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THE REVIEW
It might be due to my typically old-fashioned approach towards music, but despite everyone trying to pass these Arch Enemy off as geniuses, I can't seem to find anything good in the Swedish band.
The group formed in 1995 in Halmstad, Sweden, where they started gaining experience by proposing music that over the years progressively moved away from death metal, adopting decidedly more melodic tones, simplifying the offer and making it accessible to an increasingly larger audience: this evolution (or regression) ends in 2000, when the already not-so-great screamer Axelsson is replaced by the beautiful yet bland Angela Gossow, a sort of "furiously angry" Barbie, who with her image manages to skyrocket the band's listenership until it becomes one of the most important and followed bands in the melodic death metal scene.
That's how after "Wages Of Sin," "Anthems Of Rebellion," and "Doomsday Machine," Arch Enemy returns in 2007 with this latest "Rise Of The Tyrant," which honestly marks the lowest point in the career of these five musicians: out of eleven tracks, ten sound disarmingly flat, not only presenting a large number of melodies already heavily exploited by thousands of other groups, but there's also a further simplification in the dynamics of the songs, all structured similarly and presenting the classic verse-chorus-solo scheme more than once.
Terrible is the attempt to grab an even larger audience with the embarrassing lead single "Revolution Begins", a musical base more suitable for groups like Evanescence or Lacuna Coil rather than a death band (moreover, the juxtaposition of the melodic base with Angela's growl voice really clashes).
In this boundless valley of banality, there lies an instrumental piece of great charm, I'm referring to "Intermezzo Liberté", which could help forget a bit all the junk listened to up to that moment, if it weren't that it falls back into crudeness with pieces like "Night Falls Fast" or "The Great Darkness".
There's no need to beat around the bush, if already with the previous "Doomsday Machine" Arch Enemy missed the target, here it seems that our guys didn’t even aim for it, and not even a production costing thousands of euros or excellent execution (the Amott duo has always been synonymous with great technique) can hide evident compositional flaws and lack of ideas.
Failed from every point of view... or almost.
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Summary by Bot
This review of Arch Enemy's 'Rise Of The Tyrant' expresses disappointment with the album's simplified compositional style and unoriginal melodies. While Angela Gossow's presence increased the band's popularity, this album is seen as their lowest point. The reviewer praises only the instrumental 'Intermezzo Liberté' but finds most tracks flat and derivative. Technical proficiency can't hide the lack of creativity.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in Halmstad in 1995 by guitarist Michael Amott after his tenure in Carcass. The early lineup featured vocalist Johan Liiva; Angela Gossow took over in 2000, followed by Alissa White-Gluz in 2014. The band is known for twin-guitar harmonies, high-speed riffing, and a melodic yet aggressive sound across albums like Stigmata, Burning Bridges, Wages of Sin, Doomsday Machine, and Rise of the Tyrant.08 Reviews
Other reviews
By OzzyRotten
"This album sounds damn good and doesn’t tire upon listening."
"Arch Enemy copy is true. But they copy from their own catalog, and being able to do so, they don’t care, constructing a technically excellent album, tasteful in its content and polished in every part."
