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Exactly twenty years have passed since the release of "Stigmata," the second album by the Swedish band Arch Enemy.
A band built by the six-string demon Michael Amott; famous for being one of the architects of Carcass's Death Metal shift. He is responsible for many of the Ultra-Heavy riffs that have made works like "Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious" and "Heartwork" legendary. But let's leave the carcassian references and return to the Scandinavians.
A work I consider their best: "full" sounds, angry yet always completely under the musicians' control. A technical rate well above the period's average; not only concerning Michael's relentless work, supported by his brother Christopher, on guitar. A very solid rhythm section capable of providing that forward momentum in many of the tracks on the album; and the semi-growl voice of Johan Liiva, clearly understandable in every passage, completing a picture that borders on perfection.
The album that Carcass should have made after the already mentioned "Heartwork." (and it's no coincidence that Michael left the band immediately after its release to form this new project of his).
The internal photos of the band are unsettling, with deadly faces bruised and made unrecognizable by cuts and scars. After all, we are talking about extreme Metal and it all squares.
There are two brief instrumentals that once again highlight the technical prowess of Arch Enemy.
The remaining tracks are on average very long, even exceeding six or seven minutes. Minutes that flow without ever tiring, thanks to a targeted production capable of enhancing every single note, every guitar riff, every tempo change. They are never still, never subdued.
The killer opening shot of "Beast of Man"; the eternally long "Black Heart" with a Thrash-Death pace reminiscent of Slayer; the powerful mid-tempo of the final "Bridge of Destiny" with the instrumental tail of the last two minutes that touches Progressive shores.
Three songs noted for the highest marks.
They will never be able to repeat themselves at such monstrous levels of intensity...SINISTER MEPHISTO...
Diabolos Rising 666.
P.S. I categorically refuse to mention the phrase "Melodic Death Metal" that accompanies the album in many other reviews online. They are Death Metal and nothing more.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Beast of Man (03:35)
Beware the beast of man
For he's the devils pawn
Alone among god's primates
He kills for sport, lust or greed
The sacred scrolls...
The truth unfolds...
Shun him - or become like him
Shun him - the beast of man
Let him not breed in great numbers
For he will make a dessert of his home and yours
Shun him - drive him back into his jungle lair
For he is the harbinger of death
03 Sinister Mephisto (05:45)
Into the night - the darkest corner of my mind
Sink into my inner self, an erotic fantasy
A spiralling vortex - an instant alter ego fix
Here I am the ruler of all, in this kingdom of sin
(Floating in a dreamlike state
I am the emperor of a paralell universe)
Sinister mephisto - ride the sky
Sinister mephisto - the ultimate high
What I can't have in actuality
I feast upon in my "reality"
An extravaganza of forbidden pleasures
No sexual wish dark enough, to suppress
I am no longer a mortal man
As master of the ceremony - divine perversion
I hereby declare the orgy to begin
Ravage yoru luscious virgin flesh (how I love it)
My cup runneth over - drink my distilled insanity
09 Bridge of Destiny (07:44)
Standing at the bridge of destiny
So long since I tasted fear
Lurking in the darkest holes
Awaiting my minds weakest moment
Old words from an old world
Against the laws of nature
They say the truth is overrated
Wall of anger corrupts my thought
Standing at the bridge of destiny
Show me a sign
On the verge of losing my sanity
Free my soul
My inner demons torture me
Flapping their wings in my face
Damn you! You twisted illusion
I am no longer afraid
See through their liquid souls
Evil eyes that will hypnotize
You can no longer hurt me
I am my own worst enemy
Unleash the trapped souls of the dead
Spirits since long forgotten
Guardians fo the lost faith
Destined for glory?
Watch them all turn into sand
And the wind blow them away
Wisdom pours into my soul
...endlessly...
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