The Summary Judgment Reviews:

Arch Enemy with Hate Eternal, Evergrey (NY only) and The Black Dahlia Murder Rating: 4.5 Skulls
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Death's Review (9/8/03, The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA):
It was announced this week that Arch Enemy's new album, Anthems of Rebellion, is the fastest selling album in its first week in Century Media history. Well, The Troubadour was sold out in advance for this show, if that's any indication (which it isn't really, both 'cause it is tiny and 'cause Hate Eternal and BDM definitely had some fans there too). But where was Evergrey? Weren't they on this tour back east? Anyway, this one looked good on paper, ever if it was scheduled for a Monday night.

Arch Enemy
Photo by Hel

I was still pissed that the Raiders got punked by two bullshit calls the night before against Tennessee - first Rod Woodson stripped the ball from that guy and then later the Titans receiver was waaaaaaaay out of bounds on that supposed winning touchdown - so I needed a night out of partying and drinking beer. Who cares if it was Monday? I'm an irresponsible wild man, right? Sure dude, whatever. Anyway, we got there and BDM was on-stage. How many people in the audience recognized the fact that singer and bass player were different than the guys on the record? Who knows, but the crowd loved these guys (for newcomers) and there was a lot of energy and a lot of brutality in their performance. These dudes are young and have a ways to go to distinguish their sound, in my book, but I heard lots of people in the audience talk about how great they thought the record was.

Black Dahlia
Photo by Hel

I stayed up in the front bar for a while drinking beer and watching Tampa bitch-slap Philly on the bar TV. Everyone was out this night, it seemed, and lots of cool people were hanging around. It was a great scene, and a great partying vibe - on a Monday night no less! This show felt more like the shows in New York than any I've been to in a while out here, with everyone kinda hanging out together at one big heavy metal party. Hate Eternal did their thing, and people loved it, although I have seen them so many times now I didn't feel the need to pay too much attention. I did go out into the crowd to watch "The Powers That Be" and I kept looking for that crazy homeless bearded dude with the monk's robe on in the video to pop out and put his hands to his face and scream at me in extreme close up, but thank god it never happened.

Arch Enemy
Photo by Hel

Arch Enemy kicked ass. Angela did not look feminine, she looked metal. Diminutive, sure, but also she headbanging and thrashing around like a veteran. Vocally, she seemed much more comfortable up there this time around, commanding the outfit with authority and force. Musically it was a real treat to watch the Ammott brothers trade leads. Seeing real, quality guitar playing from up close like that never grows tiring. Arch Enemy kicked ass, as always, with tight renditions of mostly newer songs like "Hearts of Darkness," "Dead Eyes See No Future" and "We Will Rise". All in all, a great show from a band that is not just about to explode - they are exploding. I'm glad I was there to get to see it once more. Can't wait for the Slayer tour.

Hel's Review (9/8/03, The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA):

Evergrey
Photo by Solomon

This was the kind of show that people came pouring out of the woodwork for. It's been just over a year now since Death and I made the westward leap, and we've gotten to know a number of the local metalheads at this point. Apparently, I'd met more people than I had realized, as it seemed like every time I turned around, there was another familiar face greeting me. Everyone came out for this show.
Evergrey, on the other hand, didn't make it this far on the tour. I don't know if there's a story there or not - someone told me that they were never supposed to be on our show - but whatever the case, they really didn't fit with this bill in the first place, and I imagine the LA crowd would not have given them a warm reception for that very reason. Rumor had it that this was the case in other markets, and that's a shame, since they are a great band, but seriously, can you say, "which one of these is not like the others"?

