Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Rock, Maplewood, MN
The Rock was already packed to near-capacity for this heavy-hitting tour as I squeezed through the line immediately at the start of Arsis’s set. Arsis canceled their tour the last time they were scheduled to play in The Cities, so I excited to hear a preview of their forthcoming album Starve For The Devil. A majority of the 30-minute set seemed to be new material and it definitely sounds like the band is moving into thrash metal territory. The band appeared confident despite their low name recognition amongst the crowd, and their guitarists’ technical abilities really shined. Arsis suitably warmed-up the audience and received a rousing farewell as they left the stage.
Exodus next took the stage, opening with “Bonded By Blood” before delving into “Iconoclasm” from their most recent album The Atrocity Exhibition – Exhibit A. Maybe the younger crowd wasn’t used to an old-style thrash attack, so singer Rob Dukes began berating the audience for the weak pit action. The incitement continued after “A Lesson In Violence”, and the crowd up front finally began to respond. Exodus clearly feeds off the crowd, and the band sounded reinvigorated when the first crowd-surfer landed over the security fence during “Children Of A Worthless God”. By now Exodus sounded fully charged as they ripped through “Piranha” and “Deathamphetamine”. A couple tracks from Tempo Of The Damned followed (“Blacklist” and “War Is My Shepherd”), which then led into the obligatory classic “The Toxic Waltz”. The band again reached back to Bonded By Blood for “Strike Of The Beast” to close the set amidst loud cheers. At 60 minutes, this was a fine Exodus set, but I was left disappointed that nothing from their forthcoming new album wasn’t played. I’ve also never quite understood their heavy reliance on Bonded By Blood on recent tours. Sure, it’s a great album, but there’s so much of the Exodus’s awesome catalog that’s ignored and some songs from Pleasures Of The Flesh and Fabulous Disaster would be welcome.
Click picture to see more Exodus photos (14).
The crowd was clearly here for Arch Enemy, and a great roar went up as the band arrived with an impressive light show. As with Exodus, it’s been nearly three years since Arch Enemy’s last album, so a comprehensive career-spanning set was offered tonight. Quite shockingly, “The Immortal” from 1999’s Burning Bridges opened the show before more recent and familiar material was presented. “Revolution Begins” and “Ravenous” saw Angela Gossow take command of the stage as all eyes were focused on the deathly growls that emanated from her petite form. Doomsday Machine was next represented by “Taking Back My Soul” and “My Apocalypse”, then stepping back to 2003 for “Silent Wars”. Little time was wasted between songs, so “I Will Live Again” and “Dead Eyes See No Future” were ripped through before another old number, “Bury Me An Angel”. Following “Dead Bury Their Dead”, the set closed with the band’s most well-known song, “We Will Rise”. Primarily older songs were featured in the encore, including “Snow Bound”, “Nemesis”, and “Fields Of Desolation”. Arch Enemy made their way through an impressive number of songs in 60 minutes, and it was nice to hear acknowledgment of the band’s earliest albums before Angela took over as vocalist. The band sounded impressive tonight, and there was something for all fans to enjoy.
Click picture to see more Arch Enemy photos (14).
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