Let’s not beat around the bush - UNLEASH THE ARCHERS are the best damn power metal band touring the planet right now.
Objectivity be damned. Anyone who’s seen them live knows this isn’t just overexaggeration. Once this band has been witnessed in the flesh, all doubts are washed – nay – tumble dried away. Much reverence should be given to the sheer commitment and hard-work by the band to achieve the positions they are in now. And work hard they did. The group started as a one-of-a-kind mix of power with melodic technical death metal on their first two albums; “Behold the Devastation (2009)” and “Demons of the AstroWaste (2011)”. They soon changed direction, sharpening their blades and unleashing a spectacular album run of “Time Stands Still (2015)”, “Apex (2017)”, “Abyss (2020)”, and now 2024’s “Phantoma” elevating the genre in both maturity and authenticity in an age where there are more gimmicky power metal bands than ever.
Now, Brittany Slayes, Scott Buchanan, Grant Truesdell, Andrew Kingsley, and Nick Miller have arrived at the Big Smoke, fresh from the battle of Bloodstock, and are ready to lay waste to the hall. They are joined by fellow power metallers Seven Kingdoms and party animals Striker to remind us what glory lurks across the pond. Back at home in Canada it is the long Family Day holiday weekend, and what a glorious family reunion it would turn out to be.
Yet another bitterly cold winter night in London, though the Canadians probably consider it ‘light jacket weather’. The queue outside shivers in metal tees and battle vests, conversations flitting between setlist speculations and existential debates about if Blind Guardian peaked in the 90s. Hair colours range from pastel pinks to highlighter green. Standard fare. Soon after being motioned inside, the crowd is quickly warmed up by Westerosi outfit Seven Kingdoms still riding the wave of their EP “The Square” from last year. The hall is lit up by reds and blues, and the riffs come out like a tidal wave. Between songs, vocalist Sabrina Cruz delivers motivational messages like a power metal Tony Robbins - somewhere between a high level paladin and your best friend after three shots of tequila. The crowd eats it up, fists pumping in collective protest of all things drab and miserable.
With no time to waste, the next band begins. Striker are a band that are all about impressions. Shirt sleeves? Gone. Pit Vipers? Certainly. Bicep flexing? Affirmative. Breaking in with titles such as “THUNDERDOME” and “Sucks to Suck”, If you don’t yell “hell yeah” at least three times during their set, check your pulse. Half Suicidal Tendencies, half Anthrax (with a little bit of Journey thrown in), they are a hell of a good time. And that’s the bottom line.
Islington Assembly Hall is a Grade II listed building, and if you forget, the staff will remind you. No smoking, no vaping, and for the love of god, please no chewing gum. This place has survived the Blitz from the Luftwaffe and a century of wear and tear, but when Unleash the Archers take the stage, it might not survive the night.
They explode onto the stage in a supernova of light and sound. On the floor, we are transformed into piranhas with blood in the water. But something is amiss. The smoke machines are going full tilt, swallowing the drummer and backdrop into oblivion, to the chagrin of the group. The rest of the band are rendered into silhouettes - ghosts in the mist - unleashing blood for blood. Regardless, it makes for an eerie and almost dreamlike atmosphere as they sally forth into “Ph4/NT0mA”. “Ghosts in the Mist” is appropriately smothered in fog, the crowd screaming every word back at them. “Green & Glass” and “Gods in Decay” then rain down like a hammer on an anvil. Phantoma isn’t just a triumph on record; it has sunk its hooks deep into the fans’ consciousness in such a short time. When the tracks from the critically acclaimed Apex appear, the audience is eager to hear the saga of The Immortal and The Matriarch. "Awakening" surges like a 10,000-volt shock. "The Matriarch" haunts and thrills. The title track has every phone torch raised to the heavens, faces beaming in jubilation. There’s not a damn frown in sight.
A short interlude, then the Abyss set. The real test of their mettle. "Abyss" sees Grant Truesdell and Andrew Kingsley ripping solos so fast they’ve broken speed limits in multiple countries. "Through Stars" has Nick Miller laying down a bass groove so deep it rattles the floorboards. As for “Soulbound” and “Faster than Light”, Scott Buchanan is detonating a drum assault somewhere in the fog. The man may no longer exist in physical form, only as pure percussive force. Then, the grand finale. The song that first launched them into metal’s stratosphere all the way back in 2015; “Tonight We Ride”. Vocalist Brittany Slayes has been a hurricane all night, but here, she practically tears through the fabric of reality (with a cold!) The crowd is helplessly clutching their throats before her, still sore from screaming along, while she effortlessly belts out high notes so intense they could tremble the foundations of the earth. Something to reflect on next time you reach for that lozenge. The encore song is a tribute to the late great Stan Rogers, Nova Scotian folk musician extraordinaire, with his song “Northwest Passage” about the doomed Franklin expedition. In a moment when tensions between the U.S. and Canada simmer, it feels especially poignant.
By the end of the night, Islington Assembly Hall is still standing - barely. Any hints of drear and depression are long gone, and a group of five Canadians are able to do in two hours what a therapist couldn’t do in ten years. The crowd staggers back out into the cold, hoarse, ears ringing, and adrenaline still pumping. Upon reflection, everything down to the opening band choices was perfectly balanced. The setlist was comprised of three songs from each of their more recent albums, with “Tonight We Ride” and “Northwest Passage” as additional material. Three-ish songs from each of their recent albums renders the setlist balanced and enjoyable as they pull a healthy variety of songs to play. It is always a special feeling to see a band at its zenith, but with Unleash the Archers you can never be too sure if the band has even begun to peak yet. This show was truly unmissable, if there was someone who was a stranger to the genre, this might be the best option to show them the very best of what it has to offer. The message is clear: Unleash the Archers aren’t just one of the best power metal bands in the world. They are power metal incarnate, transferring the feeling onto the listener in a thoroughly enjoyable ritual. Truly revolutionary.
Words: Kiarash Golshani
Photos: Simon Arinzeenjoyable ritual. Truly revolutionary.
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