Islington Assembly Hall, 16th February 2025.
I discovered Unleash the Archers through the recommendation of a Canadian music friend. The moment I heard the firsts drums and guitar riffs I was hooked; Brittney’s voice sealed the deal. It was the music caffeine shot I desperately needed on the day.
I managed to catch their set at Bloodstock last year. There was a lot of anticipation in the audience, especially because they had recently released a new album. Many people around me knew all the lyrics and didn’t hold back from singing them. It definitely rubbed off on the band. It was a fantastic set!
By the time tickets went on sale for their UK/EU tour this year, I was too poor from my most recent gig adventures. It was no surprise they quickly sold out. I decided to sign up on the waiting list anyway. Months later, when a ticket alert showed up on my phone, I got it straight away. Thankfully the bank account had recovered a little bit by then.
Support acts where US power / heavy metal band Seven Kingdoms and Canadian heavy metal band Striker. Life was a little too busy to make a playlist beforehand. I checked out a few of their most popular songs and left it at that.
Seven Kingdoms opened the show with a setlist packed with high energy tracks. Loved the vocals and how they got the crowd going. I had not gotten this vibe from the couple of songs I listened to beforehand, however, my little brain was way to hooked on the energy of the headliners. I am giving them another go as I write, really enjoying it. Definitely recommend checking them out.
Striker was unapologetically cheesy and incredibly funny. They fully embraced their 80s influence. Despite some technical issues with one of the guitars, which they compensated with a good dose of humour, the set was fantastic. The music was so catchy I ended up singing a few choruses straight away. I have been listening to them quite a bit since then.
With a well warmed up audience, it was finally time for Unleash the Archers. The set opened with Ph4NT0mA, the first track from their latest album, and one that had been stuck in my head all week. It was as epic live as I expected, perfect start of the show.
The setlist was a mix of songs from their previous three albums: Phantoma, Abyss and Apex plus a couple of tracks from Explorer and Time Stands Still.
Some of my favourite tracks of the evening were Gods in Decay. Loved the bridge where bass, drums and guitar begin by punctuating each other eventually building up to an epic guitar solo. Another great example of their fantastic drum and guitar work was Apex. Absolutely fantastic live.
Abyss, my all-time favourite, didn’t disappoint. Despite Brittney being very unwell, she kept hitting higher and higher notes to the surprise of the audience. And what to say about the bridge with the call and response guitar solo, it was the cherry on the cake.
Faster than Light really lived up to its name, just as epic as I was expecting with its breakneck speed guitar solos, followed by another amazing vocal performance from Brittney.
What a great night it was, I can go on forever. Hope to catch Unleash the Archers again in the future. If you like power metal dosed with a bit of fantasy and sci-fi, I cannot recommend them enough.
The only slight let down was the lighting, or should I say lack of it. Most of it was coming from the back of the stage. It was quite dark at most times, even for fully sighted people. It was a bit of a shame. You can tell Unleash the Archers had put some work in the stage setup. Luckily, I managed to get a few photos and videos. That definitely helped me get an idea of how things looked like after the show ended.
Venue access
Islington Assembly Hall offer carer / essential companion tickets.
For any specific access requirements, contact the venue in advance to organise.
I called beforehand to request early access and was added to the priority list. Staff allowed me and a friend into the venue as soon as doors opened. This was quite helpful; it gave us extra time to find our way into the hall before it got crowded. The friend I normally go to gigs with had VIP and was allowed insider earlier. They saved us a spot pretty close to the front. It was a little bit different than how I normally organise things. Glad it all worked out in the end.
Travel
Islington Assembly Hall is just over 15min walk from Angel Underground Station.
Bus no 73 stops 2min from the venue coming from Euston.
Since I was traveling from outside London and staying overnight, the easiest thing was to head over the accommodation first,.
I took a train to London Euston for which I had organised assistance from Coventry. Unfortunately, they didn’t meet me when the train arrived at Euston. It was Sunday morning, meaning it was quiet enough to navigate to the station’s information kiosk, where I requested to be guided to the main bus stop.
From there, I quickly hoped on the bus as planned and headed over to Islington. It’s great that London buses announce stops, making it far easy to know when to get off.
I missed the return train I had originally booked assistance for. Thankfully, on my arrival to Euston, a member of staff approached me to check if I needed anything. I explained what happened and that I had an off-peak ticket. They got me on to the next train which was already on the platform. Glad it was all resolved so smoothly. There were no issues on my arrival at Coventry.
I am quite familiar with this travel route. It’s almost the same one I use to go to the eye specialist. Glad the reason for the trip was a metal concert!
Accommodation
I stayed at the Premier Inn Angel Islington. It was a good place, walking distance from both the venue and transport links. Sharing with a friend also made it more friendly on the pocket.
The hotel was good, fairly straight forward to navigate. There were a couple steps at reception which I missed due to being dazzled and ignoring the fact I had a white cane in my hand I could use, resulting in a rather embarrassing blind moment. I did not forget to look out for them for the rest of the time there!
This was a really fun gig adventure. It gave me a chance to reconnect with people I had met in the previous year. It was also a great opportunity to discover new ways to do things autonomously.
There were crazier gig and travel adventures in February I can’t wait to share. Will be back with more soon!
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