Rising From The North - Soilwork, Arch Enemy and In Flames Concert Review and New Track World Premiere

On a mild yet wet Autumnal evening, almost 2500 Scottish fans of Swedish Melodic Death Metal descended upon Glasgow, Scotland's O2 Academy, a 200 year old building which was originally erected as a Scottish Presbyterian Church in 1825. In 1920, it was closed and converted into a cinema theatre until it was taken over and re-opened as the iconic music venue it is today in 2003. Huge domed high ceilings, operatic balconies and a grand curtained stage pose as the perfect venue for some of Sweden's elite melodic death metal bands.

Soilwork

Special guests and opener of the tour, Soilwork are often overlooked when it comes to Swedish Melodic Death Metal. Unfortunately half of their set was missed thanks to football traffic causing various gridlocks throughout the city. However the live debut of their new track 'Spirit Of No Return' was a welcome addition to an enjoyable set. Although their energy and stage presence wasn't as infectious as it could have been, they still provided a worthy warm-up for the crowd to enjoy.

Setlist:

1. Stabbing The Drama
2. Arrival
3. Exile
4. Distortion Sleep
5. Spirit Of No Return (Live Debut)
6. Övergivenheten
7. Death Diviner
8. The Ride Majestic
9. Stålfågel

Arch Enemy

Explosive from the very second they entered the stage and immediately annihilating the entire area with the impassioned 'Deceiver, Deceiver.' Alissa owns the crowd, a puppeteer controlling the whim of every member in attendance with the rest of the band generating the energy of a thousand raging bulls. Their sound has been perfected, their power is pure and the aggression is a force to be reckoned with. Circle pits and mosh pits are erupting everywhere, bodies are flying and the chanting echoes throughout the old picture house, bouncing back on itself to create an almighty roar.

Throwing out fan favourites such as 'My Apocalypse,' 'As The Pages Burn,' 'House Of Mirrors' and 'War Eternal' the crowd are ravenous. But to keep things interesting, not only did they perform the live debut of their new track 'Dream Stealer' (which sounds incredible live) they also debuted a world premiere of an unreleased track from their recently announced new album Blood Dynasty. This new, never before released or performed track, 'Liars & Thieves' has all the roaring ferocity of Arch Enemy's peak material. Thunderous drums, screaming guitars and a mix of Alissa's powerful death metal growls and screams and her soaring cleans, this track will certainly make waves when the album is released. But of course, they ended their set with the iconic 'Nemesis.'

A fantastically strong set from one of the most professional bands in the business. Arch Enemy never fail to deliver and deliver they did.

Setlist:

1. Deceiver, Deceiver
2. The World Is Yours
3. House Of Mirrors
4. My Apocalypse
5. Dream Stealer (Live Debut)
6. War Eternal
7. Liars & Thieves (World Premiere)
8. The Eagle Flies Alone
9. First Day In Hell
10. As The Pages Burn
11. Sunset Over The Empire
12. Handshake With Hell
13. Nemesis
14. Fields Of Desolation (Outro, abridged instrumental)

In Flames

The final act of the evening were Melodic Death Metal legends In Flames and surprisingly, they opened with two of their most iconic tracks back to back which are normally reserved for closing the set. A strange choice however it can't be argued that getting the crowd hyped up with 'Cloud Connected' and 'Take This Life' straight away had the desired effect. The energy was palpable and the atmosphere was electrifying as the entire crowd went absolutely insane.

Most notably about In Flames' performance is their energy. You can see that they are absolutely loving every minute they are performing on stage and that energy and passion reflects back on the crowd. Almost the entire floor erupted into one giant circle pit with crowd surfers streaming down its edges. It's at this point that one of Scotland's fabled mythical creatures makes his appearance. The infamous Pit Troll makes his appearance in the pit, a giant of a man built like a tank wearing his infamous black shirt with PIT TROLL emblazoned on the back charges through the middle of the pit with bodies bouncing off him. It was a wonderful time.

A brilliant blend of classics from the likes of Colony all the way through to newer material from Foregone, In Flames' energy never wavered and this is quite possibly one of their strongest shows to date. The band are on form even almost 35 years on from their origins and this is the reason they are considered one of the pillars of the Gothenburg Sound Melodic Death Metal scene.

Setlist:

1. Cloud Connected
2. Take This Life
3. Deliver Us
4. Paralyzed
5. In The Dark
6. Voices
7. Food For The Gods
8. Coerced Coexistence
9. Trigger
10. Meet Your Maker
11. Only For The Weak
12. State Of Slow Decay
13. Alias
14. Mirror's Truth
15. I Am Above
16. My Sweet Shadow

Considering this was the very first show of the tour, the experience was incredible. All bands are masters of their craft and the rest of the UK and Europe better be prepared for Swedish royalty Rising From The North and laying waste to the land.