It's a known fact these days that some of the most exciting metal out there is coming out of Sweden. The opportunity to see a trifecta of 3 of Sweden's very best on the one bill is extremely rare indeed, so this evening was always going to be something special.

I arrived in the Forum just as Dark Tranquility began their set. Their mix of old school riffing mixed with a healthy dose of melody and just the right amount of keyboards to complement the sound without overbearing it is pleasing to the ear on CD, and I'm happy to report comes across well live too. Tonight they played a good mix of songs from throughout their career, with their faithful fans up the front singing along to every word. Whilst I myself was only familiar with material from "Damage Done", the entire set was enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing them again with Kreator in February, once I've had the opportunity to familiarise myself with their "Exposures - In Retrospect and Denial" retrospective CD.

The Haunted took to the stage next. With the return of original vocalist Peter Dolving to the fold and excellent new album "rEVOLVEr" in the shops, much anticipation was in the air, and they didn't disappoint. Beginning with "No Compromise" (which aptly describes their sound), the Bjorler brothers and co. played a set which relied heavily on the new CD, but also revisited past glories such as "Bury Your Dead", "God Puppet", and "In Vein", being my personal favourite from their debut. I had been curious to see how Dolving would interpret the songs from the Marco Aro era of the Haunted, and I'm pleased to say he made them totally his own, and in doing so gave a whole new exciting vibe to those songs. New songs played included "All Against All", "99" and "Abysmal" among others. Again the mighty Dimebag Darrell got a mention (and will continue to at gigs for a while to come, deservedly) with a minute's silence in his memory. The Haunted finished off with the awseome "Hate Song", leaving the Forum pumped up as all hell, and many looking forward to their return to London in February, when they will be the headline act. (Yes I've already bought my ticket.)

Last but not least was the band most of the crowd had come for, featuring another set of famous metal brothers, Michael and Christopher Amott... the mighty Arch Enemy. Filming for a DVD tonight, they kicked off with "Enemy Within" off their fantastic Wages of Sin album before ripping through "Silent Wars", the opener from current platter Anthems of Rebellion. Frontwoman Angela Gossow, the lady with the strongest pair of lungs in metal, was in fine form growling the lyrics with the appropriate amount of grunt. It is quite an anomaly to look up at the stage and see a pretty, petite blond girl uttering guttural noises that would make Satan himself proud, but I guess this is part of Arch Enemy's appeal. Songs aired tonight also included "Dead Eyes See No Future", "We Will Rise", "Heart of Darkness", "Burning Angel" and "Ravenous". The mosh pit was especially violent tonight, unfortunately there was an over-abundance of dickheads in it who weren't even paying attention to the band, preferring to try and injure themsleves and others as much as possible. Nonetheless Arch Enemy's performance was 100% slick, heavy and entertaining. The brothers Amott have an uncanny understanding of each other's playing style that makes it all work so well that it's scary. For all Gossow's appeal (and no disrespect to her) they are the real foundation behind Arch Enemy. I eagerly await the production of tonight's DVD so I can relive this fantastic gig.

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