was safely above.
Live music has an ability to shift perspectives on songs from how you’ve experienced them in a studio version. As someone who has never enjoyed ‘The Eagle Flies Alone’ on the record, I can appreciate the amount of energy and groove that the live performance can muster, as well as leaning into Arch Enemy‘s more power metal sensibilities.
Sidenote: I listened to it again, and I suppose it’s a grower. I like it a bit more now.
The show ended as it always has: with a thunderous scream of “WE ARE ONE! NEMESIS.” A breakneck rager that helped establish Arch Enemy as a force to be reckoned with in the mid-2000s and continues to be a staple of rock clubs and ambitious guitar nerds trying to up their game. It’s a brilliant conclusion to a night that ultimately had some flaws but not enough to take away from all the skill and talent on this bill.
Arch Enemy may not be ready for venues of this size, but it wasn’t an outright failure. So many people got to experience an eclectic bill made up of bands they wouldn’t typically see, and the variety of it alone made this a must-see event. Perhaps it may be time for Arch Enemy to do more intimate shows and return to some of their darker and more death metal roots in the future. Or maybe they’ll try this again in a few years. Where would you want to see Arch Enemy? Tell us in the comments.
