In Flames and Arch Enemy Swedish Heavy Metal shakes the Manchester Academy 4th October 2024

Swedish Heavy Metal shakes the Manchester Academy to its core, as In Flames and Arch Enemy bring their “Rising From The North” tour to the UK!

A sell-out crowd of around 2600 metalheads are crammed into the Academy for this co-headline tour. This means we are treated to two full sets, with headline duties rotating on a nightly basis. First up for us tonight are In Flames.

They have gone through many lineup changes over their 20 year career, with Anders Fridén (vocals) and Björn Gelotte (lead guitar) the only original members left. Tanner Wayne (drums), Chris Broderick (guitar) and Liam Wilson (bass) complete the current line-up. 

Huge cheers and a sea of devil horn hands greet the band’s arrival on stage. Kicking off with the colossal “Cloud Connected” , the crowd shout back the chorus as the mosh pits are already in full flow.

“Take This Life” brings back fond memories for those of us of a certain age and geekiness, as the song featured on Guitar Hero III keeps the energy flowing.

Anders frequently interacts with the fans, with both encouragement and playful taunting. “We see what you write on the interwebs, play the old shit!” he says before “Food For The Gods” , jokingly bemoaning a perceived underwhelming reaction.

There’s certainly nothing underwhelming about either the band’s performance or that of the crowds. As Anders continues to stir the energy, Bjorn and Chris display an imposing stage presence that matches the powerful nature of the music. 

A tidal wave of crowd surfers flow over the barrier during this career spanning set, featuring songs from eleven of their sixteen albums. 2023’s Foregone is the most featured, with In The Dark, Meet Your Maker and State of Slow Decay as well received as fan favourites such as Alias and I Am Above.

My Sweet Shadow brought an end to this crowd pleasing set, with the heavy metal veterans proving they are still one of the best live acts of their genre.

SET LIST ( based on previous shows )

Arch Enemy take to the stage. “Deceiver, Deceiver”  is a typically brutal opening, and there would be little let up all night.

Current front woman Alissa White-Gluz is captivating, not just with her striking blue hair but her unrelenting ferocious vocals. Having fronted the band since 2014, the set focuses mainly on the three albums that she has contributed to so far – War Eternal, Will to Power and Deceivers.

Michael Amott (guitar), Daniel Erlandsson (drums), Sharlee D’Angelo (bass) and Joey Concepcion (guitar) provide the musical backdrop, and put on a tight performance, often providing the perfect melodic contrast to the harsh growls of Alissa.

Phone lights illuminate the room during “My Apocalypse” , not something I expected to see at a Death Metal gig but it’s always a special moment that shows the connection between the fans and the artist.

“Dream Stealer” and “Liars and Thieves” are brand new tracks that will feature on next year’s Blood Dynasty, and mixed well with the big hitters in the set such as “War Eterna”, “The Eagle Flies Alone” and “Nemesis”.

A true powerhouse of the Melodic Death Metal scene, this was an intense performance packed full of aggression that squeezed every bit of energy out of the crowd, who were left exhausted after these two stunning performances.

SET LIST

1/ Deceiver, Deceiver

2/ The World Is Yours

3/ House of Mirrors

4/ My Apocalypse

5/ Dream Stealer

6/ War Eternal

7/ Liars & Thieves
(New song)

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