ARCH ENEMY, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, with Septicflesh & Crypta – Riverside Municipal Auditorium – 10/5/26.
Review/Pics: Misael Ruiz
One of the biggest metal tours of the year was announced and it was titled The Wrath Across North America 2026. The tour featured co-headlining sets from Arch Enemy and The Black Dahlia Murder, with support from Septicflesh, Crypta, and Thrown into Exile. The first stop on this massive tour was at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California. Even on a Monday, dedicated metalheads showed up even before doors opened to prepare for a night of brutal metal.
Crypta
Crypta is a death metal band from São Paulo, Brazil, formed in 2019. They have since released two albums, with the latest being Shades of Sorrow in 2023, and a third album currently in the works.
Crypta came out and started their show with “The Other Side of Anger” off the latest album. The death metal growls of Fernanda Lira filled the stage. The audience immediately went into a frenzy and started to mosh. The next song was “Lord of Ruins” and got the crowd moshing just as much. All the band members did a great job playing the music. The next song was a great song called “The Outsider” and had the audience headbanging to it.
Due to technical issues before the start of their performance, Crypta were forced to cut their set short and were unable to perform the live debut of their new song, “A Portrait of Decay.” To end the show, they played the ever-satisfying “From the Ashes,” and the crowd loved moshing to it and banging their heads. A short set, but Crypta made every minute count. The band thanked the audience for coming out and left the stage to make way for the next band.
Septicflesh
Septicflesh are a symphonic death metal band from Athens, Greece. In 2022, they released their eleventh album, Modern Primitive.
The lights went out once again, and the audience cheered with excitement. The first song performed was “Communion,” and it was a blast to hear live as fans banged their heads to the song. The next song was the fan favorite, “The Vampire from Nazareth.” The death metal growls of vocalist Spiros “Seth Siro Anton” Antoniou filled the venue. The powerful “Martyr” was next, and fans were also singing along.
Antoniou noted that they were performing on this tour as a three-piece band for the first time because lead guitarist Christos Antoniou had been injured after falling and breaking a rib. He would join the band later on the tour.
One of the best songs performed by them was “Anubis,” and Antoniou had the audience sing along to the beginning of the song as well as its catchy chorus. The final song of their performance was “Dark Art,” which is always a fitting song as a finale. Septicflesh thanked the audience for coming out early to check out their set and then left the stage. Plenty of music was still left for the night.
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Black Dahlia Murder released their tenth album, Servitude, in 2024. It is their first album not to feature original vocalist Trevor Strnad, who tragically passed away in 2022. Rhythm guitarist Brian Eschbach stepped up and took over vocal duties, as well as guitar duties, since then.
Plenty of TBDM fans were in attendance as they wore their merch. The curtains were closed and opened back up just as the show was about to start, and the floor was covered in fog. The band members came out and started their show with “Necropolis.” This was the first time the band had played this song since 2020. The ferocity of the music didn’t take long to get the audience moshing just as hard, and even crowd surfers made an appearance.
The brutality continued with “Contagion,” followed by “Mammoth’s Hand” off the latest album. Eschbach noted that they would be playing songs they hadn’t played in years. One of those songs was “Moonlight Equilibrium,” which they hadn’t played since 2016. Other rarities included “Miscarriage,” which they hadn’t played since 2009, and “Christ Deformed,” which they hadn’t played since 2010.
Other brutal tracks that were played included “Everything Went Black,” “Nightbringers,” and “Statutory Ape.” The audience never let up and stayed moshing all night, while crowd surfers kept the security staff up front busy.
To end their set, TBDM played their most famous song, “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse,” and Eschbach copied the arm motion that Strnad used to do during the opening of the song as a tribute to him. Eschbach thanked the audience for coming out and then left the stage. One final band remained on this tour, and things were still heating up.
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. In 2025, they released their twelfth album, Blood Dynasty. It is the last album to feature singer Alissa White-Gluz, who left the band later that year. In her place, they got Lauren Hart, the former singer for the band Once Human. This show and tour would mark Hart’s USA debut with Arch Enemy.
The venue was packed and ready for one of Sweden’s best bands. The lights went out once again, and the now fully packed venue roared with excitement as all the band members made their way to the stage and started the guitar intro to “The World Is Yours.” Vocalist Lauren Hart was the last to come out and started to unleash her harsh vocals.
The next track was one of their most popular songs, “Ravenous,” a great, shredding song to sing along to. The third song performed was “War Eternal,” one of the songs from the 2014 album of the same name. The fans still had plenty of energy and kept moshing to the fast music.
More classics were played, including “My Apocalypse,” “Under Black Flags We March,” “The Eagle Flies Alone,” and “No Gods, No Masters.” All the band members were interactive on stage, with Hart headbanging most of the night. Every song was played to perfection.
Nearing the end of the show, Arch Enemy played their most popular song, “Nemesis.” With the intensity of the song, the crowd continued to mosh and release any leftover energy they had. The song ended, and they decided to play one last song. That song was “Fields of Desolation,” which is off their 1996 debut album, Black Earth.
Arch Enemy finished their set, thanked the audience for coming out, and left the stage. A thunderous start to a glorious tour, and this is just the beginning of it.
If you see it come near you, it’s a must-see show!
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