Arch Enemy, Leaves' Eyes and more at Pratteln - Z7 (2008)

Pratteln - Z7 (Z7, Czechia)

Arch Enemy, Leaves' Eyes, Mercenary, Sister Sin, All We Hate

Switzerland, waiting outside a venue on a Monday evening and freezing my ass out in […]

By Maria Kallinikou

• December 15, 2008

Switzerland, waiting outside a venue on a Monday evening and freezing my ass out in the cold , I was thankful that they decide to open the doors earlier due to the number of supporting bands arranged for this gig. Doors opened at 18:15 and a quarter later the first act hit the stage.

By the time ALL WE HATE appeared, there were about 40 people in the front, but this did not let them down. As they started, they gave us a handful of energy. Their style? Heavy/Thrash metal, not bad at all, the sound which was quite good and the energy of the members, made me think that is a band worth learning more about. Among the tracks from their demo cd they played a cover of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Killing In The Name Of, the singer grabbed the microphone, got down from the stage and started running around the venue headbanging and singing with the people. That gave me a great impression. They rocked the place for about half an hour.

The next band taking place was the female fronted SISTER SIN; a Swedish metal/ Hard Rock band with lot of energy and good stage appearance. The singer, Liv, was constantly moving up and down on the stage and the male crowd in the front could enjoy much more!!! Since they are out with a new album they put their effort mostly on tracks from this new release and also they included a MOTORHEAD cover Make My Day. SISTER SIN are a mixture of Glam and Heavy Metal with lots of attitude and aggression; by the end of their show they had attracted more people in front. One bio fact is that their first attempt Dance Of Wicked in 2003 was released from the Greek Company Sleazy Rider.They played a bit more than the last band and at the point it was time for MERCENARY to appear.

I had to start preparing myself for the interview with Sharlee D'Angelo hence, I didn't spend much time attending the show from this German band apart form the last two tracks. As far as I got, even from the last two tracks the sound was very tight and clear.

As the time was passing by, the crowd was becoming more and more impatient to see ARCH ENEMY, but till then it was LEAVES' EYES' turn to hit the stage. The melodies of Vinland Saga sounded and Liv Kristine with a medieval style dress and her enchanting voice greeted us with Farewell Proud Men. By her side of course, Alexander Krull; this pair with the medieval, sometimes romantic, sometimes brutal breaks, took us to a journey for 45 minutes with songs like Solemn Sea, The Dream, Temptation, New Found Land, Elegy and The Thorn.

And here I would like to underline that a good band doesn't prove itself only in the stage appearance and the communication between musicians, a real band is shown also under difficult circumstances. In the middle of their set, people started shouting ARCH ENEMY - ARCH ENEMY. I felt good and bad. Good, because I thought that such awful things happen only in Greece and bad for the obvious reason that such attitudes are MEGA GYPSY. Apart from the ARCH ENEMY shouting a couple of lighted cigarettes flew to the stage. Despite a couple of problems with the sound LEAVES' EYES finished their set giving their best.

The clock showed ten and an intro started playing and through amounts of smoke ARCH ENEMY took over the stage with Blood On Your Hands. People went crazy and everybody was trying to keep balance as Angela was throwing morbid prophecies about the future, (Dead Eyes See No Future). Even in the front, one could get that the sound quality was pretty good.

Angela had a theatrical style which enhanced her appearance and Sharlee got really, brutally excited with his bass. The Amott brothers, left and right, were more concentrated and less active. With a small break for the drum solo the Swiss crowd showed Angela some love with a pillow heart!

After that romantic intermission we surrendered once more to the abyss. Ravenous, The Last Enemy, I Will Live Again, Revolution Begins, We Will Rise, The Day You Die, Taking Back My Soul, Nemesis blew up our ears. ARCH ENEMY rocked the place for about one hour and a half.
It was a good evening, receiving good energy not only from ARCH ENEMY but from all the bands. If you have the chance to see ARCH ENEMY in this tour you will agree that it is definite a 'not to miss'.