Concert Reviews

Live Review: Arch Enemy at the Palladium – May 3rd, 2025

Scott Fontaine covers Arch Enemy, Fit For An Autopsy, BAEST, and Thrown Into Exile.

by Scott Fontaine

Updated May 06, 2025

On May 3rd, the Worcester Palladium hosted a lineup that didn’t just deliver — it devastated. Arch Enemy brought their signature blend of melody and fury to headline, backed by a relentless trio of openers: Fit For an Autopsy, BAEST, and Thrown Into Exile. Each band brought a different flavor of destruction, making this one of the most well-rounded and brutal tours to hit New England this year.

Thrown Into Exile – Rising from the Ashes

Thrown Into Exile opened the night with something to prove — and they delivered like a band with fire in their lungs. Originally formed in Los Angeles and once part of the 2013 Mayhem Festival tour, the band has rebuilt itself more than once. You can feel that scrappy resilience in their live set — it’s not polished to perfection, but that’s part of what makes it hit so hard.

Their set was fast, aggressive, and full of metalcore grit with a thrash backbone. Every riff felt like it had a chip on its shoulder. The Palladium floor, still filling up, quickly turned into a battlefield as the band fired off tracks that were short, sharp, and savage. If you missed their name on the flyer, you won’t forget it now.

BAEST – Danish Death, Unfiltered and Unforgiving

Next up: BAEST. Hailing from Aarhus, Denmark, BAEST (pronounced “beast”) plays with the kind of unholy swagger you only get from bands raised on old-school death metal but unafraid to crank the intensity into the modern age. Their name might be quietly creeping up the international scene, but their live show is anything but reserved.

What makes BAEST stand out is their raw, no-frills approach. They’ve recorded albums live in the studio to capture that natural, unhinged intensity, and it shows. At the Palladium, their set was a whirlwind of blast beats, sinister riffing, and guttural howls that left the crowd stunned — and hungry for more.

The highlight? During one of their final songs, vocalist Simon Olsen jumped into the crowd and performed the entire track from the pit, surrounded by a spiraling circle of fans. It wasn’t just chaotic — it was ceremonial. Fans circled him like a storm around the eye, while he screamed from the center, completely immersed in the chaos he helped create. It was one of the most electrifying, unpredictable moments of the entire night — the kind of thing you don’t just see, you feel.

Fit For an Autopsy – Where Fury Meets Thought

Fit For an Autopsy - (Photos by Scott Fontaine)

There’s heavy, and then there’s Fit For an Autopsy. New Jersey’s deathcore phenoms have always fused intellectual depth with devastating sonic weight, and their Palladium set felt like an apocalypse set to blast beats.

Led by guitarist/producer Will Putney, whose resume includes genre heavyweights like Thy Art Is Murder and Knocked Loose, FFAA’s sound is surgical — punishing but precise. Tracks like “Pandora” and “Far From Heaven” hit like wrecking balls, while “Two Towers” offered a slower, doom-laced reprieve that simmered with atmosphere before boiling over again.

But the moment that pushed their set into legend? Guitarist Patrick Sheridan launched himself into the crowd mid-song, while still playing. With a wireless setup and zero hesitation, he kept riffing as the crowd passed him overhead, a flying wall of ink, strings, and sheer chaos. It wasn’t just a stunt — it was a statement. Fit For an Autopsy doesn’t just perform at you; they drag you into the fire with them.

They’ve become one of the most respected names in modern heavy music for a reason — and moments like that make it easy to see why.

Arch Enemy – The Architects of Controlled Chaos

From the first notes of their intro, Arch Enemy owned the Palladium like a band born to headline. Formed in Sweden in the mid-‘90s by guitarist Michael Amott (ex-Carcass), they’ve long been the blueprint for melodic death metal. But with Alissa White-Gluz at the helm since 2014, they’ve taken on an even more dominant, theatrical presence.

Backed by shred legends Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore) and Amott himself, Arch Enemy’s guitar work is jaw-dropping — intricate, melodic, razor-sharp. They tore through a setlist that blended classics with newer anthems, from “The World Is Yours” to “Handshake With Hell.” Alissa stalked the stage like a general leading her army, her vocals switching from demonic growls to clean crescendos without missing a beat.

The lighting, the pacing, the execution — it was all dialed in. “War Eternal” and “Nemesis” were massive, leaving the audience hoarse and exhausted by the end. Arch Enemy didn’t just headline — they conquered.

Final Thoughts – An 8/10 Night of Mayhem

This wasn’t just a good show — it was a great one. The energy, musicianship, and variety across all four bands made for an unforgettable evening of modern metal at its finest. While Arch Enemy brought headliner-level polish, the raw chaos from BAEST and Fit For an Autopsy gave the night its edge. A couple of technical hiccups or moments of downtime kept it from being a perfect 10, but it was damn close.

⭐

Rating: 8 / 10

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