ARCH ENEMY
RISE OF THE TYRANT (Album)
2007, Century Media


Spoonerismz : 18/20
If having a woman on vocals hasn't gotten Arch Enemy noticed by now, then Rise of the Tyrant certainly will get everyone to look in their general direction. Being a melodic death metal band and having a woman fronting them is quite an achievement, but former Carcass guitarist Michael Amott is included in the five-piece as well. If you don't know who Michael Amott is, it's never too late to find out. Just listen to Rise of the Tyrant.

Rise of the Tyrant is the band's 2007 release following 2005's Doomsday Machine. The album will easily satisfy Arch Enemy fans, but will easily carry a large boat load of new fans on its own. I'm personally a huge fan of what Arch Enemy did on Doomsday Machine, but Rise of the Tyrant is something else entirely. In a mind-blowing way.

Once the instruments kick in at a rapid pace on "Blood On Your Hands", Angela Gossow enters with an enormous, deafening scream. It's clear Gossow's voice sounds different from the previous record, but the change makes the entire band sound more raw and brutal with every track.

Once the CD starts, it does not stop. You're in from one track after another, being beat by brutal riff after brutal riff. Michael Amott's guitar skills are incredibly amazing on this album (As well as most of Arch Enemy's songs) and he WILL leave your jaw hanging open in awe. Along side his brother, Christopher Amott, the two create amazing and wicked riffs and solos that show true skills with their axes.

Chris, with bassist Sharlee D'Angelo and drummer Daniel Erlandsson, keep an amazing tight rhythm section that seeks to be bested. The rhythm is constant and always sending an insane shockwave of energy through your speakers. I must give credit to Sharlee on bass, since he's able to keep up with Erlandsson on drums. He is an insane powerhouse and his double bass is always flying.

Gossow puts out an amazing sound with her magnificent and gifted screams and growls; she is a practically a siren of metal with a voice like hers. At times, though, it sounds like she about to give in on the songs and possibly shed a tear, which sort of weakens the songs, but she quickly returns with a strong and dangerous growl. At times her lyrics can be haunting, but even when they aren't, his voice will still send shivers down your spine.

The band comes together to produce a great follow up to Doomsday Machine. I could ask for a longer instrumental, though. Doomsday Machine contained a 4 minute one, about as long as every other song, while the instrumental on this album, Intermezzo Liberté, serves as only a, well, intermission to the album.

Overall, Rise of the Tyrant is an excellent follow up to Doomsday Machine and continues Arch Enemy's brutal attack on the world. Amott throws in amazing solos, Gossow's vocals are excellent, and Christopher Amott, D'Angelo, and Erlandsson throwing in an exceptionally tight rhythm section that many bands wish to have. While it does fall short at times with Gossow's vocals seeming like they are weakening at times, the album does leave a good impression and doesn't disappoint any current Arch Enemy fans.

2009-11-12 00:00:00


InfinityZero : 14/20
Arch Enemy found their biggest success with the release of Rise of the Tyrant, which made it on the famed Billboard 200 in 84th place. It brought a lot of fans to the Gossow side and got them going for the band after the (perceived) flop of Doomsday Machine. What do I think of this album? I'll sum it up with one word:

OVERRATED.

Of course, it isn't really a surprise. Just about every melodic death metal album that comes out of Sweden nowadays is overrated in the same way. I will give it this much: while it is overrated, it isn't a total loss. This album has it's good points. For example, this album is Gossow's best vocal performance to date. The album also has a few songs that remind me of the good old days. And compared to bands that have gone downhill WAY faster than Arch Enemy under the same genre (I'm looking at you, In Flames), it holds up much better than other Swedish Melodeath albums released around the same time. So, why do I think that this album is overrated when every other fan can't get enough of it? I'll tell you.

The main problem that Arch Enemy has had since Liiva was kicked to the curb STILL persists here. The bloody repitition of the choruses.If you don't know what I mean, listen to Revolution Begins. It's the same pattern of verse-chorus-verse-chorus that's way too plain and standard. It's unquestionably the most boring and uninspired song on here. And of course, it repeats the chorus line WAY too much (another problem that's followed Arch Enemy around for a long time). Most of the songs here follow that same pattern, and it's pretty frustrating. There isn't too much to surprise you or stick out in most of the songs, when you listen to all of them in a row. It's really unfortunate too, especially when you consider that this is the band that released Stigmata and Burning Bridges. Too many of the songs keep with the same pace and use the same tricks, and that's this album's major downfall.

Now that the complaining is done, time to move on to the positives. This album starts in with 2 songs that I still consider great songs. "Blood on your Hands" and "The Last Enemy" are legitimately good songs. Not to mention the solos are pretty good too. (Not as good as the stuff from the early albums, but hey, they beat the bejesus out of the solos from Anthems). On top of that, Gossow's vocals sound really good. I'm not kidding. That's the one thing that manages to stay good for most of the album. None of the feeble growls from Anthems of Rebellion, she really manages to make a good performance. The title song is pretty good as well, but that intro is ridiculous. "This Shallow Grave" starts good, (the section from 0:29-0:49 is awesome), but it's wrecked by being repeated until it gets stale. I like the solo sections from "Vultures", and that's about all there is to this album.

Rise of the Tyrant isn't all that good, but there are things that manage to save it from being a complete failure. Some memorable songs, Gossow's vocals have improved a lot, (too bad she couldn't keep it up for Root of All Evil) and the album is MUCH more consistent than the previous Gossow releases. All in all, I say it's an average album. Not great, not terrible, but average. Rating: 14/20.

2010-03-20 00:00:00


Vinrock666
With the release of "Rise of the Tyrant", Arch Enemy finally accomplishes the metal masterpiece expected from the once called supergroup. Most impressive from this work of sonic art is the attitude that smacks you from track to track, transending the belief that a technically advanced band makes up for a lack of feeling.

Angela Gossow, somehow, growls even lower and nastier, perhaps drawing from the remaining critics who still dismiss the vocalist as a novelty draw rather than a legitimate frontman. From the first track, "Blood On Your Hands" the power she draws from her Demonic vocal chords delivers an instant message loud and clear - she is an excellent death metal vocalist, period. The rest of the band doesn't merely follow suit ; rather the recording is so tight that you wonder if the whole band's surname is Amott. Any solo highlighting that comes up within a song are so perfectly placed they exclaim an inner cheer - "Vultures" being an exceptional example of this all-star style playing ; the song even ends with a piano delivered with few notes but a lot of soul.

To state, the entire album seems concieved and delivered with a knockout punch thrown in response to hush-tone notions that for all their experience and abilities, Arch Enemy has underachieved. "Rise of the Tyrant" and "Revolution Begins", two of the best songs on the album, obliterates that opinion by showcasing best of all that Arch Enemy are known for and then some, complete with politically charged lyrical themes and for "Tyrant" an intro perfectly suited for the metal assault which follows. The record on a whole succeeds most from the gelling of this attitude with their virtuosity and technical brilliance, which is why given some time "Tyrant" will rise to the top of the A.E. heap as their best album to date and a destined classic-to-be.

2008-06-28 00:00:00