ARCH ENEMY LAUNCHES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR W/ THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER IN RIVERSIDE, CA
Arch Enemy and The Black Dahlia Murder kicked off their diabolical North American co-headlining tour at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, CA; with support from Septic Flesh, Crypta and Thrown Into Exile. Riverside is the heart of Southern California’s Inland Empire and driving distance from Los Angeles. With a tour this stacked, people traveled from across the region to watch Arch Enemy’s debut North American show with their new screamer, Lauren Hart. Veterans of the scene might recall watching The Black Dahlia Murder open for Arch Enemy at The Troubadour way back in 2003. For those that remember, it was all kinds of awesome seeing the two bands playing together again at a massive venue like the Riverside Municipal Auditorium.
Unfortunately, “driving distance” from Los Angeles can range anywhere from one to two plus hours, depending on the will of the gods. Thrown Into Exile finished their set as we arrived, and Crypta’s start time was delayed a few minutes as the band worked through some technical issues. This meant Crypta had to cut a song from their already shortened opening set but Brazil’s mightiest death metal export still dazzled the growing crowd inside. Septic Flesh hit the stage as a power trio due to one of their guitar players suffering a serious injury right before the tour started. Even down one member, Septic Flesh delivered a pummeling performance that primed the audience for the night’s headliners.
The Black Dahlia Murder hit the stage and brought a deep cut laden setlist that had fans losing their minds in the best way possible. They opened with “Necropolis” off 2009’s Deflorate, a song they used to play fairly often but haven’t unearthed since the pandemic, then continued diving deeper into the vault, playing other rare jams like “Moonlight Equilibrium” “Christ Deformed” and “Miscarriage” the last of which hadn’t been played since Obama’s first term in office. The band ripped through tracks from their newest album, 2024’s Servitude, as well as staples from Miasma and Nocturnal aka the big guns. The Black Dahlia Murder really are a fined tuned machine and any other band would have had a hard time following up their blistering set.
As fate would have it, Arch Enemy operate on an entirely different plane of existence and not only kept the night’s momentum going, but the band’s new frontwoman would go on to propel the energy levels inside through the roof. Opening with “The World Is Yours” and going straight into “Ravenous,” Arch Enemy crafted the perfect introduction to their new powerhouse vocalist, belting out songs from both the Alissa White-Gluz and Angela Gossow eras of the band right out the gate. Michael Amott and Joey Concepcion’s guitar wizardry was on full display while band’s legendary rhythm section kept the bpms raging all night. Of course, all eyes were on Lauren Hart wondering how she would handle the reigns of this iconic juggernaut of a band on stage. Well, we’re glad to report that Ms. Hart absolutely killed it. Her intense guttural vocals packed a punch like no other and her frenzied performance, rife with headbanging, hair whipping and gleefully interacting with the crowd was nothing short of spectacular. Watching the band’s new single with Hart on vocals, “To The Last Breath” was another highlight of the evening and left everyone wondering: when are we going to get a new album?! Metal fans, be prepared for whenever that glorious day comes. In the meantime, you can take solace in watching Arch Enemy 4.0 absolutely rip it up on tour.
