LIVE: UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – Perth, 10 June 2024

LIVE: UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – Perth, 10 June 2024
With SILENT KNIGHT & FIRESTORM, Amplifier Bar, Perth
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Pete Gardner

No matter how into music you are, there’ll always be the odd act that flies under your radar. Such was the case when the add-on Perth show for Canadian power metal sensation Unleash The Archers was announced. Who were these guys? Why haven’t I heard about them? What are they all about?

Well, they’ve released six studio albums over fifteen years, for a start, and a dive into a host of great music videos on YouTube did not disappoint and made securing tickets to this show a must.

Opening the evening’s entertainment is Firestorm, who originally hail from Broken Hill near the New South Wales/South Australia border. Power metal is the order of the night, of course, and these guys sprinkle in some thrashier elements amidst the relentless melodic riffing and precision solos.

Next up is local band Silent Knight, whose touring arm – Stormrider – brought this show to Perth. Riding high on the buzz of an excellent turnout (especially for a Monday night) they put in a superb set – probably the best we’ve ever seen them.

Epic and Germanic, they toy with the crowd like a cat playing with a mouse, ripping and tearing through a set of gloriously melodic metal as if they were headlining Wacken. Crucially, they have fun with it as well, occupying every square inch of the stage and working it like pros. Favourites included Into Oblivion, Masterplan, and a simply wild crescendo of Power Metal Supreme.

Unleash The Archers take the stage to a huge roar from the near-sellout crowd, and their set doesn’t flag for a moment from opener Abyss through The Matriarch, Ghosts In The Mist, Seeking Vengeance, Apex and a stunning encore of Afterlife.

It’s all taken up a further notch by the sheer celebratory vibe accompanying singer Brittney Hayes’ birthday, including the band presenting her with a cake onstage and a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ from all present.

The band are virtuosos, all six-string bass from Nick Miller and seven-string guitars from Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley Saunders, lightning fast solos and pounding drums (Scott Buchanan), all topped off by Hayes’ amazing, cherry-on-top crystal vocals, nicely contrasted with sparing ‘unclean’ growling vocals from Truesdell.

If Silent Knight were having fun, our new Canadian friends were positively ecstatic, showing that metal doesn’t need to be dark and doomy: their positivity was uplifting and infectious, accentuated by Hayes’ radiant smile throughout.

The Triple M crowd may be happy to listen only to ‘Greatest Hits’ of their favourite bands from decades ago, but thank goodness we made the effort to investigate a band we were unfamiliar with, resulting in a fantastic night out and a new favourite to champion.

Silent Knight Setlist:

Prelude
Black Rose
Prisoner Of Your World
Silent Apparitions
Into Oblivion
The Last Candle Burns
Masterplan
The Ravens Return
Full Force
Power Metal Supreme

Unleash The Archers Setlist:

Abyss
Through Stars
Soulbound
Faster Than Light
The Matriarch
Awakening
Ghosts In The Mist
Green & Glass
Seeking Vengeance
Tonight We Ride
Apex

Afterlife

 

 

 

 

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries