Arch Enemy
So it has been a while. Last time I wrote I had been to a gig and again that has stirred the limited creative juices I do possess. This summer I heard the song Nemesis by Arch Enemy and just had to buy the album. I loved it and had to see them live. I knew Mike Amott from Carcass, who I had seen live once, and knew they had the guitar harmonies I crave. Since I arranged the tickets I have bought every album they have done and have just got to the point where I know what is coming next in most songs before I get to it. I went to see them in Manc with my old mate D on Tuesday at Academy 2, which is in the University Student Union. I wondered why they were not playing at the Apollo, because I thought they could have sold that out too, but the atmosphere at the Academy was fantastic, so I am glad they did. As you can see from the pics I took with my camera phone, although we were two thirds of the way back, we could still see fairly well, though the detail has not come out in the pictures.Arch Enemy played with Throwdown, who I did not know but played a great cover of Pantera's A New Level, and Strapping Young Lad, who I had heard of but did not know too well. Without knowing the songs, they were absolutely brutal. It also meant that Gene Hoglan had been at both of the gigs I had seen Mike Amott play, as I bumped into him in the crowd at that Carcass gig at Bradford on the Heartwork tour. He drums like a demon!
I wondered whether Arch Enemy would be a bit of a letdown after them but they were awesome. This was one of those rare occasions when a metal band turns down the volume but it was a key factor in hearing those harmonies. Well done them! Arch Enemy are also one of the few extreme metal bands to have a female singer, not that you could tell from any of her work, even if such a monstrous voice is truly unlikely from a woman of her size and appearance. Mike Amott was the star of the show for me, but they all did well. The drummer, who I thought might have been eclipsed by Gene Hoglan, played really well. Talking of being eclipsed, many small planets would have been eclipsed by Sharlee D'Angelo, a Giant Haystacks of a bassist, at least in height if not build. The new guitarist, Fredrik Akesson, was note perfect, which is a real feat for a band which is as intricate and involved. What an awesome gig!