Hate Eternal
Photo by Solomon

So The Black Dahlia Murder opened our show, and despite our late start, we got to the venue more quickly than usual, and arrived in time to see the last half of their set. I was stunned by the energy emanating from the stage, and I have never seen so many people gathered for the first band of the night at this venue. The sizeable crowd was very into the set, and a respectable pit rounded out the excitement. The buzz around this band continues, and apparently for very good reason. Not only was their album very good, the material is even better live, and it is delivered with a high degree of enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing this band again in the near future.
Hate Eternal blasted onstage after a very short wait. I was actually caught by surprise, as I had expected there to be a longer delay than there actually was. Randy Piro did an excellent job filling in for Jared Anderson, and Erik Rutan was his evilly charismatic self. Drummer Derek Roddy effortlessly destroyed his kit and the ever-increasing crowd was captivated. After fulfilling my photo duties, I hunted around for Death, and I found myself looking out over the crowd from the upstairs VIP bar at the very moment they tore into "Powers that Be." The power of an MTV2 video was immediately apparent, as the formerly calm center of the room that, mere minutes before I had advised a slightly-inebriated Sabbath she probably shouldn't be standing in, absolutely erupted into a huge, ferocious pit. Clearly, Hate Eternal's star is finally on the rise. It's about damn time.

Arch Enemy
Photo by Hel

And speaking of fast-rising stars, metal darlings Arch Enemy were clearly the central constellation on this night, receiving the most insane response yet as they took the stage. Having found myself crushed by adoring Angela-fans in the past, my strategy this time was to wait until after the set began, and then move into position for photos. Thus I was able to emerge from the night unscathed, and with an assortment of acceptable shots to accompany these reviews. Their performance this night was up to their usual standards of excellence and I spent most of the set enthralled by either one of the Amott brothers guitar wizardry or Erlandson's phenomenal drumming. Arch Enemy blazed through their set, and before I knew it, they were saying their first round of goodnights before the obligatory encore routine.
While I generally disapprove of the hoopla surrounding the band, as I consider it to be disproportionately focused on Angela's gender and as a fellow female I find that absurd, it is still good to see these veterans receiving their due, regardless of the reason. They deserve the success and I'm happy to see them get it. Further touring will only increase the power of the Arch Enemy juggernaut, and I look forward to seeing the reactions they will receive opening for Slayer in the upcoming months.
All in all, it was a great night out. Lots of fun people, three great bands, and hours of amazing music all added up to one good time.

Reviewed by Sabbath (9/8/03, The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA):
Another splendid show at a pretty small, overcrowded venue! And sadly, there were more people packed into this show than at the Las Vegas Metal Fest. (Well maybe I did not count, but it is possible.) I would have to say the highlight of the evening was Hate Eternal. I am sure many would LOVE to disagree with me, but Hate Eternal, unquestionably, are the King of All Kings - on and off the stage.

Arch Enemy
Photo by Solomon

The night began with The Black Dahlia Murder. These infants to the scene seemed to grasp the crowd pretty much by their balls. I must say that I was awed at their live sound. Their ambitious sound was something that I did not prepare myself for previous to entering the venue. I just assumed that their performance would be "Another Death Metal show." But, I was wrong. Playing tracks off of Unhallowed, these boys made their concert debut in California. WELL DONE GUYS! The new vocalist did remarkably well. I do not know the difference between his presence on stage versus the former singer's, but it was fairly fanatical (in a good way, of course). My direct order is to check out The Black Dahlia Murder at all costs!

Hate Eternal
Photo by Hel

After a few drinks and a few chats I was more than ready to see Hate Eternal. This 3 piece surprises me every time I see them. Overall Performance: Wonderful! Even with new addition bassist/backing vocals (filling in for Jared Anderson who could not tour at the moment) did an excellent job of fooling the entire crowd. I will go out on a limb and make the assumption that 80-90% of the crowd did not even know that wasn't Jared. Hell, I didn't even know until I had a very close look. The set list was mixed evenly with material off of King of All Kings and Conquering the Throne, which was nice. (Favorite track played live: "Dogma Condemned"). Erik does what he loves best, and leads his boys to victory without hesitating to astonish. What else can I say about these veterans of Metal? Derek = one of the most talked about and well respected drummers to this day, Erik = breaking away from Morbid Angel to put his own creative hate and passion into a band that delivers 120% sight and sound, and the fill in guy - all simply awesome! I never become bored watching their sets, and I even had a chance to chat with Erik a bit about what is going on with the band thus far. Check on Metal Update for information shortly.
And then we have Arch Enemy! Their new album, Anthems of Rebellion, has been selling extraordinarily well. With that, they have returned to Los Angeles, to play for a favorable crowd! Arch Enemy played all their "hits" off of Wages of Sin, Stigmata, Black Earth, and of course off of their new album.

