Customer Reviews

Rise of the Tyrant

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wow, what an album. In my opinion, there has been a lot of great metal releases so far in 2007, so when I discovered that Arch Enemy was releasing an album in September, I was incredibly excited to say the least. I've been a big fan of the band's Angela Gossow-era releases since shortly after seeing them on Ozzfest in 2005 (I have yet to delve into their works with their former vocalist, Johan Liiva. It's on my to-do list...), and "Wages of Sin" is in my opinion their high point with Angela. The following two releases "Anthems of Rebellion" and "Doomsday Machine" were good, but didn't quite match up with "Wages..."

So how does Arch Enemy's newest album "Rise of the Tyrant" stand up to their past releases? Simply put, it is astounding. "Rise..." is easily better than "Anthems..." and "Doomsday...", and I'm hard-pressed in trying to decide whether it's going to replace "Wages..." as my favorite Gossow-era Arch Enemy album.

From the moment the album kicks off with the sirens of "Blood on your Hands," you know you're in for one heck of a ride. Arch Enemy does what they do best, and the results do not disappoint in the least. Every song on this album is full of energy, and carries that signature Arch Enemy sound with it. There is not a single bad or boring song on this album. The band is at the top of their game here, and the musicianship put into these songs is excellent. Angela roars her vocals out with her traditional growling voice, and some of the parts she does are full of emotion as she sings them. The Amott brothers Michael and Christopher work their magic on interchanging lead and rhythm guitars, delivering plenty of memorable riffs and solos throughout the album. A note about the guitars, which I noticed upon first hearing "Blood on your Hands," is that they seem to more "rough" or "abrasive" in their sound than on previous albums. They aren't quite what I would consider "raw", but they lean more towards that kind of sound than they have in the past, I think. Drummer Danial Erlandsson helps move the band along with plenty of double-bass work and other foot-tapping and finger-drumming percussive noise. And bassist Sharlee D'Angelo works the low frequencies with parts that help give a bit more thickness to the guitars (although you'll have to listen closely to pick it out... It's there though!)

The songs themselves are all what you might expect to hear if you were listening to "Wages of Sin." That said, the writing and musicianship put into them is very very good. That doesn't necessarily mean that "Rise of the Tyrant" is simply a "Wages of Sin: Part 2." No, this album is a work all of its own, and carries with it its own sound that simply echoes the great songwriting of "Wages..." As I've already said, all of the songs on this album are very good. A few standouts, though, include the opener "Blood on your Hands," "The Last Enemy," which features some great drumwork, "Revolution Begins," which is just plain catchy and enjoyable, the wonderful instrumental "Intermezzo Liberte," in which the Amott brothers showcase some of their awesome guitar work, and the closer "Vultures," which features some near-shrieking vocal work from Angela ends with a nice piano part. And I know that another reviewer has already stated this in his review, and I'm not trying to rip his review off or anything, but if you play this final track back-to-back with "Enemy Within" off of "Wages of Sin," which opens with a piano part, it sounds really really cool. Sort of a "full circle" effect, like how System of a Down opened and closed their two-album "Mesmerize/Hypnotize" set with two different versions of the song "Soldier Side."

On a final note, "Rise of the Tyrant" is undoubtedly one of the best metal albums that has been or will be released during 2007. If you're a fan of the band, or just a metalhead in general, then you owe it to yourself to pick it up and see why. If you don't, then I think you are truly doing yourself a large disservice.

Watch out Machine Head... Arch Enemy's after your spot for "Album of the Year..."

My favorite arch enemy up until this release was Burning Bridges. I like their stuff before and the stuff after but to me BB was perfect; they nailed everything on that record: the melodies, the solos, the vocals, everything was perfect and spot on and I doubt they would ever surpass it. I never had a problem with Gossow; I don't think her vocals are as great as johan's but they are still pretty solid. The records with her (up until this point) were great release but each one was missing something: wages of sin was too long winded and after about track seven, i fell asleep. Athems of Rebellion was a little too dumb downed in places and like a lot of aggression. doomsday machine was heavy and often scary in places but there was a certain edge that it didn't have and her vocals also sounded over processed and fake. after DM, i was ready for gossow to leave.

Enter rise of the tyrant: the bands best record to date. While she still doesn't have the greatest rang (yes you can have range with growls), she sounds infinitely more confident this time around and she seems to scream, growl, and yell from the gut this time rather than letting the studio hide her true power.

