On November 8th, 2017, a kick ass night of heavy hitting rock n roll was put on display inside the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Kicking things off was Fit for an Autopsy, a group out of New Jersey who set the tone for the night with in your face vocals and hardcore rage displayed through drums and guitars which brought the crowd right into the intense vibe. Guitarist Patrick Sheridan had great command of the guitar and the audience, almost reminiscent of AC/DC’s Angus Young. Singer, Joe Bad has a calm demeanor which is opposite of his vocals. An excellent way to start the night.
The second band up, I had never heard of, so I didn’t know what to expect. What I witnessed was phenomenal. While She Sleeps made a new fan in me with their performance. This five-piece band out of Sheffield, United Kingdom have some glorious heavy grooves that echo through your body. Lead singer Lawrence Taylor has boundless energy as he leaps through the air with ease and then rides the waves as he crowd-surfed while singing. Equally energetic are his bandmates, Sean Long on guitar, Mat Welsh on guitar and vocals, Aaran Mckenzie on bass and Adam Savage on drums. Take notice, this is a group to be reckoned with.
The mighty Trivium took the stage next and the crowd was pumped as lead singer and guitarist Matt Heafy led the way as the crowd sang along to the high energy pulsing music. I admit I’m late to listening to Trivium, they’ve been around since 1999 but ever since I’ve noticed the name a year or two ago and hearing them on the radio, I’ve been impressed. And their live show does not disappoint. With Corey Beaulieu on lead guitar and vocals, Paolo Gregoletto on bass and vocals and Alex Bent on drums, this group out of Orlando, Florida is making waves in the rock n roll world and it’s well deserved. With songs like “Heart From Your Hate”, “Until The World Goes Cold” and “In Waves”, this band will continue to rock for a long time. Especially with their latest album ‘The Sin and The Sentence’ having been released this past October.
Closing the night of an already great night of rock was the pride of Halmstad, Sweden’s, Arch Enemy. Since 1995 this band has been cranking out the melodic death metal to the masses. With their latest change in lead vocals in 2014, Alissa White-Gluz has this band rocking along. With her long blue and blonde hair and sexy outfits, Alissa has the pipes to go with it to make it all work.
With two original members Michael Amott on guitars and vocals and Daniel Erlandsson on drums along with Sharlee D’Angelo on bass and Jeff Loomis on guitar and vocals, this group pulls no punches when it comes to delivering those classic death metal sounds. Lots of rip roaring guitar playing had the crowd banging their heads just feeling those guitar strings send out the wailing commands.
Arch Enemy released its latest album, ‘Will To Power’, back in September of this year and the energy is fresh with the new album out with new songs to melt people’s faces. Arch Enemy played several songs off the new album, “The World Is Yours” and “The Eagle Flies Alone” along with older hits like “War Eternal” and “You Will Know My Name”, Arch Enemy has a steady list of songs to keep fans head banging for a long time.
It was a fantastic night of rock n roll and all the fans who got out to support live music got their money’s worth. And show stealer While She Sleeps gaining new fans goes to show that rock n roll will always be alive, there’s always another band out there you haven’t heard of that you eventually hear and smacks you in the face to let you know rock n roll is here to stay.