Behemoth And Arch Enemy Unleash The Siege On Philadelphia
The North American Siege Tour 2022
Metal heavyweights Behemoth and Arch Enemy brought their North American Siege Tour to the City of Brotherly Love on Friday night and it was as brutally blasphemous as we had hoped. Joined by the legendary Napalm Death, the Philadelphia tour stop brought the long-awaited metal spectacle to The Fillmore.
The night kicked off with death metal outfit Napalm Death taking the stage. The band is out in support of their latest album that was released back in February titled Resentment Is Always Seismic.
The band came out swinging with a brutal, thunderous bass and earth-shaking guitar work courtesy of Shane Embury and John Cooke. Napalm Death is not for the faint of heart or sensitive ears as the four-piece is for lovers of absolute and undisputable heaviness. The set included a wide array of the band’s catalog which included “Contagion,” “Hung,” “Continuing War on Stupidity,” and many more.
The guys smashed through a 17-song opening set which concluded with a cover of the Dead Kennedys’ “Nazi Punks Fuck Off.”
Next to the stage around 8:30 pm was the mighty Arch Enemy led by the queen of metal Alissa White-Gluz and featuring some of the best not only metal musicians but in general best musicians around Michael Amott, Jeff Loomis, Sharlee D’ Angelo, and Daniel Erlandsson.
The band whose members are from all over the globe, Sweden, the U.S, and Canada, Arch Enemy delivered a showstopping, metal master class performance that can only be delivered by this 5-piece.
Arch Enemy is out on the road gearing up for the release of their new album Deceivers which is set to hit store shelves and online music outlets on July 29th, 2022. The band has released three tracks so far “House of Mirrors,” “Deceiver, Deceiver,” and “Handshake with Hell.”
The metal titans sound better than ever. Alissa White-Gluz’s roars shook The Fillmore’s chandeliers hanging above the packed Philadelphia audience. White-Gluz actively moved across the stage and stopped only to release hellish screams which echoed throughout the venue, coupled with one of Scandinavia’s best guitarists Michael Amott shredding track after track, oftentimes leaning in and going riff for riff with another legendary guitarist Jeff Loomis. The guitar harmony created between the two is awe-inspiring.
As with most bands we are seeing live in 2022, there is a different feeling and energy from the bands on stage. An overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude is clear on these performers’ faces after their careers and passions were put on hold for nearly two years.
The band delivered an hour-long 12-song, brutal assault of a setlist that featured fan favorites like “Ravenous,” “As The Pages Burn,” “Dead Bury Their Dead,” “War Eternal,” and of course the three singles off of their upcoming album.
I not only speak for myself but I believe the rest of Philadelphia when I say we can’t wait for Arch Enemy to come back to Philly!
Finally, but sadly it was time for the last performance of the night, the one and only Behemoth prepared to hit the stage and rise from the depths of hell to bring a long missed fury to the City of Brotherly Love.
The demonic metal outfit is preparing to unleash new music on the world and we can’t wait to hear what they’ve put together this time around.
Behemoth once again delivered an unrivaled theatrical, flawless and face-melting performance. The Philadelphia crowd had their horns raised and during the set’s opening number “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” it felt like Nergal, Seth, Orion, and Inferno were delivering a satanic sermon in the church of Satan. Not a bad Friday night.
Behemoth’s set was as expected, dark, and unapologetically heavy at times The legion of Behemoth fans were treated to a new song called “Ov My Herculean Exile” off their still-untitled upcoming album. The song sounded insanely good live, featuring the band’s signature dark and melodic chemistry and the reaction to the song was all cheers.
New is great and all but we can’t ignore the band’s previous masterpieces included in the set. Tracks like “Ov Fire and The Void,” “Christians to the Lions,” “Bartzabel,” and “Conquer All” left fans headbanging and raising their devil horns for more. The Polish metallers proved once again that dark and obscure are very much appreciated in America.
The 12 song, hour-long set delivered everything you want from Behemoth but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t want more. We are very much looking forward to Behemoth’s return to the East Coast of the United States!
See the remaining tour dates for The North American Siege 2022 on Behemoth‘s website HERE!
Click Here for the Full Gallery of the Evening!
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