Rising from the North

As three of the most popular and influential Swedish melodic death metal bands, Arch Enemy, In Flames and Soilwork have crossed paths many times throughout their careers, and Soilwork even have a song featuring Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz ("Stålfågel", from the deluxe edition of 2019's Verkligheten). The bands have toured with each other in the past, but 'Rising from the North' is the first time all three bands embark on an extensive tour together.

With the tour announcement, In Flames frontman Anders Fridén commented, "Couldn't be more excited to announce this tour. It’s been a long time coming and we are finally back together again onstage with our friends in Arch Enemy and Soilwork. We plan to bring you an unforgettable night of melody and mayhem! This is some of Sweden’s finest – a tour you simply should not miss!"^[3]

Arch Enemy guitarist and composer Michael Amott commented, "Check this Swedish metal extravaganza across Europe in 2024! We go way back with In Flames and Soilwork to the very early days of Arch Enemy and honestly couldn't be happier to announce this run with our Swedish comrades – this tour is going to be a special one!"^[4]

Multiple shows of the tour sold out within weeks/months of announcement, leading the bands to relocate some shows to a larger venue. The October 8 show in Paris was originally planned to take place at L'Olympia, but on January 25, 2024 was relocated to Le Zénith^[5]. The October 27 show in Berlin was originally planned to take place at Columbiahalle, but on June 21, 2024 was relocated to Velodrom.^[6]

Due to high demand, Arch Enemy and In Flames offered VIP upgrades (purchasable via Metaltix) for the tour, allowing fans access to perks such as meeting the bands, receiving exclusive merchandise and being granted early entry to the venues. In Flames' VIP upgrades were released alongside the general ticket sale on November 24, 2023^[7], and Arch Enemy's were made available on November 29, 2023.^[8]

By the time the tour took place, the majority of the shows were either sold out or had only a small amount of tickets remaining. Lots of VIP packages sold, and Arch Enemy documented this by creating brief documentaries of each show uploaded as Instagram Reels - the videos were taken by photographer Jens De Vos, who accompanied the band on the tour.

The tour received largely positive reviews from critics. Reviewers praised the vocal abilities and stage presence of White-Gluz, Fridén and Strid, as well as the visual elements such as lighting and pyrotechnics.

After attending the London show on October 6, Sheri Bicheno (for Metal Planet Music) noted the energy and atmosphere that openers Soilwork created with their audience, writing "[Soilwork] are genuine about their deliverance and the vibe that they create and by the measure of the screams back to the stage, the feeling amongst their fans is very much reciprocated".^[9]

Reporters noticed how energised the crowds became during the shows - Cris Watkins (for Punk in Focus) wrote, "The crowd surfers pour into the pit, and the Apollo staff have their hands full, but the energy is infectious. The twin guitar attack from Björn Gelotte and Chris Broderick rips through the venue, pushing the crowd to their limits. They wrap their set with a triple-hit of “The Mirrors [sic] Truth”, “I Am Above”, and finally “My Sweet Shadow” a fitting climax to a monumental performance".^[10]

Critics reported enjoying the performances of new (then-unreleased) tracks from Arch Enemy's upcoming album Blood Dynasty, and Buffy (for Folk N Rock) wrote, "What made their set even more special was the live debut of “Liars & Thieves,” a track from their newly announced album, Blood Dynasty. Experiencing new material live, especially when it’s delivered with such raw power, felt like an exclusive gift to everyone in attendance".^[11]

• A^ These shows were headlined by In Flames - Arch Enemy joined Soilwork as the special guests.

The setlists from Arch Enemy, In Flames and Soilwork are representative of the concert on October 3, 2024, in Glasgow, and did not represent all of the shows on the tour.

1. "Deceiver, Deceiver"
2. "The World is Yours"
3. "House of Mirrors"
4. "My Apocalypse"
5. "Dream Stealer"
6. "War Eternal"
7. "Liars & Thieves"
8. "The Eagle Flies Alone"
9. "First Day in Hell"
10. "Saturnine" (tape)
11. "As the Pages Burn"
12. "Sunset over the Empire"
13. "Handshake with Hell"
14. "Nemesis"
15. "Fields of Desolation" (instrumental outro)
16. "Enter the Machine" (tape)
17. "Vox Stellarum" (tape)

• Setlist slightly varied between shows
  • "No Gods, No Masters" replaced "Handshake with Hell]" as of October 9.^[12]
  • Due to technical difficulties, "Dream Stealer" and "As the Pages Burn" were not performed on October 16.^[13]
  • "Under Black Flags We March" was added to the setlist as of October 20.^[14]
  • Due to technical difficulties, "House of Mirrors", "Under Black Flags We March" and "No Gods, No Masters" were not performed on October 22.^[15]

1. "Cloud Connected"
2. "Take This Life"
3. "Deliver Us"
4. "Paralyzed"
5. "In the Dark"
6. "Voices"
7. "Food for the Gods"
8. "Coerced Coexistence"
9. "Trigger"
10. "Only for the Weak"
11. "Meet Your Maker"
12. "State of Slow Decay"
13. "Alias"
14. "The Mirror's Truth"
15. "I Am Above"
16. "My Sweet Shadow"

• Setlist slightly varied between shows:
  • "Trigger" featured Björn "Speed" Strid at selected dates.
  • "The Quiet Place" and "Graveland" were performed at all Swedish dates.
  • "All for Me" was performed on October 31 and November 1.

1. "Stabbing the Drama"
2. "Arrival"
3. "Exile"
4. "Distortion Sleep"
5. "Spirit of No Return"
6. "Övergivenheten"
7. "Death Diviner"
8. "The Ride Majestic"
9. "Stålfågel"
10. "Morgongåva/Stormfågel" (tape)

• Alissa White-Gluz – lead vocals
• Michael Amott – guitar, backing vocals
• Joey Concepcion – guitar
• Sharlee D'Angelo – bass
• Daniel Erlandsson – drums

• Anders Fridén – lead vocals
• Björn Gelotte - lead guitar
• Chris Broderick - rhythm guitar
• Liam Wilson - bass, backing vocals
• Tanner Wayne - drums
• Niels Nielsen - keyboards

• Björn "Speed" Strid – lead vocals
• Sylvain Coudret – guitars
• Simon Johansson – guitars
• Rasmus Ehrnborn – bass
• Bastian Thusgaard – drums
• Sven Karlsson – keyboards

• François Ouellet – tour manager (Arch Enemy)
• Jens De Vos – photography (Arch Enemy)
• Oscar Dziedziela – photography (In Flames)
• Faye S. – photography (Soilwork)
• Kusch Kuschnerus – drum technician (Arch Enemy)
• Charles Degolla – drum technician (Soilwork)
• Andreas Baglien – sound technician (Soilwork)
• Greg Winn – guitar technician (In Flames)
• Martin Müller – light technician (Arch Enemy)