Near on five years since we last copped an earful of Arch Enemy live and tonight (15 February), as I approach The Tivoli, an aura of excitement is shrouding punters queueing at its doors – oh yeah, this is more than just a welcomed return.
Inside, the punters' buzz is amplified as it bounces off the walls as I note the band-tees are flying off them!There is no need to guess who's supporting the beloved melodic death metallers. A huge stage backdrop announces: Valhalore. Banners on the stage are emblazoned with the Viking/ Norse symbol which has the Vegvisir (Viking/ Nordic compass) at its centre that's regularly used by the band and is on the cover of a new release 'Darker Still'.
It's not long before Valhalore are meeting our roar of appreciation as the six-piece take to the stage. They take no time getting straight into it and as they play acknowledge their fans with nods and high hands – the decibels are on the rise!
Punters are very receptive to their folk-death metal sounds and their fans around me can be heard singing along with the cleans beautifully and doing their best (maybe not so great) with the growls.
I notice by their third song, 'Malice Of Illusion' a circle pit has evolved. I dub this moshing mob a folk-metal hootenanny! It's a blast to watch from the periphery – I ain't joining in with them tonight.
Neate's vocals soar to extreme highs and the guitar solo gets intense, before we hear a melodic harmony and key change that bends the mood.
Valhalore ask for another circle pit for a new song and diligently the mosh goes off. The new song is heavy and hard, even with Sophie Christensen perfectly executing the trill whistles above the deep dark tones, with her wind instrument.
Valhalore give us a brilliant set ending with Neate thanking the crowd and tells us: "If you want to mosh. Mosh. If you want to drink. Drink. . . all I ask is that you have a f...ing good time!" Oh boy, are we what!?
The charged vibe in the venue only escalates as we see the stage being transformed for Arch Enemy. Now the venue is darker. We hear music. White-splayed spotlights pierce down from above the stage and pierce the dark as the music gains and heralds the incoming headliners.
It is on! As the musicians take their places and start in on their instruments, we are cheering loudly. When Alissa White-Gluz storms the stage flicking her long blue mane, her presence commanding our attention, the crowd erupts with wild screams.
This roar has a life of its own and we feed our energy to the whole band as they smash their way through the opener 'Deceiver, Deceiver'.
Heading in to 'The World Is Yours', Michael Amott (guitar) and Jeff Loomis (guitar) are holding their axes in a side-by-side mirror pose front and centre of the stage showing us their slick fretwork.
White-Gluz falls in beside them forming a trio, holding her mic stand in the same way! Almost air-guitar. . . almost! The fans chant in the chorus and the rolling of the kick under it all, is immense.
White-Gluz is telling us how it has been a while since they fed off us and that they are "not hungry" to see us tonight, and no, they are "not starving" to be seeing us tonight, but they are "ravenous!" as we are launched into the relentless throes of 'Ravenous'. Oh my, Sharlee D'Angelo is simply killing it on bass.
From here on in, the pit is in a frenzy, like a swirling school of piranhas. Other fans have their mobiles up capturing video of White-Gluz as she's energetically cutting loose on stage.
Crowd surfers are starting to emerge and White-Gluz looks to make sure they are ok when over the barrier; she even fist pumped or high-fived a few surfers as they're escorted out by security.
Smoke is getting thicker with each song. White-Gluz is dominating our attention not only with her raw and fierce pipes but also with her high kicks, windmill head-banging, mic-stand twirling and some slick manoeuvres as she deftly switches her mic through the air from hand to hand.
I am taken aback by the volume of punters as they sing along to 'In The Eye Of The Storm' with great gusto as sweat by this time is gleaning on their foreheads.
We get a guitar solo of nostalgic proportions as White-Gluz silhouettes herself against their black and white flag she has raised high and proud behind her as the crowd is again clapping along in a fever.
However, Amott and Loomis steal the limelight from their vocalist many times throughout the set as they go hard shredding up and down their fretboards giving their absolute best heavy metal stances. Those guys still manage rockstar hair flicks with effortless ease. They own it!
The pulse of our night's musical barrage, of the most brutal and delicious kind, comes from the thick strings pressed, plucked and strummed by D'Angelo and tubs being hammered with great dynamics and technical chops of Daniel Erlandson – playing the drums like a hell hound bringing it from the bowels of hell. I can see the kick vibrating like an adult sex toy on full speed from where I stand!
Lost in the moment, I confess I failed to keep a proper track of the set list of around 15-18 songs. Arch Enemy in the intimacy of The Tiv is just so engrossing – there has been a constant feel-good ambience of intense proportions in the room. The band members seem to be having a ball playing to us and we sure as heck are having a blast watching from down here.
Some highlights include the melodic 'The Watcher' with its glorious soaring solo and White-Gluz mesmerising us as she slinks onstage cloaked in a hooded caped garment – her mere presence holding us hostage and in a rapture.
While 'Handshake With Hell' has punters going nuts as we take in how smoothly White-Gluz transitions her alternating growling and clean bright lines above the guitars, which are thrashing in this banger.
'The Eagle Flies Alone' and the big-heavy and momentous riffage of 'Sunset Over The Empire' get us pumped up as White-Gluz tells Michael to show us how it's done and demands that we sing-along. Thinking our night will be shut down with the fan favourite 'As The Pages Burn' we demand an encore.
An encore we get and it is bigger than most. White-Gluz continues to go hard on her pipes with a passionate fury.
Two songs in, we witness what could be considered to be a duelling guitar solo between the lads and the sounds thrash around our ears with the crowd giving a staunch roar of appreciation. Not a person in the room would contest that it was nothing short of an amazing set.
They face the crowd and take a bow. Before they exit the stage, I spy White-Glanz accepting a stuffed toy koala from a fan in front and holding it up for us to see. How cute.
Ha! Just when we thought that was the last we would see of Arch Enemy tonight, they return to the stage to dish out picks, drumsticks and the set lists to their fans.
Could your hump day get any better than a night of melodious metal mayhem? I sincerely doubt it. I also reckon we left no doubt in the mind hive of Arch Enemy that they will be received by a packed house with open arms and horns raised high when next they tour in BrisVegas.
