Customer Reviews

Black Earth

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Black Earth is in my mind one of Arch's best albums, I love the intensity of a bands first cd, and let me tell, Arch sure supplies the power needed right from the begining. I don't have any favorite tracks because all of the songs are simply amazing. The drums are physical and thick, the Amott brothers show off their shredding skills constantly, the vocals are pure gold and powerful, and the bass adds that extra haviness needed in order to fully blow you away, when all of these are combined you get a sick, heavy, melodic CD called Black Earth. Oh, I recommend this version because the 2 bonus tracks rock also! All of the swedish bands like Arch Enemy, Darkane, Opeth, In Flames, Soilwork, rock and truely kow how metal is supposed to be played!

"Black Earth" was Arch Enemy's first album and had Johan Liiva on vocals. Arch Enemy's old material seem to be buried by newer fans now because of the Angela Gossow era. Such a shame because Johan's era was still a good time for Arch Enemy - this CD is probably one of their heaviest and most aggressive. Of course, it's much more darker sounding as well as Liiva has deeper vocals than Angela Gossow does, but I think any fan of Arch Enemy needs to hear what they sounded like in the beginning. You'll be able to tell the difference of the sound of the 2 eras, but it still sounds like Arch Enemy!

This remaster has a very good boost in sound quality from the original with sound just like the Angela Gossow era. Highly recommended for all Arch Enemy fans and fans of melodic death metal!

In my humble opinion, this is the best Arch Enemy album. There's just something about Johan Liiva's voice that Angela Gossow can't match. Also, the guitar work is incredible- the solos and such are very unique-sounding and they contrast the darker feel of the songs perfectly. It's like there's a perfect balance created that no one else can match :). If you want a good Arch Enemy cd, this is the one to buy. Arch Enemy's biggest mistake was getting rid of Johan Liiva, but not to worry- this album will always sport his magnificent vocals.

Arch Enemy gets a fair amount of attention and publicity due to the fact that they were pretty much the first death metal band with a female vocalist. Fortunately, their music more than lives up to the hype. This holds true for their early, pre-Angela Grossow albums as well, of which 1996's Black Earth was the first.

Black Earth is an all-around impressive melodic death metal album. It's exactly what you'd expect a late 90's Swedish melodic death metal album to sound like. It builds on the foundation established by At the Gates and early In Flames that balances crushing thrash riffs with traditional metal melodies, with harsh vocals - provided here by Johan Liiva - giving it an added sense of aggression. The twin guitar attack of Michael and Christopher Amott really stands out (some of these melodies are insane), and you can see how even at the beginning it was the driving force behind Arch Enemy's sound.

If you're only interested in Arch Enemy's current incarnation, then Black Earth probably won't interest you much. If you're a serious Arch Enemy fan, or just appreciate good quality melodic death metal, regardless of how "hot" the singer is, you're going to want to check out this album.

NOTE: The 2002 reissue of Black Earth features three bonus tracks. The first is studio track called "Losing Faith" that was previously only available on the Japanese import. The last two tracks are a pair of Iron Maiden covers - the instrumental "The Ides of March" and the classic "Aces High". I prefer Children of Bodom's version of "Aces High", but Arch Enemy definitely puts an aggressive spin on the song.

NOTE 2: Regain's 2007 reissue of Black Earth contains the same tracks as the 2002 reissue, but adds a bonus video clip of "Bury Me an Angel".

The singer sounds similar to that of Napalm Death's Barney; deep yelling/growling ... vocals. Good balance of brutality with beauty like that of early In Flames. If your a fan of swedish death, look into these guys.

This is an awesome CD. Arch Enemy is one of the best metal bands around. The guitar work is incredible, I cant say enough good things about this band.

(1) Let's start with Bury Me an Angel. The opening to this song just rings with perfection, and when that chorus riff comes in you just can't help but engross yourself fully in the music. The slow solo at the end is really a powerful moment.
(2) Dark Insanity's ultra-fast chorus riff is just made awesome by Erlandsson's sweet drumming. The entrance of the solo on this song is amazing.
(3) No song here beats Eureka's beast of a verse-chorus riffing combo. The combination of these two riffs probably ties it with Bury Me an Angel for favorite.
(4) I really like the solo and verse, although in some ways I think that the chorus could have been more interesting.
(5) Cosmic Retribution's drumming is something powerful, especially entering the chorus. Really cool. Lyrics are pretty cool too.
(6) Demonality is a short instrumental. Thankfully short. Kind of repetitve.
(7) Transmigration Macabre has some serious head-banging quality with the great blend of speed and bass-china cybal slow beat chorus. Very strange lyrics.
(8) Time Capsule is a pretty cool short instrumental. Very different flavor from the rest of the album. Neat.
(9) Fields of Desolation has an absolutely killer blend of riffs that draw you heavily into the song. The only problem is that it gets kind of repetitve, seeing as it basically repeats until that last, kinda standard solo. I really like the version on Wages of Sin.
(10) Losing Faith. Not amazing, but cool.
(11) Ides of March (Iron Maiden?)Another short instrumental, kinda neat.
(12) This Aces High cover is a great finisher for the album. Phew, it rivals the original song for greatness. Absolutely fantastic.

Over all, except for a few "not stunning"'s, this album compiles some of Arch Enemy's best work (and makes me adore their work more and more everyday). Black Earth for me ties with Burning Bridges, with maybe a slight disadvantage, for my favorite Arch Enemy album, and consequently, favorite Death Metal album.

This album kicks ass. I picked this one up after I heard the album 'Wages of Sin', and I like their older material better.

This album is sinister, and full of dark imagery. If you like Arch Enemies 'Dooms Day Machine' .. well, pick this one up and realize the power possesed by this amazing group back in their early days.

Without a doubt, this is my favorite Arch Enemy album.

This album is brutal, very metal, i suggest getting this last in your collection, get Wage of Sin first, or Burning Bridges, this just isnt as good. Best tracks are Cosmic Retribution and Aces High(Iron Madien cover)