On October 14th, 2022, ARCH ENEMY with BEHEMOTH, CARCASS, and UNTO OTHERS hit Columbiahalle in Berlin as part of their European Siege Tour.
UNTO OTHERS (formerly known as IDLE HANDS) from Portland was first to kick off the show. They opened with “Heroin” and presented mostly new tracks from the new album, “Strength.” The music was dark and heavy, yet melodic. It’s a band with a Gothic rock sound that fans of IN SOLITUDE, SHE WANTS REVENGE, and TYPE O NEGATIVE might enjoy.
CARCASS kicked off their set with “Buried Dreams.” England’s extreme death metal veterans had a gruesome tracklist in store. Jeff Walker, their lead vocalist and bass player, has been steering the band since 1985 and growled like a youngling. Bill Steer, the other original member and guitarist, was rocking a very ’70s outfit and acted so casual on stage, as if he was shredding classic English rock and not brutal death metal. Their setlist consisted of tracks from “Heartwork,” “Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious,” and “Torn Arteries.” They had a small intermission, where the crowd lit their flashlights and Jeff announced their upcoming album.
BEHEMOTH are one of Poland’s biggest bands and dark visionaries. When the curtain dropped, the band opened with “Post-God Nirvana” and “ Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” from their fresh album “Opvs Contra Natvram.” They continued with “The Deathless Sun” and “Ov Fire and the Void.” BEHEMOTH had some pyro stored and the stage production was massive, with numerous pagan/nature props styled after the band’s repertoire. Frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski had a variety of outfits depending on the song, from a hooded tank top to a church robe to a black-stoned masquerade mask. During an intermission, Nergal had two smoke sticks colored blue and yellow in support of Ukraine before kicking into “Off to War!” The set was short, playing twelve tracks, but packed with outstanding bangers like “Bartzabel,” “Conquer All,” “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel” and closing with “Chant for Eschaton 2000.”
ARCH ENEMY is one of Sweden’s S-tier bands. With the new album, “Deceivers,” going hot, the band slammed into “Deceiver, Deceiver.” Alissa White-Gluz was a force of nature – her demonic growls and melodic cleans sound exactly the same as the studio version, not to mention how empowering her stage presence was. They continued with “War Eternal” and the old classic, “Ravenous.” Their 1-hour setlist consisted of new tracks mixed with old bangers like “My Apocalypse” and “Nemesis.” ARCH ENEMY is legendary and should be a must-see band for all fans of pure metal. Period.
Overall, the show was staggering, packed with high-quality metal and visuals. It was overall well organized and the sound was overall good, although messy at times.
UNTO OTHERS
CARCASS
BEHEMOTH
ARCH ENEMY
