ARCH ENEMY - Deceivers
Century Media Records
It's been a while since I actually took some interest in an ARCH ENEMY release. Don't get me wrong I was a fan of the band for a long time. But I have to say 2007's Rise of the Tyrant was the last full length of theirs I thought was decent. And yes the key word for ARCH ENEMY has always been decent. Whether it was the early days with Johan Liiva singing or his replacement Angela Gossow. The band never put out a perfect album. But they sure put out some decent ones.
But after Rise of the Tyrant it was pretty much shit. So in 2014 Angela Gossow decided to leave but did pick her successor. That would be present singer/blue haired Pilates instructor Alissa White-Gluz. I have to say that when word got out on Alissa White-Gluz being the band's new vocalist I figured they're going metal-core for the kiddies. I mean seriously her previous band THE AGONIST was a metal-core act. Just listen to their 2007 debut Once Only Imagined.
So be that as it may I gave that ARCH ENEMY release, War Eternal from 2014, a chance and was disappointed. I mean nothing against the singer. She basically was a CREEM Dream front woman told to growl along to Michael Amott crappy songs. The same goes for 2017's Will to Power. Once again crappy songs but Alissa White-Gluz got to stand out more with her vocals by adding those cleans.
So here we are in 2022, post pandemic and plenty of time to create something better. Is the third time the charm? Well actually it is. Deceivers is a decent album because of a couple of obvious reasons. First off Michael Amott brings in some past riffs, from the Angela era, and more of the same from what he's been writing of late. But they're more melodic death metal than metal-core influenced.
Secondly I think the rhythm section of drummer Daniel Erlandsson and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo are doing more than keeping time as with past crap releases. As far as Jeff Loomis' leads go well he's better than Nick Cordle but hey Christopher Amott was the best. Finally they let the blue haired Pilates instructor Alissa White-Gluz sing and show some distinct ability. I mean her growled vocals are kinda generic at this point (metal-core). But when I heard her cleans on opener "Handshake with Hell" I was impressed. Add to that her witch vocals on "The Watcher".
All in all with a diversity of song structures, reminiscent of old, letting the rest of the band shine and giving your singer room to show off some of her talent. Yeah this is a good album. FINALLY!!!!!
LISTEN HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTmo0JRpKDA
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