Sudden implosion of silenced emotions

The day I saw Arch Enemy really changed my life, it was my first time seeing a big heavy metal band live and I had no idea what to expect. Local bands Subtract and Tainted opened (check out my New Zealand Music Month post for more on Tainted) and I was really surprised with how much I liked them. The show was at a venue called the Transmission Room, which is about 3 floors underground and can only be accessed by a dark and steep staircase. The venue has concrete walls and a very industrial feeling, perfect for metal shows. I'd managed to get about 2nd row when Arch Enemy came out and it blew my fucking mind. To this day, it is still the loudest concert I have ever been to. AE were playing in support of their new album The Root Of All Evil but they still played a really solid set of all their classics. Angela Gassow's voice was so powerful that night, it was almost unbelievable how sexy and demonic it was at the same time. The rest of the band really got involved with special intrumentals for Michael and Chris Amott, with a kick-ass drum solo in the middle of the set. It was my first experience with live heavy metal and it is still one of the best shows I have seen. I didn't have my camera with me but I did manage to get the set list. It was the first set list I had ever gotten, and it started my obsession/collection of them over the years.

Arch Enemy w/ Tainted. 10/11/2009. Transmission Room, Auckland, New Zealand.