» Arch Enemy 2006 11 18  
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Reviewed by Thomas
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Special guest: Coldworker, Path Of No Return
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Trädgårn
Date: 18 Nov 2006
Arch Enemy setlength: 70 min.

Arch Enemy

Supporting bands Coldworker and Path Of No Return, that together with Arch Enemy travel under the name of Close Up Made Us Do It, was something that I only partly watched. Call me simple minded but I just can't get this kind music. Hardcore bands that in my ears are more about attitude then making the music work and I am sure that they want to get a message through with their music but it is lost with me.

Arch Enemy on the other hand, there is a band that delightfully knows how to blend aggression with melody. Although the sound was not perfect and the melodies and guitar-lines were partly washed away in the fuzzy yet mighty wall of sound and took away some of the experience for me. After having watched them four times now since the release of Doomsday Machine, I kind of know what to expect and Arch Enemy is not a band that is full of surprises, but at the same time they are a band to be reckoned with and that you can always rely on. So also this time.

The setlist looked about the same as it has done for a while now and the positive thing is that it works so well. I felt that the set was perhaps a bit short but once Arch Enemy get going, there is not that many dull moments so they kind of make up for it that way. But where the hell was the audience? Saturday night ought to be the ultimate night to bang some head but somehow the heads that had found their way to the venue where few, far fewer then what I could have ever expected as it made the hall look rather empty since it wasn't even half full. Nevertheless it was nice to see the band unleash hell on stage in order to provide us that actually were there with a show that was just as great as ever from this band. Perhaps not their most inspiring concert but nevertheless fully enjoyable.

Angela Gossow, no matter how many times I see this band I still get impressed by her. Her great growling and authority on stage is remarkable, combined with her beauty she makes the perfect fronting of a band. But I must say that once again hearing the same drum solo from Daniel Erlandsson that I have heard before got a bit tiring. He is an underrated drummer for sure but drum solos in my opinion only drag a concert down, and especially if you have heard it before. Not all pieces in the puzzle fell into place this evening, but enough of the pieces did in order to see the full picture and to be able to enjoy it.

6 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Related links:
http://www.archenemy.net
http://www.myspace.com/archenemy
http://www.myspace.com/angelagossow