Live Review: Unleash The Archers - Islington Academy, London
16th February 2025
Support: Seven Kingdoms, Striker
Words & Photos: Tom Atkin
Off to lovely ol’ Islington Academy tonight for a great mix of power metal bands. The Academy is an absolute pearler of a venue, this is my second time here and I had forgotten that I do actually enjoy shows here.
Opening up the night is the American power metal band, Seven Kingdoms bringing their unique take on such an open genre. Their whole set was high energy from the get go, with incredible riffs that were flawlessly performed and absolutely captivating melodies that just drew you in. Throwing on top of that Sabrina Valentine’s outstanding vocals, which just brought the whole package together.
The crowd tonight is most definitely the correct scene for them, a packed out venue that are giving a crazy amount of energy back. I arrived to the venue just as the band were taking the stage and instantly they looked to be having the time of their life. Unfortunately this is the only show they are doing in the UK, however they are giving it their all. A perfect opener for a night of great power metal and just a taster of things to come.
Next up we have 2020 Juno award winners, Canadian metallers Striker. Straight away, I have to say that they are an amazing throw back to older thrash/heavy metal. If you have not heard them before imagine Steel Panther but with less sexual innuendos and jokes.
Everything about Striker feels like it was ripped straight from the ‘80s all the different influences are so glaringly obvious, and they have moulded their own unique sound with them all. They are also having an absolute blast on stage, for a band that has seen a fair few lineup changes over the years, their on stage presence does not reflect this.
They joke with each other, interact with the crowd and just generally put on a great show. Mainly performing songs from their 2024 album 'UltraPower' the crowd are just eating it up. Old school headbanging music, I love it, the crowd loves it, and they could have probably done a headline set and kept the crowd with them the whole time!
By this point everyone is suitably warmed up for the second Canadian power house and headliner, Unleash The Archers. As said earlier, this is unfortunately the only UK show of this European tour, however this does show how dedicated their fans are. I spoke to people that had come down from Newcastle, across the country from Wales and some one from Scotland; literally covering all of the UK.
Opening the set with the glorious 'Ph4/NT0mA' we are thrown straight into the power metal heaven that is Unleash The Archers. This genre is one that, in my opinion, can be easily messed up live, everything needs to be on point to put across the grandeur that the songs reflect in a recording, and this is a tight performance, Brittany Slayes vocals are beautiful, almost haunting with the tones that she puts out.
From 'Ghosts in the Mist' to 'Tonight We Ride' everything that they play, which spans from the last 10 years of them being together, is performed flawlessly with the energy building song after song.
There is no faltering, whether its guitarist Grant Truesdel jumping on to the box extension pieces of the stage to pose for the camera, or when he quite literally slid between the rest of the band when they were all grouped together, this is such a well versed performance. It kinda feels as though I am repeating myself a lot lately as every single concert I go to, the bands are just pulling out all the stops to put on incredible shows. All of them are absolutely worthy of where they are and so much more.
I definitely feel that Unleash The Archers need a full UK tour, with some slightly bigger venues. Their performance could definitely be scaled up a few notches. The sound was spot on, the stage presence was incredible, although one thing that I did pick up on, which the band also did, the misting machines, it was a bit over the top for that stage and made it very difficult to see the band through some songs.
So tonights set was made up completely of songs from 2015’s 'Time Stands Still' up to last years 'Phantoma' which seems sensible as this is the era of theirs that has gained them the most fans. Even in this time their sound has changed somewhat, however still staying true to their roots. The performance of each “Era” doesnt have any effect on them, they are still up there doing their very best and loving every minute of it. They are laughing with each other interacting with the crowd and making sure that those lucky enough to attend remember the night.
I hope to see them back on UK soil again, and next time I will be attending as a fan rather than a reviewer!
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
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