It was a death metal fest at TLA Philly on October 26th when Arch Enemy and The Black Dahlia Murder hit the stage as part of their “Wrath Across” North America tour. The opening acts for the night were as brutal as it can be - Thrown into Exile from LA was the first to go on stage. Then it was Crypta - the all-female death metal band from all the way from Brazil. By the second act, the crowd was already pumped, and then Septic Flesh from Greece came to the stage. The band was missing the lead guitarist, Christos Antoniou, due to injury, but Spiros Antoniou on the bass and vocals, Kerim Lechner on the drums, and Dinos Prassas on the guitar did nothing less than a destruction on stage with pure Symphonic death metal. It was The Black Dahlia Murder next on stage with Brian Eschbach on vocals, Max Lavelle on the Bass, Alan Cassidy on the drums, and Ryan Knight and Wes Hauch on the guitars. Brian is such a character as a frontman - funny, witty, and brutal at the same time. There was a point when a gorilla entered the stage while the song “Statutory Ape” was playing. The setlist consisted of songs like “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”, “Utopia Black”, “Necropolis”. It was also good to see fans wearing shirts in memory of Trevor Strnad. Finally, the stage was clear for Arch Enemy to come. The fans were really eager to witness the new vocalist, Lauren Hart, and what an amazing performer she is. She has blended into the band and made it her own as she performed each song with absolute power. Sharlee D'Angelo on Bass, Michael Amott and Joey Concepcion on guitar, and Daniel Erlandsson on drums were a treat to witness live on stage. The legendary Swedish Death Metal band is known for a heavy, melodic sound, and the North American fans reciprocated the energy. The band performed songs like “Nemesis”, “The Eagle Flies Alone”, “The World Is Yours” and more. It was a great night for any death metal fans. Finally, a big shout-out to the organizers, management, and venue for the successful execution of the night.
Arch Enemy
The Black Dahlia Murder
