(c) 2022 Century Media
- Handshake With Hell
- Deceiver, Deceiver
- In The Eye Of The Storm
- The Watcher
- Poisoned Arrow
- Sunset Over The Empire
- House Of Mirrors
- Spreading Black Wings
- Mourning Star
- One Last Time
- Exiled From Earth
Alissa White-Gluz--Lead Vocals
Michael Amott--Guitars, Backing Vocals
Jeff Loomis--Guitars, Backing Vocals
Sharlee D'Angelo--Bass, Backing Vocals
Daniel Erlandsson--Drums, Percussion
Additional Musician
Raphael Liebermann--Cello on "Poisoned Arrow"
Arch Enemy has long been one of those guilty pleasure bands for me, going clear back to their 2001 album, Wages Of Sin. Sure, I had heard of the band prior to that album, and while I will admit to being a thrasher that was drawn to the melodic death metal sound as a heavier, angrier progression from thrash, the vocals at the time were simply not to my liking. I've never been a fan of "true" death metal, and to me, Arch Enemy's original singer was too much in the "Cookie Monster puking on the microphone" style that I have always abhorred. However, on a chance, I pikced up Wages Of Sin, and was immediately taken by Angela Gossow, who took over lead vocals on that album. All of a sudden, the band really clicked with me, and I felt myself drawn to the raging snarl of the She-Beast that absolutely tore through my speakers on those early albums and tracks like "Rats", "Enemy Within", and one of my favorites, "We Will Rise". From that point on, I was hooked, and have snatched up pretty much everything the band has released from that point forward.
Without delving uber-deeply into the band's history, I will admit to being like pretty much everyone else who is a fan of the band in stating that I was very concerned when Gossow stepped aside as the vocal tormentor of the band, and Alissa White-Gluz was brought aboard. If the goal was simply to replace one stunningly-beautiful woman with a new supermodel snarler, then the band did absolutely the right thing for their image. But White-Gluz was going to have to prove herself vocally to truly be accepted by fans of the band, and while she definitely had her moments on her first record with the band, War Eternal, I felt there was more in there. Then, with the addition of Jeff Loomis of Nevermore fame, I was hopeful the band would take that next significant step to fully realize their overall musical potential, and with 2017's Will To Power, it seemed they were getting closer, but weren't quite there. I love that record...it was easily one of my most-played "gym albums" of 2018...but it still felt like something was being held back, although I couldn't put my finger on exactly what.
However, after a five year stretch between albums, trust me...with Deceivers, they are DEFINITELY there now!
From the moment White-Gluz tears into "Handshake With Hell", there is a brutal-yet-melodic ferocity that I feel has finally captured what I thought Loomis and White-Gluz bring to the band! On this opening track, White-Gluz is afforded the perfect opportunity to showcase everything she has, from the darkest death snarls to a raspy, not-quite-clean-almost-spoken word vocals, to nearly operatic, soaring singing. To me, this song encompasses everything that I had hoped White-Gluz would bring to the band, and perhaps it was Loomis finally feeling comfortable with his creative role as the lead soloist in the band that helped to step up the melodic sensibility of the music without forsaking the fierceness that Arch Enemy has always brought to the table. The guitar work is fierce, but accessible, and the rhythm section is in 100% lock-step right from the start on this album,, and "Handshake With Hell" sets the table for this album perfectly! Check it out below...
From this point forward, the album charges headlong from track to track, tearing through thrashy anthems like "Deceiver, Deceiver" and "Sunset Over The Empire". Speaking specifically about "Deceiver, Deceiver", this song is so brutally aggressive...dare I say "punkish"...that it almost doesn't sound like an Arch Enemy song!
Seriously, I don't recall an AE song in the Gossow era, and definitely not in the White-Gluz era, sounding that completely chaotic, heavy, and aggressive, without becoming so brutal that the melodic part of "melo-death" was lost! No, the melodic part is still there, it's just that the aggression of the track is trying to choke the life out of it! And while it should stand as an outlier on the album, a disruptor of sorts, it really doesn't, which I think is due in large part to the overall heft of the rest of the album, even on the somewhat slower, more muscular tracks like "One Last Time", and personal favorite "In The Eye Of The Storm", which to me is the pinnacle of the White-Gluz era.
Never have I felt like White-Gluz was more in control of a song that on "In The Eye Of The Storm", and I would rank this track not only as her most dominating performance as a singer, but as one of the top handful of songs the band has assembled over the past decade! I have yet to make it through this album with out "In The Eye Of The Storm" being played at least three or four times. Everything about it, from the opening warning effects, to the huge guitar solo, to the massive drum sound, just screams to me when I put this track on. Excellent stuff!
"Spreading Black Wings", is a thunderous mid-paced metalfest that alternately finds White-Gluz skirting the edges of black metal in places with her vocals, while the band mixes in huge power metal chants of "Hey! Hey! Hey!", and they collectively charge through heavy, thrash-inspired rhythm riffs that would make Megadeth proud! Definitely one of the top three or four songs on an album that not a single track leaves me distracted, bored, or reaching for the skip button.
Equally as attention-grabbing is "Poisoned Arrow", an achingly beautiful track with classical elements (including some gorgeous cello work!), a mid-tempo, power metal-ish track not overly removed from what Loomis did with Nevermore, complete with stunning guitar solo work, some of the biggest-sounding drums on the record, all supporting both clean and deathy vocals from White-Gluz. Probably my second favorite here, although it does have to fight with "House Of Mirrors" for that title.
Other standouts for me would have to be "The Watcher", with its speed/thrash metal rhythm guitars and a highly melodic, lyrically simple chorus that openly invites the listener to snarl along; the somewhat surprising instrumental cut, "Mourning Star"; and the angsty "House Of Mirrors", which as I mentioned before may be my second or third favorite on an album of great tracks. Fans of heavy rhythm riffs and chunky, aggressive drum work will love "House Of Mirrors" to be sure!
To me, the completeness of this record is something that the band has been missing for some time now. While every album from the Gossow-era forward features multiple cuts of greatness, the band could be heard to slip into stretches of sameness from time to time, and occasionally a track or two would sneak in that left me scratching my head as to why it was included. Not here, not now. Nothing here sounds the same, yet everything slots together in a amalgamation of melo-death styles and approaches that is unquestionably the pinnacle of Arch Enemy for me! It is everything I have loved about several of the band's previous efforts, and everything I thought this band could be, all rolled into 11 brutally beautiful tracks!
There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the absolute best metal albums of the year, and perhaps my favorite, most-listened to album of this style of the last decade. Somehow, it never manages to leave my vehicle's disc changer! I can also say without question that Arch Enemy is one band whose live show I would absolutely not miss if given the chance to see them!
Rating: Exceptionally crankable, turn this one up to an absolute 9.5!
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