New tour for Arch Enemy and it was logical that Greece would be one of the places it would stop, as they have a big and on growing fanbase. With a new great album, in a bigger venue this time and with a very interesting support group, a walk down to Piraeus 117 Academy was a sure thing. After all, I never missed a show of them in my country, so it was a great opportunity not to break this tradition.
Right on schedule the doors opened for the fans who had already formed a very long line on the street outside. Just before the Ukrainians Jinjer hit the stage, the venue was almost full.
An upcoming band that I’m certain gave a very good impression to anyone who didn’t know them. The rest of us had an idea of what to expect. They have already shown their talent in their studio releases, as their music has a lot of different elements and influences that are combined in an extreme progressive metal mix. Excellent technique from all the members but Tatiana on the microphone was of course the highlight, as she combined easily growls and clean vocals. Very good performance that spawned positive reactions from the fans, especially in the groovy parts of their songs. If they continue that way, it’s quite possible that they will be the first metal band from Ukraine that will gain fame across the world.
Setlist: Who Is Gonna Be The One, Words Of Wisdom, Sit Stay Roll Over, I Speak Astronomy, Just Another, Pisces, Captain Clock, No Hoard Of Value, Bad Water
We didn’t have to wait long until “Thunderstruck” came out of the speakers, marking the moment we were waiting for. The intro “Set Flame To The Night” brought the members on stage. “The World Is Yours” made the fans go crazy, while the same thing happened with the supreme “Ravenous” that followed. The sound at first was not so good, but it was fixed quickly. I think that it’s unnecessary to mention that the band was flawless, these are after all world class musicians. Of course, most eyes were fixed on Alissa White-Gluz. She proved once more that she is an excellent frontwoman. Not only with her vocals, but also with the interaction with the fans. She really did whatever she wanted with them, as almost all the venue was responding within seconds to whatever she asked them to do.
The show went on with minimum pauses, the band was just playing one song after another. As it was expected, most of the set was covered with the latest two albums and judging by the noise of the fans, it is clear that Arch Enemy win new ones with the music that they play now and not only with the one that they played before. Especially in “War Eternal” and “As The Pages Burn”, chaos was unleashed. Same thing also happened on older classics as “My Apocalypse” and “We Will Rise”. But unfortunately, the night was about to end and “Nemesis” was the one that urged the fans to scream as loud as they could for one last time.
In conclusion, for one more time I realized that it’s a delight to see Arch Enemy live. It’s a delight to see Loomis and Amott torturing their guitars, it’s a delight to watch the rhythm section of D’ Angelo and Erlandsson, it’s a delight to see Alissa spitting her guts on the microphone. Even if they don’t play more than 90 minutes, their performance is always ideal. When the time will come to visit us again (soon I hope), I will be there without even thinking about it.
Setlist: The World Is Yours, Ravenous, Stolen Life, War Eternal, My Apocalypse, Blood In The Water, You Will Know My Name, The Race, The Eagle Flies Alone, As The Pages Burn, Burning Angel, No Gods No Masters, Dead Bury Their Dead, We Will Rise, Avalanche, Snow Bound, Nemesis, Fields Of Desolatio
George Terzakis
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