The drumming, while still not too spectacular, is a lot more intricate and interesting this time around. Most importantly, the ammott brothers are back in full game. Solid, heavy, riffs mixed with rapid fire fretting speed are displayed here on full force and the melodies once again mix effortlessly with the dark heaviness. The solos are, of course, out of this world as are the duel melodies.

Arch Enemy has reawakened from a slumber they have been in since they have recruited gossow and they are all the better for it. They are back full forth and nothing will stop them. Congrats, guys (and girl).

Arch Enemy has long been one of the banner waving Metal bands on the front lines bringing in new fans to the scene. Gaining popularity through having one of the most brutal lead vocalist's of the female gender and of course the ripping duel guitars we all love and adore. That said this album was possibly one of my biggest let downs of 2007.

Don't get me wrong the album is heavier then ever and their are a couple good tracks here and there but comparing this to Doomsday Machine, its a huge step back for the band.

First is the obvious change in the vocal department. Angela Gossgow has become an icon in the metal industry as easily one of (if not the) most talented female vocalists on the scene. Her style on Dommsday Machine was flawless and mixed well with the brooding, fast paced and brutal tracks. The obvious change is AE decided to not use all the special effects and it truly hurt the depth of her vocals. I want back the echo's and the creepy voice over voice screams and all that good stuff. I truly can see now after listening to Rise of the Tyrant that the sound effects used on Doomsday helped add depth and atmosphere to the tracks and give AE their own sound.

The guitars as per usual with AE have some intense moments but yet again comparing the guitars on ROTT to those on Doomsday, its yet another step back for the band. Their are a few solos here and their that I enjoyed but nothing that truly grabbed my intrest to want to hear it over and over like many of the solo's on Doomsday did. Their are some quality riffs but yet again nothing drasticly original and far from being a step forward from Doomsday.

Without beating around the bush, I don't like this new direction what-so-ever. I felt as though each track sounded to much the same and didn't really bring anything new to the table. Unless Arch Enemy bring back the dark atmosphere they so flawlessly captured on Doomsday Machine I truly feel they will alienate me and many others as fans. It's truly sad to see such a great band release something so bland and unoriginal. Thanks for reading and I insist you comment with your opinions, all comments WILL be answered.

I strongly condone purchasing Doomsday Machine rather then Rise of the Tyrant. New fans I advise staying clear of this album until you've heard more of the rest of Arch Enemy's discography. Thanks again for reading and please vote whether this helped you or not.


-A Metal Lover

This is not my favorite Arch Enemy album, Ill say that now. A lot of the rhythm is very generic sounding.Its the simple fact that they are so good with the lead lines and embelishments that the songs get a seperate feel from each other.Some thrash, some dive into classical influences, and that diversity makes it sound like a solid album.

My biggest problem with this album is the vocals.Im by no way a huge fan of screams and growls, but when its done well I can listen to it and to a degree enjoy it.I find Wages of Sin and Doomsday Machine fine in this aspect.This, however, is not cutting it for me.Every track seems to be at her highest volume possible, to a point where it sounds low budget and I honestly cant remember most lines besides the clearer chorus lines.Mostly because I dont know what shes saying.At times songs seem interrupted by the random, badly placed screams of single words like "genocide". Besides a track or two, I feel like a "been there done that" with the vocals, its a nonstop assault of what Ive described.

As a whole its good, I just feel like it should have been a bit better coming from a band with such great talent.Ill put it this way- for my complaints, I still listen to the album.Im still an obvious fan.I just personally prefer a bit more of the melodic part as opposed to the death metal part.

The artwork throughout is quite nice if anyone was wondering.

Certainly not.

Arch Enemy has a great deal to offer and, while this album is a solid effort, it lacks a certain amount of enthusiasm showcased in their other material. For those looking to get into Arch Enemy, I'd start with something else. Consider Wages of Sin. If you're already a fan, though, this album is certainly worth having.

Arch Enemy has been getting better and better with each release so far, most apparently since Anthems of Rebellion. Rise of the Tyrant certainly is no exception and with this release you can expect an even more refined, powerful sound than before. Absolutely every song is a metallic masterpiece in and of itself, but like in every other album, some shine more than others. For example, the album opener, "Blood On Your Hands", is one of Arch Enemy's greatest songs. The brilliance of other songs, such as "I Will Live Again", "The Day You Died", and "Vultures" cannot be denied either. Unfortunately there is just one instrumental, "Intermezzo Liberte", but the awesome guitarwork in it and throughout the album should make up for it. Overall, I'd have to say Rise of the Tyrant is Arch Enemy's strongest effort to date, and if you're a fan of metal at all, you MUST listen to it. It's that awesome, and even more so when listened to in one sitting. Buy it and you will be blown away.

