Avenged Sevenfold + Disturbed + In Flames @ Genting Arena, 13th January 2017

First support for Avenged Sevenfold this evening were Swedish alternative metal group In Flames, who put on a solid opening slot in front of the ever growing crowd inside the Genting Arena. Playing tracks from their plethora of studio albums such as Paralysed and Take This Life, the band also treated the crowd to new tracks The End and The Truth. Although only having a small amount of room onstage, front man Anders Friden does well to entertain the crowd with his mixture of both screaming and clean vocalisation. Unfortunately tonight’s performance doesn’t set the arena alight, however their performance this evening will certainly make fans return home and check out their material and perhaps give the band a hero’s welcome on their return to Birmingham in the future.

From walking around the arena this evening, it’s obvious that lots of people have come to see Chicago’s Disturbed, from punters wearing their merchandise to hearing the name everywhere you went. After taking a hiatus back in 2011, the band returned with a new album Immortalized back in 2015. And from the second that they take to the stage, it’s obvious that they were sorely missed. A rare UK appearance sees them bring all manner of bells and whistles to the occasion from pyrotechnics to a string section for their now well known cover of ‘The Sound of Silence’.

Front man David Draiman’s voice soars throughout on tracks such as ‘Prayer’ and ‘Stupify’, a powerful and commanding presence that’s perhaps at the forefront of Disturbed’s success. This is an arena band performing what is more than capable of being a headline set, and for the hour that they’re on stage you forget that Avenged Sevenfold are still to come. And when the drums of final track ‘Down With The Sickness’ hit, the crowd are reduced to insanity. It’s as if everyone was Disturbed.

Avenged Sevenfold have become arena and festival headliners over a number of years in what could be considered the ‘new breed’ in heavy metal, and upon the sudden release of ‘The Stage’ last year further cemented their place as one of the most exciting bands in the scene.

This balls to the wall approach has also been reflected in the stage show for the current tour, with striking visuals being projected onto gigantic moving screens as well as a giant spaceman joining the band on stage for ‘Planets’ and ‘Acid Rain’. Performing a varied set of both hits such as ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Bat Country’, the band also treats the audience to old cuts such as ‘Warmness on The Soul’ and ‘To End the Rapture’.

Lead vocalist M Shadows does a great job of leading this musical circus, as well as being a terrific vocalist. New drummer Brooks Wackerman, formerly of Bad Religion, also does to well to highlight his talent both on old and new tracks.

A minor gripe is the clear use of backing track on song’s such as Sunny Disposition that is led by a brass harmony, however this does later work in the bands favour on tracks such as ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ where the band can sing along with the late ‘The Rev’s’ vocals which creates a haunting tribute. It’s exciting that a band in this day and genre want to push their live show as much as A7X have, and when the encore consists of ‘Bat Country’, ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ and ‘Waking the Fallen’ there’s no reason why A7X shouldn’t take the place of dusty headliners and their stale live shows.

Review: Dan Earl

Photographs: Chris Bowley

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