Arch Enemy & In Flames / The Academy / Manchester

A Friday night trip up over the Pennines, and to the Academy in Manchester to catch Arch Enemy and In Flames, on their co-headline European “Rising from the North” tour with support from Soulwork. This was one I didn’t want to miss, having seen Arch Enemy a couple of years ago in Birmingham with Behemoth.

The Academy was packed to the rafters. No room to swing a cat let alone squeeze through the mass to the pit at the front. You could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air.

First up in the triumphant of Swedish metal is Soilwork. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers in Helsingborg, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork and deliver some of the best melodic death metal around.

Björn Strid's vocals are immense and its impressive how good he sounds live. The short set is packed with hits, opening with the whirlwind that is Stabbing the Drama, Exile and Distorton Sleep. Slap bang in the middle we get a new track Spirit of No Return which slots in perfectly with the rest of the material and went down a treat with the crowd. And saw the start of the nights surfing.

The finished their set with Stålfågel taken form their “Verkligheten” album. The atmosphere had been electric but the intensity of the guitar riffs and pounding, incessant drums brought the place to boiling point and had everyone bouncing. The bass pounded at your chest as the vocals ripped through you. It was a blistering finale and as they left the stage, the Manchester crowd were cheering loud.

Setlist

Stabbing the Drama

Arrival

Exile

Distortion Sleep

Spirit of No Return (Live debut)

Övergivenheten

Death Diviner

The Ride Majestic

Stålfågel

Being a co-headline tour, they alternate each night who gets the final spot. Tonight its Arch Enemy, so up next are In Flames a heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal scene. The line up has changed over the years but they have consistently been at the forefront of the Swedish metal scene.

Despite a career spanning over 30 years, In Flames deliver an energy packed set that puts many younger bands to shame. Anders Fridén's vocals were intense and strong and he took every opportunity to whip the already excited crowd into a fever, repeatedly encouraging the fans to mosh and surf. And boy did the crowd deliver as a steady stream of metalheads wash over the crowd, and are helped down into the pit, before being escorted away.

Anders reflects on how they are asked to play the old stuff, and the crowd cheer, so they oblige and deliver stunning versions of the classic tracks Trigger, Coerced Coexistence and Only For The Weak. But they also give newer fans what they want with new fan favourites Take This Life and Mirror's Truth.

Anders at every opportunity is talking to the crowd and encouraging them to get involved. He waves his hands and the crowd respond, opening up a huge mosh pit in the middle, before utter chaos and mayhem erupts. The way that In Flames hold their audience in the palm of their hand is incredible and the interaction and engagement levels are off the scale.

Highlight tracks for me, were Meet Your Maker and State of Slow Decay, which were intense and powerful and built the atmosphere to new heights. The Academy is packed and the heat is intense. As the set draws to a close, they deliver captivating performances of fan favourites The Mirror’s Truth and I Am Alone.

A brilliant and exhausting performance, its clear In Flames are still a force to be reasoned with.

Setlist

Cloud Connected

Take This Life

Deliver Us

Paralyzed

In the Dark

Voices

Food for the Gods

Coerced Coexistence

Trigger

Meet Your Maker

Only for the Weak

State of Slow Decay

Alias

The Mirror's Truth

I Am Above

My Sweet Shadow

The final stage change over takes a little longer as wee eagerly await the arrival of tonight’s final act Arch Enemy. Formed in Halmstad in Sweden in 1995, they are a melodic death metal band, whose members have an incredible pedigree, having played with the likes of Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, and Eucharist. In 2014 they released their classic album “War Eternal” and Canadian singer Alissa White-Gluz joined from The Agonist.

The lights dim and the band walk out to a huge cheer and the bright white spots power up as Alissa bounds out to the mic. A striking figure with her iconic long blue hair and silvery bodysuit, she launches into Deceiver Deceiver. Alissa has an incredible voice, and can deliver the most ferocious guttural growling lines, but can switch it up, and switch effortlessly to angelic tones. Her ability to switch styles is what gives Arch Enemy their unique style.

The musicianship is immaculate, led by some incredible intense riffs from guitar maestro Michael Arnott, supported by some stellar power and thumping bass lines from Sharlee D'Angelo, and backed as ever with the ferocious skin bashing from drummer Daniel Erlandsson. Their understanding is a delight to watch as they effortlessly rip through fan favourites such as As the Pages Burn, My Apocalypse and War Eternal.

Latest single Dream Stealer fits in well in the live set and we get a treat with our first live experience of new track Liars & Thieves both tracks taken from their upcoming new 12th album “Blood Dynasty” which is out on 28 March 2025 via Century Media Records.

Alissa is full of energy, striding round the stage, never still and whipping up the crowd at every opportunity. And her vocals are intense and resonate around and bounce off the walls, none more so than in the outstanding version of First Day in Hell which has the crowd in raptures. The crowd are still moshing away and there is a steady stream of surfer.

The set just flies by and before you know it, we’re at the end as they finish with Nemesis and Fields of Desolation, which combine to whip the crowd into one last frenzy.

As we leave out onto the street, the cool air is a blessing but its tinged with sadness, as the night is over. Three incredible Swedish bands, all in blistering form, whipped us up into a frenzy and it was simply stunning. Each band was unique, with a difference style and feel, but they blended well to deliver a night to remember.

Setlist

Deceiver, Deceiver

The World Is Yours

House of Mirrors

My Apocalypse

Dream Stealer

War Eternal

Liars & Thieves (New song)

The Eagle Flies Alone

First Day in Hell

As the Pages Burn

Sunset Over the Empire