Black Dahlia
Photo by Hel

Overall performance: Very good, but not their best. I am a huge fan of Arch Enemy, but my favorite albums have to consist of Stigmata, and Burning Bridges for a few reasons. Angela does an incredible job of promoting a female presence in the Metal scene, which I admire highly. I love how she takes control of the stage, precisely dominating everything in her path. However, I am not sure if I love the band as much as I used to. Riff and groove wise, Arch Enemy is the perfect dream that never ends. I am positive I do not have to persuade anyone to go and see them, purely because they are Arch Enemy. But, I must anyway for my own pleasure... go fucking see them, no excuses!
All together now! This show was just the right dosage of Death - extremely brutal, melodic, and groove oriented = assorted variety. It satisfied me plenty, and I cannot wait for more!

Reviewed by Solomon (8/28/03, L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY):

Arch Enemy
Photo by Solomon

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I decided to lay low and show up about three hours after the doors opened because L'Amour has a tendency to run late with about 2,356 bands opening up before the main acts go on. No offense to local talent, but this was a work night and I figured I'd be out late enough as it is, so some downtime was in order before hitting the venue. Unfortunately, this meant I missed Black Dahlia Murder and Evergrey, the latter being the real pisser. I came in towards the tailend of "Solitude Within" and caught the last track of their set, "The Masterplan," and that was all of Evergrey I got to see. I can't win. Okay, the performance was good, not electrifying, but good, and I at least got to runaround like a motherfucker trying to get as many shots of the band as possible before they left the stage. Come back soon, aaagghh! Hate Eternal's death metal assault tended to bleed together into one big ball of violent sludge, so picking out pieces here and there to comment on is difficult, but there's no doubt guitarist/vocalist/ringleader Erik Rutan and bassist Randy Piro put on a good show, mouths agape and hair flying.

Hate Eternal
Photo by Hel

After several minutes of eager anticipation, the opening Nuremberg-stomp of "Tear Down The Walls" wafted over the speakers and the illustrious members of Arch Enemy gradually filled the stage. Of course, once Ms. Gossow bounded out all hell broke loose with "Silent Wars," and it was all woop-ass from then on out. Amazingly, I wasn't watching her the whole time. I was mostly transfixed with Christopher Amott's lead guitar wizardry, trying to capture him on film in some nifty guitar hero pose or something. Angela is certainly no slacker, thrashing around, snarling, playing air guitar, slapping hands, letting you know who the fuck's in charge. That and you have to respect someone who does it while wearing Thundercat armbands (should've wore my COBRA t-shirt, hehheh). Bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, who plays in about 45 other bands, is just one big, intimidating motherfucker, running up to the front of the stage and towering over the screaming mob, scaring small children and Grandma. Look, I told her she shouldn't come, but did she listen? Noooo..... It's been about a year since I last saw said band at said venue, and even though it's been a while, I think this time offered the superior performance. Even though more recent goodies like "Bridge of Destiny," "Enemy Within" and "Dead Eyes See No Future" were part of the proceedings, the band really scored points by including a handful of heavier, grittier Black Earth classics, none of which I can name because, like most other superficial assholes, I came on board the AE bus with the last lineup change (ahem). Another reason to head to the record store and spend money I don't have, hehheh.
Okay, so the late entry on Evergrey's set marred my attitude a little bit, but the remaining time was not a waste, rest assured. The Enemies provide plenty of entertainment, and you will not be disappointed with this Swedish wehrmacht when it pulls through your town. Not surprised, are you?

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