Arch Enemy “Blood Dynasty”
Sweden has become the capital of the origins of melodic death metal. With acts like Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork and In Flames helping create what would be dubbed “The Gothenburg Sound”. But one band a lot of people seem to forget or sleep on in the legacy of the sound is Arch Enemy. In an age of death metal vocalists being male fronted, Arch Enemy is a band that help push boundaries and equality. With the band having two legendary female front women in both Angela Gossow and Alissa White-Gluz. The band has also stayed consistent in their sound, while also incorporating new elements into their sound by incorporating clean vocals during the Gluz-era of the band. Since her debut with the band on their eleventh album War Eternal, the band has formed a new stage in their career. With technical guitarist & shredder Jeff Loomis from Nevermore joining the band for two albums, 2017’s Will To Power and 2022’s Deceivers.
Now, with new guitarist Joey Concepcion replacing Loomis and the band’s first new album in three years Blood Dynasty coming out on Century Media Records, has Arch Enemy continued their streak of punishing, unique and driving melodic death metal? Have these Swedish legends continued to leave a powerful and underrated legacy with their new album?
The album opener, ”Dream Stealer”, with its brooding and foreboding pipe organ and brass creates a gothic metal tone. Further emblazoned with choir vocals and synths straight out of the 80’s. Then WHAM, tremolo-almost black metal guitars by Michael Amott & Joey Concepcion kick the door in. Alissa White-Gluz’ vocals have elements of guttural lows, while also capturing the goblin shrieks of black metal. The chorus vocals have that gritty, snarling vocals she is known for in the delivery. Daniel Erlandsson’s drumming is top-notch and front and center on the track. Truly giving that driving force throughout the song and adding more power and heft to the guitars. The tapping lead harmonies near the closing piece sounds straight out of the 80’s, especially into the dive-bomb, wailing solo on the track. Fist pumping, pit-inducing opening track that truly gets the listener pumped for what’s to come.
A gnarly and nasty guitar tone opens “Illuminate The Path”. Sharlee D’Angelo’s thumping bass really adds the pulse and boom to the double bass and chugging guitars in its opening moments. Gluz belts to the rafters on the chorus, and the growl vocals underneath add that theatrical beauty and ugly to the vocal dynamics. Very by the book, meat-and-potatoes melodic death metal in style and playing. Can sometimes be formulaic of the genre. Making it hard to distinguish the song from fellow melo-death acts with the vocals being the only give away. Guitars shred and Gluz gives it her all, but by the end it just wasn’t as strong as the album’s opener.
“March of The Miscreants” opens with a matching guitar and drum attack right out the gate. Gluz is on-point in delivering even more lower register vocals and guttural effects. The song’s pacing amps up and creates a slow, headbang feeling throughout the chorus. Almost machine-like in guitar and drumming (shades of Fear Factory in my opinion), but definitely very heavy and a step back in the right direction from the previous track. With chant-along choruses, high octane drums and that trademark melodic death metal guitar trope, the song sounds like classic Gossow-era Arch Enemy. The musical interlude at the halfway mark switches the pacing and predictability off. Forming a slow-building riff, into dueling leads and Gluz’ shrieking into a heavenly guitar solo. Compounded into brutal, thrash heavy elements before the opening riff comes back more ferocious and pissed-off in the delivery.
“A Million Suns” complex production on the guitars and drums create a grandiose wall of sound attack in the opening. The chorus instantly has that fist banging, chant along aesthetic that will kill when this song gets played live. Amott & Concepcion continue the riff onslaught, creating not only aggressive and pounding riffs, but some nice creative leads on the chorus. Synths appear again around the halfway mark, again bringing that nostalgic 80’s tinge. Before into another classic heavy metal guitar solo. Accented by dueling leads and double bass keeping the drive and presence going through the soaring, harmonious leads.
The thrash-laden opening riff of “Don’t Look Down” instantly had me getting Megadeth Rust in Peace-era during the opening. Not taking their foot off the gas, the song just continues to bombard and pummel the listener with Erlandsson’s drumming just not giving the heaviness a moment to breath. I was headbanging along to the track as the hostility in Gluz’ vocals just match the pissed-off, call-to-arms feel to the song’s overall vibe. And the layered vocals on the song’s singing of the title gave me some goosebumps. Straight for the throat track and my favorite track off the album so far.