Picked this up because I was going to see them open up for Machine Head and Trivium but never really listend to any of their stuff before. Picked up this one and Doomsday Machine and holy sh@t, what a brilliant surprise. This album (and doomsday) rock. I had to to a double take when I first heard the singing and who their singer was. I don't usually care for female singers with my metal, it tends to sound like opera over metal, or over sappy goth. But she can really belt it out. Even if you strip away vocals, you've got some incredible guitar work going on too. Bottom line, if you like Devil Driver, InFlames or 3 inches of blood, I think you'll really going to enjoy this CD.

I can't believe that I haven't heard of Arch Enemy before! I got this album on a whim after seeing a 10-second clip of their playing on a metal documentary. The riff was cool and, I have to admit, I was curious about the novelty of having a female vocalist in an extreme metal band. Believe me--this band is no novelty act. This is killer metal with a very high degree of musicianship. I've been playing it constantly for the last two weeks

I was surprised to see that Arch Enemy is described as Death Metal. This is so much better than Death Metal band I've ever heard. (Honestly, I don't think I've heard any Death Metal yet that doesn't suck but, I admit, I haven't heard that much.) I really think the label is misplaced. Frankly, if you remove the vocals, it sounds a lot like Megadeth to me. (Although there is one track with a strong element of Yngwie-esque euro-power-metal but, hey, they are Swedish after all.) If I were forced to put a label on this album, I would say it is more akin to American New Wave metal than Death Metal but, whatever.

This is a consistent album with all the songs ranging from good to great. No filler in the mix. As soon as I listened through it the first time, I logged back on and ordered two more Arch Enemy albums.

Highly recommended.

As soon as the album begins, Doomsday Machine is but a dusty old memory. Gone is the stale and industrial touch, and there's an infusion of life - melody, feeling, joy, power! You could tell the band were enjoying themselves when every single song (save maybe the title track, oddly enough) is such an infectious one. You'll be singing, screaming or even humming this album long after you've stopped listening to it, and not only that - but thematically, it's much stronger than before. There's a biblical, epic, almost literary touch going on here - like some Greek tragedy on display by five great musicians. There's even a great sadness conveyed by songs like "The Day You Died" (inspired by the anime Grave of the Fireflies), something we could use after so much doom and gloom. There's not much more to say, except that the pace is relentless, the melodies are fantastic and infectious, and that even Angela's vocals are providing something new (even though she's put aside the growling on this album, she sometimes does lighter, raspier screams that sound pretty unique). So far, it's their crowning achievement.

This album permanantly placed Arch Enemy in my top ten metal bands, with its continuation of rockin' melodic guitars, brutal riffs, evil vocals, and pounding rhythms. Michael Amott has built one of the best of the new wave of extreme metal groups here, and with this album, has almost propelled them into the mainstream, despite the brutal death metal tendencies. Just about anyone who knows anything about modern heavy metal knows Arch Enemy is one of the better bands out there, along with Chimaira, Lamb of God, In Flames, Shadows Fall, and Children of Bodom. This release easily lives up to any of the recent heavy metal CD's, including, if not surpassing offerings from Slipknot, Disturbed, and even the mighty Metallica.
It instantaneously kills with Blood On Your Hands, then somehow picks it up with The Last Enemy. I Will Live Again, and In This Shallow Grave continue the assault, leaving you absolutely pummeled by the middle of the album with this classic Swedish Melodic Death Metal masterpiece.
Rise of The Tyrant continues the brutallity, all the while containing the classic metal influences, and delivering one of the best songs of the album.
Angela Gossow continues to prove women have a place in extreme metal with this album, delivering possibly her most vicious outing to date, albiet during one of the Arch Enemy's most melodic releases. Rise of The Tyrant is definately a must have for fans of modern heavy metal, especially fans of Melodic Death Metal. This may be the best CD Arch Enemy has made, or at least close to it, just behind Wages of Sin.
The thing I like the most about this band, is that while they play a brutally precise death metal, they also rock it, with a terrific dual guitar attack, paying homage to the great ones such as Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. If you like death metal bands to have that edge, Arch Enemy may be the band for you. Check them out.