ARCH ENEMY with NEW QUEEN LAUREN HART and BLACK DAHLIA MURDER BRING THE WRATH ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
THE WRATH ACROSS AMERICA TOUR WITH GUESTS
SEPTICFLESH / CRYPTA / THROWN INTO EXILE
The highly anticipated WRATH ACROSS AMERICA TOUR with co-headliners ARCH ENEMY and BLACK DAHLIA MURDER rolled into Tempe and played to a packed Marquee Theater.
Unfortunately there was a couple of setbacks so early into the tour - the lead guitarist for Septicflesh, Christos Antoniou fell and fractured a couple of ribs right before the start of the tour, and the drummer for Arch Enemy, Daniel Erlandsson fell ill right before the Tempe show and had to sit it out. Thrown Into Exile’s drummer, Hank Lin, jumped in and took over with just three hours notice and learned all the band’s songs - and was a beast. Despite the challenges, the show was a masterpiece of metal, and showcased Arch Enemy's new vocalist Lauren Hart.
LA's THROWN INTO EXILE stormed the stage with one of the most powerful sets I have seen from an opening band. The band signed with label BLKIIBLK in May, and introduced their new lead vocalist, Joshua Santos who replaced longtime singer Evan Seidlitz, and unveild a more extreme, black melodic death metal direction. Along with Javier Quinto on bass, Hank Lin on drums and Austin Monzon & Mario Rubio on guitars, the band crushed their set and got the crowd moving immediately.
The band played “You’ve Fallen So Far” as the floor erupted into a sea of madness and a defying wall of death, and kept the frenzied pace with “Behind the Veil”, their newest single track that introduced both their official BLKIIBLK debut and Santos as new vocalist. Check out more on the band and new music HERE.
All female Brazilian death metal band CRYPTA and the ferocious bassist / vocalist Fernanda Lira is a beast of a vocalist and a lot of fun, with her crazy facial expressions and full on energy she was a fan fave of the entire night, a one of a kind frontwoman. Along with drummer Luana Dametto, Tainá Bergamaschi and (now permanent member) Victoria Villarreal on guitar, the group provided a powerful performance that raised the bar for the night.
This was a stacked show with five bands so Cryptas set was somewhat short, but they punched with , and gave us a treat with the live debut of “A Portrait Of Decay”, released just weeks ago on Napalm Records and rumor is part of a work in progress upcoming concept album. More on Crypta HERE.
All the way from Greece, symphonic metal SEPTICFLESH decided to continue on the tour as a three piece after Christos Antoniou's fall, and you would have never guessed they were down a man by how powerful they sounded. Spiros "Seth Siro Anton" Antoniou on bass, unclean vocals, Sotiris Vayenas "Sotiris Anunnaki V." on clean vocals, rhythm guitar and Kerim "Krimh" Lechner on drums gave it 200% and dominated the stage, opening with "Portrait Of A Headless Man" with its symphonic / metal and driving guitar sound.
Spiros asked the crowd, “Where’s my vampires?” as the band played "The Vampire From Nazareth", and wrapped up a short but robust set with the emotive "Dark Art". More on the band HERE.
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER played first on this second date of the co-headlining tour,
and owned the crowd when they hit the stage with ", and the mosh pit and crowd surfing was non stop. This death metal ensemble is solid devastation live, and vocalist Brian Eschbach was a master of ceremonies the way he controlled the crowd. Along with Max Lavelle on bass, Alan Cassidy on drums, Ryan Knight and Wes Hauch guitar, BDM killed with a fourteen song set of pure mayhem. This was the first time seeing Wes Hauch as lead guitarist, who replaced long time member Brandon Ellis earlier this year, and the transition is effortless, an visceral dual guitar murderous attack on the senses.
The set included serval tracks from their last album Servitude (on Metal Blade Records and first record with vocalist Eschbach after the passing of founding vocalist Trevor Strnad) and a good sampling from fan faves. TBDM exhausted the crowd, and closed with a brutal ‘What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse”, leaving the crowd exhausted but ready for Arch Enemy to take the stage.
The Black Dahlia Murder has announced a massive European headline tour Two Decades Of Nocturnal, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark 2007 album starting early 2027. More on the band and upcoming US and Europe tour dates HERE
ARCH ENEMY took the stage with the new queen Lauren Hart (former Once Human) on vocals - this was the second show of this US tour and I don't know who won the lottery, Arch Enemy or Lauren Hart, but in my opinion this is the best thing to happen to both. Hart is a beast on vocals and has truly adjusted to her new role as the new singer of Arch Enemy. "The World is Yours" showed hat the world does, indeed, belong to Hart. Founding member Michael Amott, along with Joey Concepcion on guitar, Sharlee D'Angelo on bass, and Daniel Erlandsson on drums provided the brutal foundation to let Hart shine, beaming throughout the adrenaline packed performance. The fans loved her in her new role, and the crazed crowd at the Marquee spun in the center and spit out surfers by the handfuls.
Arch Enemy played a 13 song set that included "War Eternal", "The Eagle Flies Alone", and new single showcasing Hart's intense vocal range with with "To The Last Breath" (the first release to feature Hart). Near the end of the set Hart came running out waving an Arch Enemy flag to cheers, and they closed out their set with the song "Nemesis", and band grabbed Lauren and held her up in victory as the crowd screamed for more.
This is a debut US tour and a new era for Arch Enemy, with a more than capable fresh new ferocious vocalist that brings out the savage beast. More on the tour dates, news and Merch HERE.
Check out all SLideshows below from Harold Mountain...
Arch Enemy photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
The Black Dahlia Murder photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
SepticFlesh photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
Crypta photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
Thrown Into Exile photos Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos
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