Arch Enemy - Will To Power (2017)

It seems like most fans of Arch Enemy has taken the vocalist change from the close to legendary Angela Gossow to former The Agonist singer Alissa White-Gluz pretty good so far. The first album with her in charge, "War Eternal", was a nice start, displaying some good energy and interesting ideas. But it is with this album, their 11th one entitled "Will To Power", where the new era of Arch Enemy will show whether they will sink or float, if they continue with these interesting new ideas, or just goes back to old habits.

Well, the band actually goes both ways, but unfortunately, it is the newer ideas that are kind of hidden in the shadows, and even if they are new to the band itself, they are far from original in the grand scheme of things. The most "experimental" bit of "Will To Power" is that we get to hear a good amount of Alissa's clean vocals, which is really surprising. It certainly gives the album more variety, and it works to some extent, but at times, it ends up being a big knock off of Alissa's time in The Agonist, which really does not suit Arch Enemy very well. It might be a direct effect of Alissa being more of a factor in the song writing, but they could definitely have done this differently.

Otherwise, it is just basic Arch Enemy music we get in "Will To Power", melodic death metal where the guitars of Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis are in the center, with some strong female vocals of course. This will definitely please the hard core fans, but I cannot help but feeling that they are just going in neutral mode, not putting in the effort to take the band to the next level. I mean, there is so much talent in this group, guys that are killing it in their side projects, such as Spiritual Beggars, The Night Flight Orchestra, and Conquering Dystopia, but when they turn their focus to Arch Enemy, they seem to not care all too much.

This is obviously a shame, because I do appreciate the performances here. Michael and Jeff does spit out some great riffs and solos here and there, Alissa nails both the harsh and clean vocals, and the drums, by long time member Daniel Erlandsson, got that same hard hitting feeling that we would expect from this band, but all of these performances are used in songs that lacks punch and ingenuity, and the few songs that do feel different are so for the wrong reasons. The intro "Set Flame To The Night" is fantastic, but it is just a one minute intro, so it does not really add anything, which also goes for the cover of the GBH song "City Baby Attacked By Rats" (although it being fantastic is kind of wrong, it is at most okay).

It is actually kind of ironic that one of the best songs of the record is a rip off of the very song that defines the Arch Enemy formula, "Nemesis". The lead single "The World Is Yours" has all of the familiar tricks, a speedy intro, an incredible catchy main riff and chorus, and an epic finisher that includes a magnificent solo. Once again, a great song, but because it is so similar to "Nemesis", it just ticks me off quite a lot, and summarizes "Will To Power" in general pretty accurately, an album that tries to be something great, but ends up being an uninspired meh of an album. Speaking of ticking me off, "Murder Scene" does so too, being one of the more energetic songs of the record, but having the guitar work that fits more with In Flames. I love In Flames, so I definitely like the song, but it is weird that Arch Enemy came up with this one, because besides from being Swedish and a melo death band, the two bands have nothing in common.

So technically, I cannot call "Will To Power" a bad album, because it has some moments where the band tries to bring something new to the table, but it all goes unnoticed for material that is more safe in its approach. The guitar work is really nice, and the other performances are professional, but that is probably the only brilliant aspects of the album, the songs are mediocre, the lyrics are either cheesy or forgettable, and the overall tone of the album is nothing special at all. That second wind the band got from "War Eternal" did not last very long, now did it?

Songs worthy of recognition: The World Is Yours, The Race, Dreams of Retribution

Rating: 5,5/10 Murder Scenes

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War Eternal

Arch Enemy - War Eternal (2014)

There were probably a lot of you that were shocked when you woke up to the news that Angela Gossow, the female front figure of death metal band Arch Enemy, had left her position, after 14 years of excellent service, to instead focus on being involved in the band's management. Not only has Angela been the singer for one of the biggest death metal bands out there today, she paved the way for female vocalists to show that even they can execute brutal vocal melodies with their voices, so who ever would take her place, would have a tough job ahead of them.

Eventually, it stood clear that it was Alissa White-Gluz who would be the new queen of Arch Enemy. Alissa is mostly known for her work in The Agonist, where she mixed both harsh and clean vocals, and she has definitely done some good work there (the latest album for example, "Prisoners"). So with in mind of what she has done in the past and what capacity she has, I think Alissa is a good replacement for the band.

And that becomes even more evident in the band's 10th studio offering, "War Eternal". Alissa does a great job behind the microphone with her large vocal range. And no, she doesn't use her clean vocals once throughout the album (except for one small part in the chorus of "Avalanche", but it is non significant), which is of course an instant plus (could you imagine? Arch Enemy with clean vocals? eww).

Besides from Alissa, there is not much that has changed with Arch Enemy between this album and its predecessor, "Khaos Legions". Although Cristopher Amott left the band once again in 2012 (replaced by Nick Cordle), it is still his brother and founding member Michael Amott that rules the guitar playing with his mix of melodic and heavy riffs. And together with the intense drumming by Daniel Erlandsson and the deep bass rhythms by Sharlee D'Angelo, the band has created some impressive work in "War Eternal".

Some of the strong points of the album are the fast paced title track, the dark and heavy "As The Pages Burn", the melodic "You Will Know My Name" and the apocalyptic "On And On", but there are also some parts of the record that just does not seem right. One thing that bothers me the most is the large amounts of neo-classical music, a thing that fits more into a power metal band or a Yngwie Malmsteen album. Guess that Micheal took some inspiration from the wrong sources. I also do not like how the album itself is build. The first half is considerably better than the second half, so it would have been better to even out the field, and don't even get me started on that boring instrumental "Not Long For This World" that ends the album.

Just like most of the later albums by the band, "War Eternal" will create some controversy. Some will love it, others will hate it. I myself think it is one of the stronger albums by the band, but that its inconsistencies keeps it from being a masterpiece. No matter what, the band still does their thing and Alissa's solid performance makes it seem like nothing significant has happened to the band. The new queen has made her first appearance, and it seems to be the start of a new, strong regime in Arch Enemy.

Songs worthy of recognition: War Eternal, You Will Know My Name, On And On

Rating: 7/10 Avalanches

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Will To Power