12/04/2025

LYFE SATURDAY | APR 12, 2025

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Xdinary Heroes performing in Kuala Lumpur

Arch Enemy in fine form on latest album FORMED in 1995 by ex-Carnage members – Michael Amott and Johan Liiva – Arch Enemy gained prominence for skilfully blending

crushing heavy riffs with plenty of melodic moments. However, Arch Enemy truly started to gain attention when the band installed female lead vocalist Angela Gossow in 2000. Having a sculpted Amazonian blonde fronting the band certainly help set Arch Enemy apart from the sea of identikit death metal bands.

electrifying setlist filled with the band’s unique style and heavy hitting tones. Mastercard cardholders in Kuala Lumpur have special access to presale tickets from next Wednesday and Live Nation members can secure tickets during the exclusive Live Nation pre-sale next Thursday. Tickets to public will be available next Friday.

o Six-member South Korean band to play on May 31 F OLLOWING the release of its highly anticipated new EP Beautiful Mind , South Korean rock band Xdinary Heroes has announced its 2025 continued to rise to prominence after their first world tour, making waves at Korean and major international festivals. Malaysian villains can expect a captivating and high energy show with an

world tour. Produced by JYP Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation, the concert will be held on May 31, 5pm at Zepp KL. This will be the band’s first concert in Malaysia since bursting onto the global music scene in 2021. The critically acclaimed sextet has

A dozen albums into its career, Arch Enemy show no signs of taking its collective foot off the pedal. – PICS FROM FACEBOOK @ARCHENEMY

Arch Enemy’s popularity soared and this was backed up by some seriously solid albums, cementing its place as genuine player in the death metal scene. Then Gossow decided to take a step back in 2014. Not wanting to cede ground, Arch Enemy sticked to its tried and trusted formula of having a female lead singer. In stepped Alicia White-Gluz, while possessing the requisite deathly growl, is also significantly enough eye candy to keep legions of male metalheads interested. So, here is album number 12 in Arch Enemy’s storied career. Released on March 28, the latest opus is produced by Jens Brogen and has all the hallmarks of a great Arch Enemy album. Soaring guitar licks, super memorable riffs and roaring vocals, the album is quality melodic death from start to finish. White-Gluz’s death growls are terrific but it is when she lets her clean vocals fly on tracks such as Illuminate the Path and Vivre Libre that she truly stands out as a death metal singer. However, the real stars of the show remain Amott and Joey Conception on guitars, who take their Iron maiden-tinged solos to new heights on tracks such as Paper Tiger and Pendulum . Never slowing down, Arch Enemy take the fast and melodic route to get those craniums shaking with 11 quality tracks that are sure to have extended stays on fan playlists. While not ground breaking, this is a solid album from one of the scene’s veteran bands. Blood Dynasty pales in comparison to The Halo Effect’s March of the Unheard for melodic death metal chutzpah but Arch Enemy’s album does hold an ace up its sleeve in the form of the striking White-Gluz. In a scene populated by bearded, middle-aged growlers, a splash of electric blue (White-Gluz’s favoured shade) is a welcome respite from all the blackness that surrounds death metal. – by R.BALA

This will be the band’s first concert in Malaysia since bursting onto the global music scene.

Xdinary Heroes is a six-member South Korean band. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @XDINARYHEROES_OFFICIAL

Cristoph invites clubbing fans to experience Life Through A Different Lens

TRYING to capture a special vibe, Cristoph (Cristopher Costigan) set upon a vision to release a debut artiste album that truly captures the essence of dusk until dawn clubbing. The result is an 18-track escapade of extended mixes designed to emulate the journey of an open-to-close DJ set. It invites listeners to leave reality at the door and experience Life Through A Different Lens. Mirroring the ebbs and flows, peaks and drops of a real-time DJ set, Life Through A Different Lens calls to be played in chronological order for maximum impact. The track list moves in key and seamlessly harmonises, yet each tune holds its own sonic identity, spanning the full breadth of house and techno. Opening track See Me Now features the soft lyricism of Afnan Prince over empowering keys that soon succumb to a steady house beat. This transitions into A New Chapter , featuring Manny, and is soon followed by debut single String Thing. Curated by Cristoph’s own COS Recordings, he takes full liberty in scouring the label’s ever-growing community of cutting-edge artistes to form meaningful collaborations – the likes of which are heard on dystopian dance number Surrender, featuring Luke Coulson, Harry Diamond hook-up Raise the Alarm and Fractual with ADZ. Preparing the listener to enter peak time, Cristoph unites with long-standing

collaborator Jem Cooke on progressive powerhouse Paradise and demonstrates his signature clean-cut production intent on inflicting pure rapture on the club dancefloor. Now in the thick of the 18-record track list, Cristoph’s sense of experimentation exploits even further. Tech-dubbed Cicada carries industrial attitude yet borrows its intricate mood-shifting effects from samples Cristoph recorded of the insect by which the track is named. Dark undercurrents continue into minimal mover Set the Scene before Redwood with Weska readies the senses to be heightened once again. Lasting impressions come from album single Where Do We Go and Looks Like I’m Waiting with CultureKind, featuring Afnan Prince, as Cristoph closes out the LP on final notes of dark etherealism. Cristoph’s mass appeal unsurprisingly transfers directly onto the dancefloor. Coinciding with the new album, Cristoph’s O2C North America and Canada tour of exclusively open-to-close shows commenced in Toronto yesterday, with Chicago, Detroit and New York in the dates that follow. The artiste is inviting fans to quite literally leave reality at the door, venture into a dark club room of like-minded beings and take a journey into the depths of soul-led electronic music. Cristoph’s Life Through A Different Lens is out now on Consequence of Society Recordings.

Cristoph’s debut album is an 18-track escapade of extended mixes designed to emulate the journey of an open-to-close DJ set.

White-Gluz is the band’s main draw.