The Arch Enemy thread

[Peter Mc]

Arch Enemy is a band that tries to be too many things at once, and it just doesn't fit together for me. Most songs start heavy and mean then devolve into the soppiest, mellowest slow crap imaginable.

It sucks, since Jeff Loomis is my favorite guitarist on the planet. I wish he played in a more badass band. But you can't argue with Arch Enemy's fame.

Hmmm....off topic but I may take Chris over Jeff.  I've just always loved his playing.  But then I think of some Nevermore solos and go......ah yes, this guy is amazing.

I met Chris Broderick a few years ago and got one of his picks. Thick, solid, unbendable pick. It totally explains why his solos have so much attack.

I don’t think that can be applied to the two new singles unless we have very different definitions of mellow and soppy.  Deceiver, Deceiver in particular is pretty relentlessly heavy.

[MinistroRaven]

On July 29th, extreme metal masters Arch Enemy will release their 11th studio album, Deceivers, via Century Media Records. For a preview of the record, the new single, "Handshake With Hell", can be streamed worldwide now HERE. Directed by Patric Ullaeus, the video premiere for "Handshake With Hell" is set for 9AM PT//12PM ET//6PM CET today at: https://youtu.be/dsuhfOD7emE

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Oh nice hearing some clean singing from Alissa. That's a pretty kickass song!

[Peter Mc]

Three for three for Arch Enemy imo.  I’ve never owned an Arch Enemy album (and believe me I’ve tried them a few times) but I will be buying this one!  All three songs are absolutely fire.  Love the cleans in this too.  Very reminiscent of Judas Priest to me but done well, not like the awful KK Priest thing.

[Adami]

I love Wages of Sin and Anthem of Rebellion. I liked a few songs off Doomsday Machine but never connected much with stuff after that. Minus a song here or there.

I haven’t heard this last song yet but I’ve really dug the two before it. So I’m hopeful!


If anyone wants a fantastic band (with like 1-2 albums only sadly) that are doing Arch Enemy but better recently, check out Once Human.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

"Handshake With Hell" is by far my favorite of the singles so far, it actually makes more usage of Alissa and Jeff's gifts this time. 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Sometimes I like the small things, like a straight forward classic tap solo just after a slow section in a song. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Finished the new album.  Nothing spectacular, and still below what they'd be capable of if Michael actually let Loomis contribute to the writing, but it's probably the best album since Rise of the Tyrant.  Having Alissa perform a few clean sections definitely helped, though I would've liked more.  I don't know if she's gotten better at them since The Agonist even though she doesn't really employ them with AE, or if it's just the production, but they elevated moments of a few tracks.  "Mourning Star" is a pretty interlude.  I wish they had more riffs like "Nemesis", "Ravenous", or "Bury Me An Angel", or the epic harmonies like "Bridge of Destiny", those days seem to be gone. 

[twosuitsluke]

I was surprised by how much I liked this. I was a pretty big fan back in the Gossow days, but I kinda lost interest after Rose of the Tyrant. I think I've at least checked out all the subsequent albums at least once, but none of them have done much for me.

This new album impressed me on first listen and I definitely want to follow it up with a second listen to see if it really was as good as I thought. Handshake with Hell was particularly good and I loved the solo at the end.

I went from this straight to the other significant melodeath album that just dropped, and to be honest was way more impressed by Deceivers.