Arch Enemy
"Doomsday Machine"
Rating:
Yeah, I know… Sometimes DRS reviews tend to drag out a little, but we’ll leave the short ones for all the other millions of sites out there. We do this our way. We like to go slow and deep. Wet yet? Let’s go…
Arch Enemy fans are divided into two camps: Liiva fans, and Angela fans. Johan Liiva was the original singer on the band’s first three Melo-Death albums, Angela Gossow is the singer on the following three. The bickering goes on forever about whether Arch Enemy sold out when they got rid of Liiva, and enlisted this German madchen, or whether they only then started to realize their musical potential. Who the fuck cares? They are here and now, so let’s get on with the goddamn review…
The first thing that strikes me after the mandatory Smart Metal intro (“Enter The Machine” – beautiful harmonies by the Amott brothers) is that I’ve come home. This is my brand of metal and fits me to a tee, and maybe that is why I consider Arch Enemy the ultimate metal band.
The first “real” song on the album, “Take My Soul”, starts me off a little worried as it launches into one of those standardized patent-applied-for metal core riffs that Killswitch and their buddies have made into a cash cow these days. Fear not… Once the song is over you have enjoyed pure metal at its finest. Daniel’s drumming whipping up a frenzy, Angela’s snarls ripping the hair off your balls, the Amotts carrying the song on superb riffing and insane leads, and Sharlee balancing it all perfectly with his flawless bass playing. In Flames, Soilwork et al, take notes… This is how you can modernize your sound without sounding like you’re blowing every label rep in the country.
“Nemesis” is the track the label decided to share with the world before the release and it is probably the weakest track on the album. Century Media is one of the few real metal labels left in America, but they have Ozzfest and Headbanger’s Ball to worry about, so naturally they want to cater to those dumbass audiences by showcasing the one song Arch Enemy sounds real gay on. All you who only heard this song and dismissed the new album by judging it from “Nemesis”, think again. Even at their gayest, though, I have to say that the guitars still manage to capture some of the original Arch Enemy sound. This is still heads above most other recent metal releases out there.
Next is an interesting mid-tempo piece called “My Apocalypse” that sounds like something out of a personal nightmare of mine. I have one phobia (except spiders – they make me scream like a girl) and that is that fucking “echo-pong” sound submarines make under water. Freaks me the fuck out… And of course that is what we have in the background of this song. Anyway… The song itself has a very interesting static verse riff, more regular rock in its style than metal, and it works really well with the singing. The breakdown in the middle slows things down and we are once again treated to the Amotts haunting us with flowing melodies. This is the kind of song the Liiva-fan camp will complain about, since it’s nothing like their old stuff. Big deal… My wife informs me they stole the guitar melodies from Bananarama. I'll let that stand for her.
Aaahhh… “Carry the cross”. What a great tune. One of my favorites of the album, and it’s also the song where certain inspirational themes can be discerned. This song is a modern homage to old school new thinkers like Mercyful Fate and Candlemass if I ever heard one. The vintage riffing, the moods, the spooky guitars – it’s all there, but Arch Enemy style of course, with the more aggressive approach and the surge of adrenaline pumping throughout the song.
Next we have a song that also borrows a lot from later Mercyful Fate, and even earlier Metallica, in terms of riffing. “I am Legend/Out For Blood” is classic metal with an edge, where the first part is instrumental and the latter a trademark Arch Enemy song with cool breakdowns and stacked riffs punctuating a kickass verse and chorus. Check out the Black Metal blast beats in the middle. Fuck man, that is brutal! And they are immediately followed by the typical Arch Enemy signature guitar interludes.
“Skeleton Dance” is the best track on the album and also best epitomizes what a huge step Arch Enemy has taken into the new millennium, still managing to be all they ever were. Eerie keyboard effects in the background, heavy chugging riffs, Angela justifying her rightful ownership of the vocal position in all her glory. If I was to introduce a new listener to Arch Enemy I would choose this one. Is it Death Metal? Not by any stretch of the imagination. That’s the point. Arch Enemy is NOT death metal anymore and should not be jammed into that niche. This is for fans of METAL period.
Instrumentals can be a boring thing, sometimes slowing down the momentum of an album. Not so with Arch Enemy. The track “Hybrids Of Steel” could just as well be called “Bastards Of Metal”, and I guess that is the point here. The band showcases its mastery of any genre in the metal field, from progressive Dream Theaterish passages, through brutal stomps, to classic twin guitar leads – and still manage to make it all sound like nothing but Arch Enemy. If this doesn’t get you going, you have no heart for quality music. Beautiful…
Usually bands throw in a couple of fillers at the end of an album since today’s audience has the attention span of a bowl of Goldfish, but not this band… “Mechanic God Creation” could have been the strong opening track of any metal album. Strong riffs, pumping rhythms, melodic chorus with enough balls to the wall to make you wanna break some shit. Arch Enemy just picked up In Flames from the bottom of the food chain, wiped their collective ass with the damn sellouts, and threw them back. This is the real deal.
Erlandsson is fucking amazing on this album. Not since Mikkey Dee in King Diamond have I enjoyed a drummer this much. Even when he does nothing spectacular, he is just perfectly RIGHT. “Machtkampf” is a furious stomping ground for the band to just go nuts. Locomotive Metal that will land you in a ditch if you happen to be driving as you listen to it.
All good things have to come to an end… Even so this album. “Slaves of yesterday” wraps this CD up with a classic Enemy tune, loaded with characteristic guitar riffs and strong melodies. Some spooky Silent Hill harmonies in the background adds a wicked touch. I wish it would never end.
The production is overall eminent, courtesy of the band itself together with Richard Bengtsson – mixed by Andy Sneap. Almost perfect. With such a distinct and technical drummer as Erlandsson it’s important you don’t make the drums too prominent in the mix, or make them sound too clear or clinical, as you will end up with that over-the-top Vinnie Paul bass drum sound that just drown the riffs in generic thunder. The drum mix is perfect and really drives Erlandsson home as one of the more talented metal drummers on the scene today. Speaking of riffs… That’s where my main problem with the production lies. Both Amott brothers have a very flimsy soggy distortion sound, making the muted parts sound kind of frayed around the edges. This sometimes causes the muted parts to bleed all over themselves a little, and it takes away a tiny bit from the overall picture. Not much, but still… Perfection is such a fickle thing.
One of the things that distinguish a classic band from a flash-in-the-pan band is their ability to create a three album legacy. That means, to release three quality albums in sequence, pushing your musical boundaries without missing a beat or straying from who you are, building a following from the ground up. The giants of metal are just that, because they have at least a three album legacy in the trunk; Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth… With this release Arch Enemy has both joined the ranks of those bands, and made a point to their fans of both camps; This is the new Arch Enemy. This is what they sound like today. The three-album-legacy of the Liiva-era, as good as it was, now has a perfect match in the three-album legacy of the Angela-era.
Arch Enemy combines all aspects of metal to fit their musical vision and they execute with tremendous force and conviction. They have gone from being a pioneering Melo-Death Metal band to being the very forerunner for a new brand of metal, even more open to listeners from all over the metal world, without selling out like certain former colleagues in the process. Arch Enemy is a fist in the air and a big middle finger to all the generic MTV-Metal bands out there that think they have to subscribe to the generic Ozzfest formula to sell records and be considered “metal” by the trained monkeys that make up most of today’s metal audience.
This is the new metal for the 21st century. This is Arch Metal. This is the hump that other bands need to learn to crawl over to retain some integrity and still stay in the game.
Reviewed by:
Skeletal Grace
Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.
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