ARCH ENEMY & TRIVIUM Tear The Roof Off The Palladium in WOrcester, MA

Author and Photographer: Ian Urquhart

Doors opened the Worcester Palladium at 5:45 PM. At 5:15 PM, a five-block line patiently waited to gain entrance to an anticipated night of metal. This was to be expected with Trivium and Arch Enemy co-headlining the evening’s festivities. However, before these metal vets took the stage, a few other bands wanted to make their presence known.

First to the stage: Fit For An Autopsy.

As the first band to initiate the evening’s events, Fit For An Autopsy opened the metal flood gates as well as the pit. There were no secretes about these New Jersey natives. They came to slay. Initiate: Death Metal. Featuring one of their heaviest hits “Absolute Hope Absolute Hell” off Absolute Hope Absolute Hell (2015), Worcester was given a loud wake up call to get moving, sweating, jumping and screaming. It worked. Warm-up: complete.

Next on the bill: While She Sleeps.

While far away from home, the Sheffield boys brought everything but the kitchen sink to Massachusetts. Lead by their intensely dedicated vocalist, Lawrence Taylor, gravity seemed to be non-existent. Guitar flips. Stage dives and drum leaps are what could be found during a While She Sleeps set. Persevering through microphone difficulties, nothing stopped the UK metal-heads from melting faces. What drove the crowd into a circling frenzy was their banger “Brainwashed” off of Brainwashed (2015). Coming off a recent headlining tour across-the-pond, it’s clear to see why people are drinking the While She Sleeps kool-aid.

Soon to follow: Trivium.

“Trivium! Trivium! Trivium!”

The crowd could have been heard from Lansdowne Street. A switch was flipped. The Palladium’s energy thickened as Matt Heafy, lead vocalist/guitarist, and the rest of the Florida rockers opened a Trivium can of whoop-ass while performing their newest single “The Sin and Sentence” off of The Sin and Sentence (2017). Conceptualizing the fact that hundreds of fans were witnessing legends was heavy enough; let alone Trivium’s breakdowns. “Like Light to the Flies” off of Ascendancy (2005) has easily been one of the most recognizable Trivium tracks to have been recorded. This being said… the general admission floor almost split in half when this record ripped the stage. Even the photographers couldn’t help but to sing along. And what better way to end a set than to have hundreds of headbangers jump in synchronous. Heroes get remembered, Trivium never dies.

In Conclusion: Arch Enemy.

After co-headliner number one stepped behind the curtain, surely there wasn’t enough energy for another hour-long set...

Dead wrong.

Goodness gracious did Arch Enemy deliver. With one of the most distinct, impressive and unique voices, Alissa White-Gluz, lead vocalist, made her presence known. Accompanied by two guitar-shredding pros, Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis, there was still fuel in the Worcester tank to bring it up a notch. “War Eternal” off of War Eternal (2014) triggered a floor wide mosh-pit our mothers and fathers would have been proud of. No one remained still. Absolute chaos. Even with broken in-ear-monitors, these Swedes knew what it took to perform and follow up bands like Fit For An Autopsy, While She Sleeps and Trivium. If you are contemplating going to an Arch Enemy show in the near future..

.. Do it!