The seventh Arch Enemy album 'Rise of the Tyrant' further hones the balance between brutality and melodic edge of Arch Enemy. The song material varies between faster and slower paced tracks, and is dynamic in structure. While Arch Enemy still can be labeled as an extreme metal band, release by release they are becoming more and more accessible to masses. This is strongly due to the group concentrating on catchy songwriting and improving their production continuously. In addition, the plethora of melodic guitar lead passages on this release almost fool one into thinking it's an instrumental album - actually one instrumental track made its way onto this release (Intermezzo Liberté).

Although some of the lead work on 'Rise of the Tyrant' is quite similar to other artists' work, it has been wittily arranged (take "The Last Enemy" for example). Not even the frequent audio beeps included on the promotional copy of this record manage to break the grip this album holds on the listener. Before hearing the album, I was hoping to hear Angela Gossow sing some clean parts on this album alongside her growls. Despite of this not happening, I admit she handles her part really well on this record, and varies vocals nicely from lower growls to higher-pitched overtonic screams and everything in between.

Rise of the Tyrant was produced by Fredrik Nordström (Dimmu Borgir, In Flames) and mixed by Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Nevermore), hence it's not surprising to hear sounds that are apt, assertive, and tight (as is the performance of the band). However, few times distortion leaks into the mix, but it might be caused by the post-processed promotional beeps. As a whole, Rise of the Tyrant is simply a great addition to your extreme metal collection, and I warmly recommend it to anyone who enjoys guitar-driven metal with strong melodies and visceral rhythms.

Release date: September 24th, 2007

Buy this release from Amazon

Visit Artist's Website


- MAGE (September 24th, 2007)

« back

LINE-UP:
Gossow, Angela: Vocals Amott, Michael: Guitars Amott, Christopher: Guitars D'Angelo, Sharlee: Bass Erlandson, Daniel: Drums
Producer:	Nordström, Fredrik
Mixing by:	Sneap, Andy
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Blood on Your Hands 02. The Last Enemy 03. I Will Live Again 04. In This Shallow Grave 05. Revolution Begins 06. Rise of the Tyrant 07. The Day You Died 08. Intermezzo Liberté 09. Night Falls Fast 10. The Great Darkness 11. Vultures Length: 48:32