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This is going to be a really tough review to write, and to explain why,
one would have to be familiar with Arch Enemy's groundbreaking opus
Black Earth. That album is a masterpiece, which of course, leads to
unrealistic expectations for the next album, setting up anticipation
for another work of unparalleled genius. Of course, we all know that
this may or may not happen (cases:
Wolverine Blues, Swansong and
Whoracle, to name a few), and it
appears that disappointment is here again, as the inevitable transition
to a major label has fancied up the bare bones, rushed in the studio,
kick ass sound that permeated the
first release. Much of the change may be attributed that the facts
that the band expanded to a five piece, they had tons more time to
write these songs, and that the rhythm section is really
Armageddon. How much the drumming may
change the overall sound of this band is best evidenced on the opening track,
which is the closest in sound to their older material (Daniel Erlandsson is
the original drummer, and he plays on Beast of Man). The rest of the
album is still pretty damn heavy, but there are more "Gothenburg sound"
elements, and quite a few times a hear a lot of
In Flames in here. Some other changes? The vocals, which just fit so
damn perfectly on the last album, are sometimes way mismatched with the
melody lines, most noticably in the choruses (Let the Killing Begin springs
to mind). So, why was it still album of the week? Because, while
I am disappointed to see the
riff juggernaut that was Arch Enemy become more progressive, I realize
that bands must grow, and for fairness, I'll try to leave the comparison's from
the first release out and give my review.
The Brothers Amott are, in my opinion, one of, if not the, best guitarists/
songwriting pairs in metal today. There are so many moments of pure brilliance
here that I can't even begin to describe.
Songs are longer than on Black Earth (the album), mixing different
ideas together to produce another killer slab of Swedish Metal. Of course,
this doesn't always work, and there are a few spots that make me cringe (again,
the Iron Maideny/In Flamesy chorus of Let the Killing Begin), but these spots
are few and far between, and Black Earth (the song) is just so fucking
incredible it's worth the price of the album alone. Drumming is similar to
that of Armageddon (surprise, surprise), very flashy, lots of double bass/splash
cymbal hits. I am a big fan of this (normally) but I miss the
controlled chaos of Daniel Erlandsson, who seems to add a level of emotion
(see Eucharist) where Peter Wildoer
offers a more mathematical/fusion oriented approach. Bottom line? There's
just no comparison to the first album, this being a much slicker offering, but
this is still a riff monster that blows away everything else out being
released these days, and that makes this mandatory.
9 out of 10
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