After the short, acoustic-driven interlude “Presage”, we get the album’s title track. With piercing, harmonized leads and bells ringing in the background, it sets the stage for a driving “AY” chant live as the thumping kick-drum again checks that nostalgic box of thundering 80’s arena anthem drumming. I like the more midtempo, groovy feel of the song, especially in the chorus. Gluz is all over the place vocally in a good way. You get harsh harmonic sections, deep gravelly and throat shredding deep snarls and fry-screams. The building drums into the bridge was a nice, eerie touch that segues into another great guitar solo as Erlandsson continues to bring that arena-rock, stadium-like build with the drums in the mix. Great track and a guitar lover’s dream track. With so much unique soloing and dynamic harmonies especially near the close of the track.
“Paper Tiger” opens with another VERY 80’s sounding opening riff (you are sensing a theme on this album and review). With a Judas Priest-esque scream, before the band turns full melo-death and gritty vocals by Gluz. I was slow headbanging along with the drums heading into the chorus, as well as stank-facing during the chorus. The guitar lead after the chorus gave me a Glenn Tipton/K.K. Downing vibe right as it kicks in. D’Angelo’s bass thumps with such weight near the bridge that it definitely hits good with a nice pair of headphones. The closing buildup of the song definitely channels that 80’s hair metal/heavy metal sound of acts like Priest. With its anthemic nature, catchy chorus, and overall go for the gusto approach, Arch Enemy pays homage (whether intended or inadvertently) and sticks the landing on the track.
“Vivre Libre” opens with a bluesy, downtrodden clean riff with thundering drums and Gluz delivering clean, sultry and haunting clean vocals. The song has an almost power ballad tinge to it. With ringing guitars, commanding clean vocals, and booming drums, it truly has a slower, more methodical and creative track compared to the rest of the album. Unique in its instrumentation and choice for the album, it can be divisive compared to the rest of the album. I do like the track, but I can also picture some people skipping it with the mindset of “get back to the heavy stuff”.
“The Pendulum” just delivers harmonious choir vocals and a straightforward riff right out of the gate. With a riff that sounds straight off of Anthems of Rebellion, the vocals and choir accents has that cinematic heft to it. The song is unique as the main verses sections are brutal and heavy and make me headbang along, but I feel the chorus just doesn’t deliver the same presence and power that the song does. I’m not sure if its the more faster tempo, higher vocals, or something, but for me it just seems like a step-off somewhere. The guitar solo is shredtacular, though short, but the transition into harmonious dueling leads and thumping drums, adds a unique complexity and force to the song.
Album closer “Liars & Thieves” opens with anthemic and reverb-soaked guitar harmonies and drum strikes. Before switching back up to a front-and-center, straight out of the 80’s riff that morphs into a pretty headbang inducing melo-death riff. It captures the thrash tone of early Exodus and D.R.I. in the drumming and beating over the head riff aggression from Amott & Concepcion. Gluz’ clean vocals return at the halfway mark, that branch off into tribal, heavy drum percussion. The riff comes back faster and nastier and continues to keep pace amongst the impressive guitar solo above it. Before it seems like the song just abruptly ends in my opinion. Feeling like there should have been one more driving riff or solo or chorus.
With Blood Dynasty, I feel Arch Enemy created a record that was unique with some of, in my opinion, the 80’s nostalgia in the guitar solos, harmonies, and thrash influences, but tried to also keep the melodic death metal elements the band is famous for throughout their career. To me, the album is sort of a “crossroads” record. In the sense that the album wasn’t sure what it truly wanted to be, but could be the start of where the band “could” be going. Granted, it still delivers the heaviness of the melo-death sound in tracks like “March of The Miscreants”, but the songs seem to rely too much on the past and not enough for them to stand out enough or identifiable compared to their peers. I did enjoy the record yes, but is it the band’s best record in the Gluz era of the band? No in my opinion, that still belongs to Will To Power. Good record, solid listen and with a couple songs that could be considered misses (“Illuminate The Path”) or missteps (“Vivre Libre”), but for me, a decent record overall in the band’s discography.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
You can pre-save the album on the band’s Spotify or purchase the album on Century Media Records’ Bandcamp. The band is about to embark on a North American tour with support from Fit For An Autopsy, Baest and Thrown into Exile. You can check out dates and purchase tickets HERE.
