As fans started to gather in the forum and in the main arena on a bitterly-cold evening at the Genting Arena in Birmingham , there was huge anticipation for one of the hottest tours of the year ! After releasing their seventh studio album ‘ The Stage ’ back in October , metal titans ‘ Avenged Sevenfold ’ were on the UK leg of ‘ The Stage World Tour ’ accompanied by the highlyacclaimed ‘ Disturbed ’ and ‘ In Flames ’.
First on the bill were Swedish heavy metal favourites ‘ In Flames ’; formed in 1990 in Gothenburg by guitarist Jesper Stromblad , In Flames are known for developing what is now known as ‘ melodic death metal ’. With a huge back catalogue of 12 studio albums , 3 EP ’ s and 2 live DVD ’ s , the band were not short of ideas and tracks to bring to The Stage World Tour ! From the opening track ‘ Bullet Ride ’, the intense , metal riffs and melodies shook the Genting Arena with immense impact , and this was definitely appreciated by every member of the Birmingham audience . Overall , In Flames played a nice 8-track set list with highlights such as ‘ Leeches ’, ‘ The End ’ and ‘ Paralyzed ’, and they certainly showed why they are still one of the best bands in Metal music today !
Up next were arguably one of the greatest metal bands ever to exist ; originating from Chicago , Illinois , ‘ Disturbed ’ have been on the metal music scene for over 22 years , and are fronted by the iconic David Draiman . With 5 of their 6 studio albums debuting at number 1 in the Billboard 200 chart , Disturbed have established themselves as one of the top metal bands of all time . The band opened with their track ‘ The Eye of the Storm ’, and from the very first bar , it was obvious that the Birmingham crowd were in for a serious treat of a set ! The beautiful blend of David Draiman ’ s howling vocals with guitar riffs from Dan Donegan , groovy bass lines from John Moyer , and blistering drum rhythms from Mike Wengren was so consistent and mind blowing ! The band delivered the most perfect performance , and with a 15-track avenged sevenfold
Support : In Flames / Disturbed Genting Arena ( NEC ), Birmingham
13th January 2017
( hour long ) set list including a spine-tingling offering of ‘ The Sound of Silence ’ with a string section , and other tracks such as ‘ The Vengeful One ’, ‘ Stricken ’ and ‘ Down With The Sickness ’, this was easily one of the greatest , all-round performances I had ever seen in my gigging life !
It was now time for the main event ; from sunny Huntington Beach in California it was of course ‘ Avenged Sevenfold ’. Formed in 1999 , Avenged quickly established themselves as one of the hottest metal bands on the planet with the release of their debut album ‘ Sounding the Seventh Trumpet ’. After recently releasing their 7th studio album ‘ The Stage ’, this tour was the perfect chance for the band to showcase their new material as well as playing their old classics for hardcore fans .
Avenged kicked off their set with the title track from their new album ‘ The Stage ’, and you could tell that these guys were vastly experienced , and were very confident performers on stage . Again , there was a mouth-watering blend of guitar riffs from Synyster Gates , as well as funky bass lines from Johnny Christ and bellowing drum rhythms from Brooks Wackerman . The band played a 15-track set list and 3 track encore with a lot of new and old material , but the highlights were definitely ‘ Afterlife ’, ‘ Hail to the King ’, ‘ Chapter Four ’ and ‘ Unholy Confessions ’ just to name a few . This was a solid performance from the metal titans , but you could tell that the Birmingham audience appreciated their older rather than their newer material !
Overall , Avenged delivered a solid , high-octane performance , but Disturbed could have easily headlined the tour , and definitely stole the show in my eyes !
Words by Kristofer Billingham
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