Machine Head/Amon Amarth - Cardiff Review

Package tours are usually occupied by classic rock bands as a way of getting punters through the door and keeping them at arena level, but every so often other types of band make use of the format. This is currently the case with the American groove metal act Machine Head and the Swedish melodic death metal band Amon Amarth - as the duo are currently undertaking a co-headline tour of Europe. The newly-formed Swedish melodic death metal act The Halo Effect are along for the ride, too, meaning that the tour has all the hallmarks of that handful of classic rock package tours that I have attended. This tour, dubbed the Vikings and Lionhearts Tour, kicked off this past Thursday in Nottingham - but I opted to get a ticket for the tour's second night, at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. Considering that Cardiff is pretty easy for me to get to, it is not somewhere that I have visited too often over the years - and yesterday's visit was my first trip to the Welsh capital since the back end of 2019. I think this was only my fourth visit to the Motorpoint Arena, too, which is strange considering that it is one of the closest arenas to where I live. It is quite a bit smaller than most of the country's other arenas, though, so it does not always get included on the larger touring itineraries, and when it does it tends to get the mid-week shows - meaning that it is often easier for me to travel to London or Birmingham on or around a weekend. Occasionally things fall into place for Cardiff, though, and Machine Head and Amon Amarth opted to rock up there on a Friday - which made sense for me work-wise. I was also glad to return to Cardiff, as I have always enjoyed my time their previously. There are bigger cities, but there is lots to see and do in Cardiff, and it has a bit of a different vibe than many of my more regular haunts. I got there at around 2:30pm, which meant that there was a bit of time for a wander around before the gig. I went to a large record stall within the city's market and made a few purchases there before heading off to get some dinner. After eating, it was time to head to my Premier Inn. I was staying a little way out of town - but it was only around a 20 minute walk from the venue. Following settling into the hotel and freshening up, I headed back into the city centre and to the arena - joining the queue around 15 minutes before the doors opened. There were no delays getting in, and I ended up being one of the first handful of people into the area - meaning that I could find a decent spot for the first band. I moved around throughout the evening, especially as the crowd grew, but at first I was fairly close to the front. As always seems the case with large venues, the place took quite a while to look busy. People always seem to disappear for a while in arenas after first getting in - and it looked as if The Halo Effect were going to be playing to a very sparse crowd.

As the lights went down, though, a number of people suddenly appeared - and the place started to look fairly busy. The Halo Effect took to the stage around 20 minutes after the venue opened, though, which meant that people were streaming in constantly. By the end of their set the place was looking pretty full, but those who turned up early were treated to a great set from the band. Whilst The Halo Effect are a new band, all of its members have long histories in the Swedish metal scene - with everyone on stage, baring fill-in guitarist Patrik Jensen, having an association with In Flames. Fronted by Dark Tranquillity's Mikael Stanne, The Halo Effect play old-school Swedish melodic death metal. These guys all helped to define the genre and the band's debut album Days of the Lost might not break any new ground, but it is a fun record that I have been listening to a lot since it came out last month. It is clearly the product of five old friends having fun - and that is also how the show came across. Stanne prowled the stage in his usual flamboyant way, his growls cutting through the mix pretty well for a support act, whilst the soaring leads of Niclas Engelin (guitar) recalled the best of both In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Jensen, filling in for guitarist Jesper Strömblad (who has struggled with touring in recent years), teamed up with Engelin for the odd dual lead, too, and the band sounded big - and surprisingly clear for a support. The band did not have a lot of time, but they made it count and played seven songs from their newly-released album. The epic title track, which is very In Flames-esque, kicked things off, with Stanne's chorus hooking the crowd, whilst other tracks were much heavier and less reliant on hooks such as the more sombre Gateways. Despite the band having only done a handful of gigs before this one, too, they were very tight. They were full of energy, too, and it helped that the crowd seemed pretty into them. Most in attendance were likely aware of the pedigree of the musicians on stage, and there was quite a lot of moshing during some of their songs - particularly the faster Feel What I Believe. In Broken Trust then showcased a somewhat more gothic sound, with Stanne opting for his clean voice during the deep chorus, and it was a song that showed that there is some diversity in the band's sound. Not every song just sounded like In Flames or Dark Tranquillity, and In Broken Trust was a good example of something slightly more left-field. There was only time for a couple of more by this point, though, and it was left to the anthemic Last of Our Kind and the band's debut single, Shadowminds, to bring the set to a close. The latter was a particular highlight with its big guitar leads - and it brought the band's excellent set to a powerful close. The setlist was:

