The Skyway Theatre hosted a night of intense Metal by some heavy hitters. Trivium and Arch Enemy co-headlined this crush-fest with While She Sleeps and Fit For Autopsy offering support.

Fit For An Autopsy out of New Jersey opened the night, chugging through a set of aggressive deathcore with many of the songs coming from the latest album 'The Great Collapse'.

While She Sleeps, out of Sheffield, UK went on the attack from the opening note. The band is out in support of 'You Are We', and the set was laced with adrenaline-soaked Metalcore that ignited the crowd into a fury.

Arch Enemy would take the stage next. I knew that this Swedish melodic death Metal band has had a leviathan presence in the genre. I grabbed the newest album 'Will To Power' and was impressed enough that I had to see what they brought live. It took all of about three minutes to be completely engulfed by their sheer brilliance.

Alissa White-Gluz was a star - she not only commanded the stage, she owned it. The entire Skyway Theatre was held captive in the palm of her hand. Songs like 'The World Is Yours', 'War Eternal', and 'Ravenous' were highlights from the first half of the set.



The guitar duo of Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis provided an exciting twin-axe attack. Playing off each other in perfect unison and precision kept the songs razor sharp.



The rhythm section consisting of Sharlee D' Angelo (bass) and Daniel Erlandsson (drums) flexed a lot of muscle to maintain the platform that supported the onslaught of guitar riffs and blistering vocals. The songs 'We Will Rise', 'As The Pages Burn' and 'Avalanche' stood out for me as the set wound down. Arch Enemy won over a new fan as I was quite blown away by them.



The Florida-based Trivium would close out the evening. The band is currently riding the wave of their newest release 'The Sin And The Sentence'. Taking the stage to a rousing and inspired crowd, they launched into the title track from that album.

Singer and guitarist Matt Heafy sounded great, interacting with the crowd through a bevy of faces while laying down some intensive riffs.



Guitarist Corey Beaulieu provided the growls on the pulverizing 'Down From The Sky' which is a definite favourite and it always sounds huge live. Alex Bent was a beast behind the kit and hopefully he will stay in that chair for a long time to come. Paolo Gregoletto was as solid as always, providing not only the bass, but also delivering vocal harmonies.



Trivium were tight as they played through a set-list that touched on most of the albums in their catalogue. 'Ascendancy' is still my landmark album from the band and 'Like Light To Flies' and 'Rain' gave the set an extra blast of intensity.

The biggest sing-along of the night might have been 'Until The World Goes Cold' as people ate it up. I absolutely love the opening riff on 'Strife'. The guitars are so thick and punishing that you feel it your chest.



I've seen Trivium on several occasions and they have never failed to deliver the goods.

This is a fantastic tour with four bands that offer different elements, which makes it really entertaining. Don't be late grabbing tickets for this because they are selling fast and selling out.