Arch Enemy with God Forbid and Sworn Enemy
Rating: 4.5 Skulls
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Arch Enemy with God Forbid and Sworn Enemy
Rating: 4.5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Solomon (11/15/02, L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY):
Arch Enemy
Photos by JotunLuckily for me, Friday night's show was not a sell-out, otherwise I would've jumped several trains and braved cold weather for nothing. I was tempted to get a ticket in advance but, I thought, Ticketmaster can take its service fee and cram it. Anyway, if I can do anything in this burg for fifteen bucks, I'm happy as... a really happy... thing. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but L'Amour had two stages operational. As far as I could tell, they weren't overlapping each other that much, so you could see one band and then catch the other one as they started. Apparently, someone decided to take advantage of the situation and showcase several local metal acts, and I'm glad they did. Yeah, I know, you usually think to yourself, "Great, I get to sit through some local crap before I get to see the people I paid for in the first place." Nah, there was some talent being displayed at the legendary L'Amour this fine November evening. I walked in on the tail-end of Cyanide Breed's keyboard-laden black/death assault and was impressed by what little I saw. There was another band whose name escapes me that demonstrated some considerable skill, playing a similar style of technical metal and wowing the crowd with a Death cover from the Sound of Perserverence opus. Yes, these dudes know their way around a six-string, and there is hope that metal is alive and kicking in NYC. Oh, yeah, where did all these Opeth shirts come from? Somebody here has a clue... The crowds at these things keep getting younger by the minute. It sucks because it makes feel like a dinosaur, but it also gives me hope that the metal gospel is, in fact, reaching the younger generation who will carry the torch forward into the new millenium... or, they'll get bored and buy another X-Box. Time will tell.
God ForbidM'kay, it felt a little cheesy having two bands with the word "enemy" in their name, but I'll let that go with a warning, drive safe, kids! Sworn Enemy is another homegrown act I was not familiar with before this night. Simple, to-the-hollow-point metalcore that makes ya wanna jump around and smash stuff. This isn't part of my regular metal diet, but they played with heart and guts, beating your ass all the way. God Forbid was hot, doing their best to entertain a crowd that appeared to be getting tired. The boyz ran through several, older melodic/metalcore faves off their Century Media debut Determination, like "Determination, Part I" and "Divine My Destiny," while giving fans a taste of new blood. I've seen this band several times now (road dogs!), and I still haven't given Determination a thorough inspection, but the new blood doesn't sound like a serious change in M.O., and the faithful should be happy with what the band has cooked up this time around.
Sworn EnemyNormally, Arch Enemy's introduction is rather dramatic, but the canned piano intro to "Enemy Within" was fucking up, leading to an awkward entrance by the band members. That was one thing, but the guitar channel was almost completely shot, with all bass and drums coming through for about three or four songs into the set. No matter, these guys/gal ignored it as much as possible and carried on like the troopers they are. There were a few older nuggets thrown in, but Friday's set leaned even more on Wages Of Sin than normal. While I'm glad "Savage Messiah" finally made the cut, its chugging pace is a little awkward considering the hyper-active tunage surrounding it. The instrumental break "Snow Bound" was in there as was the underappreciated rock swagger of "Shadows and Dust." I could've went for a few more pre-Gossow songs ("Dead Inside," HINT!), but the set was hardly lacking in decent content. Even though Angela's presence tends to overshadow that of the other members, both onstage and off, it must be said that Daniel Erlandsson's ratta-tat-tat drum assault is hard to ignore, and Sharlee D'Angelo is one of the coolest people to see play in a live setting. That motherfucker runs out from behind the curtain and OWNS it the rest of the night, plugging away at that tree trunk he uses for a bass like a man possessed. Despite "technical difficulties," AE showed another eager crowd how the pros do it.
Reviewed by Jotun (11/15/02, L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY):
God ForbidNovember 15 was going to be a big night. Not only was it the final date of Arch Enemy's current U.S. tour, but this was my first time at L'Amour, and I didn't really know what to expect from the venue. Sound quality, lighting quality, room design, and organization of the show are all things that can make or break a venue in the five boroughs. The doors were listed to open at 7:30 p.m., so I figured showing up at 8 p.m. would mean that I only had to wait a little while before the first band took the stage. Once I got there and snuck a look at the soundboard's schedule, I found out how wrong I was. The particulars are still unknown to me to this day, but I believe eight bands were playing this one show. L'Amour organized it so that each of the four locals played before the sets of the four bands on this tour. Every band before Arch Enemy had an equal amount of time onstage - 30 minutes. So, the first local band that went on was having a set that lasted just as long as God Forbid. If this wasn't enough, the first band wasn't going on until 9:30 p.m. The night wasn't starting out well.
