Arch Enemy brought their Blood Dynasty tour to London accompanied by Gatecreeper, Eluveitie and Amorphis. The Swedish Death Metallers brought tracks from their recent album combined with some old fan favourites to the English capital.
First to the stage were Arizona band Gatecreeper. The band had the tough job of starting off the evening’s proceedings and due to the number of bands on display had limited space at the front of the stage in which to perform. In all my time of photographing bands it had never been so easy to photograph the drummer with Matt Arrebollo’s kit being almost at the front of the stage. The band entered bathed in green light. Guitarists Israel Garza and Eric Wagner were keen to get the crowd energised with their frantic head banging and their regular calls for circle pits. The band were not going to allow the crowd to settle down with Singer Chase Mason telling everyone “I want to see you jump”. The audience participation didn’t end there with Mason also getting them to sing along getting them to repeat “I’m dead, I’m living” creating a powerful interaction. The set was heavy hitting and set the tone for the bands that followed.
Setlist: 1. Dead Star, 2. Ruthless, 3. A Chilling Aura, 4. Caught in The Treads, 5. The Black Curtain, 6. From the Ashes, 7. Mistaken for Dead, 8. Flesh Habit, 9. Sick of Being Sober, 10. Flamethrower
Next up were Swiss Folk metal giants Eluveitie. After a quarter of a century of gig going it is rare that I see a first, but this band threw up several firsts with their unbelievable music versatility. The eight-piece delivered music with a stunning array of traditional Celtic style instruments to accompany the normal metal band staples. The inclusion of a hurdy gurdy, violin, bag pipes and harp added a different dimension not normally encountered at this type of event. These instruments combined with the contrasting male gutturals and female symphonic vocals gave the band a unique sound and added interest to their set. Singer/Harpist Fabienne Erni commented “It’s an absolute pleasure to be part of this tour and back in the UK”. The crowd were clearly also enjoying the set as we saw the first of many crowd surfers and in their final track the band stopped completely to allow the crowd to sing back at them.
Setlist: 1. Ategnotas, 2. Deathwalker, 3. Prodigal Ones, 4. Exile of the Gods, 5. Rose for Epona, 6. Premonition, 7. Ambiramus, 8. Call of the Mountains, 9. King, 10. Inis Mona
The main support for the evening came courtesy of Finnish veterans Amorphis. The progressive metallers kept the evening’s momentum rolling with the band receiving a huge roar from the crowd as they entered the stage. Vocalist Tomi Joutsen encouraged the audience to “Raise those horns”. The set was awash with different colour lighting that on occasions was synchronised to the bass drum. There were massive cheers when Joutsen spoke about their new music, “We just released an album a couple of weeks ago called Borderlands” before performing some new material in the capital for the first time. As with their predecessors to the stage, the group paused mid song during House of Sleep to allow the crowd to sing before Amorphis asked the crowd to acknowledge the other bands on the bill.
Setlist: 1. Bones, 2. Silver Bride, 3. Wrong Direction, 4. The Moon, 5. Dancing Shadow, 6. Death of a King, 7. Black Winter Day, 8. House of Sleep, 9. The Bee
Then came the band we had all been waiting for. Prior to the start of Arch Enemy’s set a red and white curtain with the phrase “Pure Fucking Metal” had been erected. As the anticipation heightened Ozzy’s classic hit Bark at the Moon played over the PA before the band dropped the curtain for first track Deceiver, Deceiver. Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz was animated from the start barely taking a moment to pause as she covered the stage. Behind us the security team were pushing us to the front of the stage due to the onslaught of crowd surfers making their way over the barrier. The lighting and effects for the set were extensive with the use of gobos, billowing smoke jets and vertical lighting bars. The Canadian singer had the audience eating out of her hand with her stage presence. She spun her mic stand above her head and at one stage carried a flag as the crowd moshed to track No Gods, No Masters. The band conducted the audience during Liars and Thieves from their recent album with the crowd clapping along. The guitarists delivered a guitar solo under spotlights and White-Gluz had the different sections of the audience competing in a screaming match before shouting “Everybody Scream” before leaving the stage.
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