LIVE: ARCH ENEMY – Winnipeg, MB, CAN – November 8, 2026

Venue: The Burton Cummings Theatre

City: Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Date: November 8, 2026

Review and Photographs by: Alejandro Penner (https://www.alejandropenner.ca/)

Today was a special day. My return to covering concerts after taking a full summer break, partly due to surgery and the recovery that followed. When I saw that Arch Enemy was coming to town, I thought to myself, what better way to get back into it? So here I am, making my way to the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg, excited to see what was shaping up to be an absolutely stacked night of metal. Most concerts I attend feature three acts. Tonight? Five. Yes, five bands on one bill. Needless to say, I was looking forward to this one.

The night kicked off with Thrown Into Exile, and what an incredible way to start. Bringing a healthy dose of death metal aggression, they wasted no time setting the stage ablaze. Despite having a relatively short set, they made their presence known and, without a doubt, set the tone for everything that was about to follow. Next up was Crypta, an all-female death metal band from Brazil. This was my first time seeing the band, and honestly, my first real introduction to their music. To my delight, they absolutely crushed it. Tough, aggressive, and downright brutal, Crypta delivered exactly what the night called for. They were a fantastic follow-up to Thrown Into Exile and kept the momentum going without missing a beat. Then came Septicflesh, a Greek symphonic death metal band hailing from Athens. And this was only the third act of the evening. It’s still crazy to me that we were being treated to five bands in a single night, but I digress. With decades of experience behind them, having been active since the early ’90s, Septicflesh brought a different kind of heaviness to the stage. Even missing a member, the band delivered an absolutely crushing performance, combining the brutality of death metal with their signature symphonic sound. They certainly didn’t let the crowd down.

Finally, we arrived at the co-headliners. The Black Dahlia Murder absolutely destroyed. With roughly 50 minutes on stage and a 14-song setlist, there was no shortage of material to sink our teeth into. The band reached back to their 2003 release Unhallowed, while their 2005 album Miasma received three tracks. However, it was their newest record that received the most attention, with four songs making the setlist: “Mammoth’s Hand,” “Panic Hysteria,” “Cursed Creator,” and “Utopia Black.” Their sound was everything you’d expect from The Black Dahlia Murder: relentless, technical drumming, lightning-fast tremolo-picked riffs, harmonized guitar leads, and plenty of shred-worthy solos. Moody, dark, and theatrical, with plenty of horror imagery and occult themes, the band did a phenomenal job keeping the crowd hyped and engaged throughout their performance. Brian Eschbach deserves a mention here as well. Stepping into his role at the front of the band, he does a fantastic job maintaining the band’s signature sound and identity while still bringing his own personality to the stage. It’s not always easy stepping into such an important role, but Brian makes it feel natural.

And then there was one. The one and only Arch Enemy. Let’s be honest, this was the band a lot of us had come to the Burton Cummings Theatre to see. Sadly, I had never had the opportunity to see Arch Enemy live before, and I had really been hoping to catch them with Alissa White-Gluz. While that wasn’t the lineup we got, Lauren Hart did an outstanding job fronting this metal juggernaut. Hart’s growls and screams shook the theatre, while her clean vocals captivated the audience. Her stage presence was equally impressive, commanding attention every time she stepped forward. There’s something quite extraordinary about witnessing such brutal vocals coming from someone wearing such an infectious, enormous smile. You could genuinely tell Lauren was having fun up there, and that energy translated straight into the crowd. Now, let’s talk about the rest of the band. Daniel Erlandsson’s drumming was tight, precise, and relentless. Positioned on a raised drum riser, surrounded by stacks of Marshall amps, he was the backbone of the band’s thunderous sound. Then there’s Sharlee D’Angelo, an absolute beast of a rhythm bassist. And I mean an absolute BEAST. The man was sending deep, rumbling vibrations throughout the theatre. Between Sharlee and Daniel, the rhythm section kept this metal freight train moving at full speed, never once letting up. And then we have Michael Amott and Joey Concepcion, the band’s guitar duo. Polished, fast, heavy, and soaring, their guitar work filled the theatre with beautifully harmonized leads and some seriously crushing riffs. The chemistry between the two was fantastic, delivering that unmistakable Arch Enemy sound that fans have come to know and love.

As for the setlist, we were treated to quite the variety, spanning nearly three decades of Arch Enemy’s music. Going all the way back to their 1996 album Black Earth, we got “Bury Me an Angel” and “Fields of Desolation.” Moving into the early 2000s, albums like Wages of Sin and Doomsday Machine were represented with “Dead Bury Their Dead,” “Ravenous,” “My Apocalypse,” “Nemesis,” and “Taking Back My Soul.” We also got four tracks from their 2010s releases, including Khaos Legions, War Eternal, and Will to Power, with “No Gods, No Masters,” “War Eternal,” “The Eagle Flies Alone,” and “The World Is Yours.” Of course, we couldn’t go without hearing something more recent. One track from their 2025 album Blood Dynasty, appropriately titled “Blood Dynasty,” made the setlist. But we were also treated to their latest single, “To the Last Breath.” No new album to accompany it just yet, but I have to say, this one was a personal favourite of mine. I absolutely loved it. When it came to the stage production, Arch Enemy kept things relatively simple, and honestly, it worked. A massive banner stretched across the back of the stage, accompanied by an impressive lighting setup that complemented the band’s performance without taking away from it. The drum riser sat front and centre, flanked by six stacks of Marshall amps on either side, leaving the rest of the stage wide open for the band to move around. What really brought the setup together, though, was the lighting positioned along the bottom of the drum riser and beneath the Marshall stacks. These additional lights added another dimension to the stage, creating some really impressive visuals throughout the performance. The light show itself was quite amazing, with the lighting working perfectly alongside the music to elevate the entire experience. And move around they did, especially Lauren. She was all over that stage, constantly engaging with the crowd and making full use of the space. At one point, black and red beach-ball-like inflatables bouncing into the audience. It was a fun little addition to an otherwise brutally heavy performance and quite the spectacle to witness.

All in all, what a way to return to covering live music. Five bands, one night, and an entire evening filled with some seriously heavy music. Each act brought something different to the table, and rather than feeling like a long night of waiting for the headliner, every band delivered a performance worthy of being there. For me, though, this night was about more than just the music. After spending the summer away from the concert scene, getting back behind the camera and experiencing a night like this was exactly what I needed. And if this is how I’m kicking off my return, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the concert season has in store. Winnipeg got one hell of a night of metal, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to be back.

Setlist: The World Is Yours – Ravenous – War Eternal – Blood Dynasty – My Apocalypse – To the Last Breath – Taking Back My Soul – The Eagle Flies Alone – Bury Me an Angel – Dead Bury Their Dead – No Gods, No Masters – Nemesis – Fields of Desolation

[Show as slideshow]

ARCH ENEMY LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

X

INSTAGRAM

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries