Arch Enemy
Stigmata

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.