Days of the Lost

The Needless End

Gateways

Feel What I Believe

In Broken Trust

Last of Our Kind

Shadowminds

It was not too long after The Halo Effect finished their set that the next band hit the stage. I had moved a little further back by this point, but I was still relatively close to the action. I am not sure if the co-headliners are rotating their sets night after night - but in Cardiff it was Amon Amarth that followed The Halo Effect. I had seen the band live once before, but it was a strange, largely instrumental, set that the band put together due to a last-minute illness affecting frontman Johan Hegg. I do not have many memories of the show as a result, so I was essentially treating this as my first Amon Amarth show. I am not exactly the biggest expert when it comes to their catalogue, but I am familiar with most of their albums, and their set turned out to be very much packed full of favourites. Considering that this is their first tour since the pandemic, it is perhaps fitting that they essentially went for something of a best-of set - although a few cuts from the newly-released The Great Heathen Army were also played. It was the fist-pumping Guardians of Asgaard that kicked things off, though, with the mid-paced anthem getting the crowd going from the off. Presentation-wise, Amon Amarth certainly were the best band of the night. They had gone all-out stage set-wise, with drummer Jocke Wallgren sitting atop a large Viking helmet, whilst two large statues flanked him. These statues only lasted for a couple of songs, though, before they were replaced by the two ends of a longship. These old-school props brought to mind those Dio shows from the 1980s that featured the big dragon - and it was good to see the band really making an effort on that front. This would have counted for nothing if the music was not up to scratch, though, but the band were tight. Hegg was a little low in the mix at first, but this was soon rectified and the band powered through a 13-song set with the professionalism of a band in their 30th year. From melodic cuts like Deceiver of the Gods to more in-your-face death metal songs like Get in the Ring - Amon Amarth impressed. Machine Head received a strong reaction, too, but I feel like Amon Amarth might have been the overall favourite of the night judging by the cheers. There was certainly a lot of singing during the folky Heidrun, and the epic Put Your Back Into the Oar prompted large portions of the crowd to sit down and mimic the rowing of a longship. The band certainly had the crowd onside, then, although Hegg trying to get everyone to sing a rather lengthy portion of The Pursuit of Vikings fell somewhat flat - probably due to the length of the verse he was trying to get everyone to sing. Fists-in-the-air songs like Shield Wall and Raise Your Horns did not need such prompting, though, and the back end of the band's set was packed full of anthemic melodic death metal tunes. The crowd sung along to all of the choruses, but it was perhaps the closing track, Twilight of the Thunder God, which received the biggest reaction. For this track, the longship ends were replaced by the World Serpent - which Hegg than proceeded to fight as Thor does in the song (again, bringing those Dio shows to mind). It was all rather silly, but it was fun to see with all the pyro that was going off around the band, and it brought their heavy set to a powerful close. The setlist was:

Guardians of Asgaard

Raven's Flight

The Great Heathen Army

Deceiver of the Gods

Get in the Ring

Heidrun

Put Your Back Into the Oar

The Pursuit of Vikings

The Way of Vikings

First Kill

Shield Wall

Raise Your Horns

Twilight of the Thunder God

There was a bit of a longer changeover between Amon Amarth and Machine Head, during which time I headed much further back. I had no interest in getting involved in any of Machine Head's mosh pits, so opted to watch the show from the back. It seemed to take quite a while for the band to take to the stage, so I am not sure if there was a bit of a delay or some technical issues, so it was around 9:45pm by the time that curtain dropped and the band started. They only had time for ten songs as a result, but some of the songs that they opted to play were quite long. Their set got underway with the thrashy Become the Firestorm - from the new album Of Kingdom and Crown. This was the only new number played, though, which really surprised me. I had assumed that they would have wanted to showcase the album a bit more, but once Become the Firestorm was played the band opted to largely stick to their tried and tested favourites. Like Amon Amarth, I had seen the band once before - so it was fun catching up with Machine Head despite me only really being a casual fan. Their set was packed full of energy, though, and they whipped up a frenzy in the mosh pits. Tracks like the melodic Imperium and the pummelling Ten Ton Hammer certainly pleased those in the pits, but an early highlight for me was the lengthy I Am Hell (Sonata in C#). This opened slowly, with some doomy riffs and lots of pyro, before it exploded into a thrashing monster - with lots of harsh vocals from both frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern. Another real favourite in Aesthetics of Hate followed, with Wacław 'Vogg' Kiełtyka (guitar/vocals) nailing the opening riff. This was another song that got the pits moving, but there was also plenty of singing during both the big chorus and the hooky refrain during the closing section. The ballad-esque Darkness Within then acted as a big of a breather following the relentless energy of the set's opening half. Flynn strapped on his acoustic guitar for part of the song, and toned it down somewhat, although things grew in stature as it progressed. Machine Head have always done this type of dynamic song well, and it shows that they are not as one-dimensional as they might otherwise sometimes appear. Locust followed, which has always been another favourite of mine - and the song's big chorus allowed for some more singing by the large crowd. Time was running out by this point, so following a quick-fire oldie in From This Day the band launched into their usual closing duo. The groove metal anthem Davidian got everyone fired up as usual, with the chorus refrain prompting a huge sing-a-long, before the lengthy Halo brought the night to a close. I have always found Halo to be a bit on the long side, but it comes alive on stage. Both Flynn and Vogg soloed throughout, and it brought the curtain down on what had been an epic evening of metal. The setlist was:

Become the Firestorm

Imperium

Ten Ton Hammer

I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)

Aesthetics of Hate

Darkness Within
Locust

From This Day

Davidian

Halo

I quite like package tours such as this, as you get to see a handful of good bands in one go - and none of the bands on the bill ever outstay their welcome. I might not have made the effort to see just Amon Amarth or just Machine Head - but seeing them both together made the trip very worthwhile. Throw in The Halo Effect, too, who were excellent, and the evening was one very well spent. It was also great to see bands of this nature pulling a decent crowd in an arena. It was not sold out, but the place was busy throughout the evening, and it always great seeing metal being popular - as bands like Machine Head and Amon Amarth are made for the big stage, which they were able to demonstrate yesterday evening in Cardiff.