After a conversation with Dallas Coyle, a few phone calls, and casing the main stage area for a good place to shoot photos, I reluctantly waited at the first stage for the opening act to begin. For the first two minutes of their set, I remained unhappy with the order and grew increasingly agitated with the crappy mix that was coming from the soundboard on the first stage. Thankfully, the opening act Cyanide Breed pulled me from my metal tantrum and put the entire crowd into the mood. Despite the bad mix they were getting from the board, their well-written death and black metal style was able to show through. The lead singer and keyboardist traded off dark scowls and high-pitched black metal screeches. During that first song, which had to have lasted a good six minutes, the keyboardist left the stage to start a raging mosh pit to accompany their soundtrack. The crowd loved every minute of it. As the drummer demolished his skins and the dual guitarists thrashed through riff after riff, it became apparent that Cyanide Breed wasn't just an average opener. I later found out that these kids were only 17 years old, with the exception of the drummer who was only 15. After covering Cryptopsy and blazing through a few more originals, the band concluded, to the dismay of the onlookers.
Sworn EnemyI returned to the main stage for its first band, as did many in attendance, but Severed just didn't cut it. Their mix of death metal influence and alternative metal structure left a lot to be desired. They sounded like they'd fit a lot better with a Roadrunner bill. Just to make things worse, they fumbled through a cover of "Raining Blood" that didn't sit well at all with the metal fans and surely didn't impress the street kids that were arriving early for Sworn Enemy's set. Severed will have to chalk that one up as a loss.
I remained at the main stage to wait for the three bands left to play there. Sworn Enemy started right on time, as did the pit. As you could expect, there was no shortage of kung-fu kicks and Ali jabs. Even Sworn Enemy's bassist was kicking roundhouses. Sworn Enemy sounds like the metal of Hatebreed, minus the breakdowns, and with the attitude of Skarhead or Madball. They played a sincere set of tracks, dedicating some to their tour mates, one to the hometown crowd, and one in thanks and to the memory of 9-11 victims.
Arch EnemyAlthough their set was to be painfully short, God Forbid used every last minute to their advantage. God Forbid is probably one of the most underrated American metal bands around. One performance can prove that to any critic. This performance, like their others on this tour, would be extra nice because in addition to tracks from Reject the Sickness and Determination, they were unveiling three new tracks to their waiting fans. They opened up with the instrumental "Dawn of the Millennia" and segued right into the thrash-filled "Broken Promise." The new tracks went by the names of "Force Fed," "Go On Forever," and "Anti-Hero" - the latter of which lead singer Byronde Davis dedicated to George W. Bush, in his words, "that bitch-ass n***a." The rest of their set included fan favorites like "Divide My Destiny," "Reject the Sickness," and my personal favorite as the closer, "Go Your Own Way."
Sure to land on the Top 10 lists of almost all metal promoters and writers, Wages of Sin has proven to be a huge stepping-stone for Arch Enemy, a band who had a loyal fanbase even before the entrance of Angela Gossow. This night would be the final show of Arch Enemy's unprecedented second U.S. tour of the year, in addition to the New England Metalfest and their debut date in Los Angeles. The smell of success was thick in the air as the four instrumental members ran onstage for the instrumental intro of "Enemy Within." It was a red carpet they rolled out for Gossow's vocal entrance. All of the standing members played intimately to the crowd, frequently coming to the front of the stage for some well-deserved fan appreciation. Brothers Michael and Christopher Amott traded solos while Daniel Erlandsson furiously pounded at his kit and Sharlee D'Angelo backed them all up with a bass reserve. Gossow easily stood out in her own way. "The Immortal," "Savage Messiah," "Behind the Smile" - the Arch Enemy machine tore through the crowd with unwavering brutality. Gossow took a quick break while her band mates played a quick instrumental, followed by a very short drum solo. She returned to end their main set with "Lament of a Mortal Soul," "Pilgrim," and "Ravenous." Although the fans were somewhat lackadaisical in their requests for more, the band returned to finish the night off with "Dead Bury Their Dead," "Snow Bound," and "Shadows and Dust."
This night was my third time seeing Arch Enemy this year, and the first adjective that comes to mind when describing their performances is consistency. They are always a great band to catch live, no matter if it is your first time or your tenth time seeing them. By the night's end, I was thoroughly pleased with the concert that had just taken place. After looking back, how could one say they wouldn't be?
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