Friday night the House of Blues played host to another big metal show, this time one being headlined by Arch Enemy, hailing all the way from Sweden! Last week was the week of overseas death metal first with Behemoth and now Arch Enemy, quite an exciting week for metal fans indeed!
Mutiny Within
Mutiny Within
Mutiny Within
A New Jersey band, Mutiny Within opened the show. They had heavy riffs and were technically very tight. The singer would either yell, which sounded good, or sing with an emo whiny voice which did not. The crowd were quite rowdy however and they seemed to have their fair share of fans out there because they already started moshing and even crowd surfing, which doesn’t usually happen during the first band at most shows.
Arsis
Arsis
East Coast natives Arsis soon followed. They had a death metal sound with some thrash influence and vocals that sounded more like a black metal band. They were fast, tight, and powerful and the crowd seemed to really dig them too as they got even more rowdy. Their set seemed to go by very quickly.
Exodus
Exodus
Exodus
A band now celebrating their 30th year together in one form or another, Exodus, took the stage to what was now a packed house. The band is on their fifth singer and only features one original member but that didn’t stop them from showing the audience that they are masters (and partial creators) of thrash metal. They tore up that stage with the fury of teenage angst and the crowd went absolutely insane. Nearly the entire main floor was a giant most pit and people, including old ones, were crowd surfing and flying over the barricade at a rapid pace. Exodus never really got the recognition of many of their peers from the first wave of thrash metal, but they may finally be getting their props this year judging by the crowd reaction this night.
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy
The full house was chanting for Arch Enemy as the crew were finishing the soundcheck. The lights dimmed and smoke started filling the stage and the crowd roared louder than ever in appreciation as the band members walked out on stage and started into their first song. Lead singer, Angela, was both a vision of beauty and a bundle of power. Her vocals are amazingly impressive with the guttural screams and occasional melodic parts and she just commands attention both vocally and visually. She was stalking all over the stage, whipping her hair around while belting out her vocal parts.
Arch Enemy
The band was a force to be reckoned with. They wielded their instruments like precision surgeons flawlessly playing song after song, buried by smoke and flashing lights as the crowd cheered, pumped fists and flew over each others’ heads into the arms of the security guards who didn’t get a minute of rest throughout the band’s entire set!
Arch Enemy
They played around 20 songs which covered a good portion of their catalog and clocked in at what had to be close to 90 minutes. There wasn’t a dull moment in the set and the crowd never grew tired of hearing and seeing them play, let alone going crazy the entire time. They definitely gave the crowd their money’s worth and then some and left them completely satisfied. Judging by the turnout and response, things are definitely looking up for Arch Enemy in 2010 and big things may be in store for them.
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy
Some additional photos from the show can be seen here.
