Arch Enemy
Rise of the Tyrant
Century Media
Burning wheels turning
After much-publicized stints in Carnage, Carcass, Spiritual Beggars, Candlemass and seven Arch Enemy albums, it’s hard to imagine Mike Amott has anything creative left in his deft snausages, but if Rise of the Tyrant is any indication, the stringburner’s not ready for retirement anytime soon. Nor is the rest of the band. Faster, more strident, yet open and strangely approachable, Rise of the Tyrant marks a significant turning point in Arch Enemy’s sound. Whereas, predecessors Anthems of Rebellion and Doomsday Machine were a little robotic, this time around the group nailed just about everything. Death metal meets hard rock on an even playing field.
Criticism has often fallen upon on Gossow for coating her vocals with effects. Not so this time. The full range and power of her voice is evident, particularly in her nods to American legends Schuldiner and Tardy; she sounds royally pissed on “I Will Live Again,” “In This Shallow Grave” and “Night Falls Fast.” Guitarist Amott—brother Chris returned shortly before recording—is once again a singular force. On one hand, he’s thrashing mad (“Blood on Your Hands” and “The Last Enemy”) à la Mustaine, while on the other he’s rockin’ hard (“Revolution Begins” and “The Great Darkness”) like Michael Schenker covering “Buried Dreams.” His solos on “In This Shallow Grave,” “Vultures” and the title track are white-hot. Though he still thinks he’s writing theme songs for Entertainment Tonight, we’ve not heard Amott this “on fire” since Stigmata.
Overall, the album is Arch Enemy’s most focused, even ambitious effort to date—see Sharlee D’Angelo’s exposed basslines in the Queensrÿche-esque “Revolution Begins”— and while detractors still think the Liiva-era is… er, tits, Rise of the Tyrant proves once and for all it’ll take a woman to do a man’s job. —Chris Dick
