Altsounds - Arch Enemy- The Root Of All Evil [Album]

Arch Enemy return with "The Root Of All Evil" which, to many people will sound like 100% new material, however this is very different. "The Root Of All Evil" minus the first and title track is completely new recordings of OLD material done during the Johan Liiva era.

Musically Arch Enemy were different during that era. The sound was more thrash inspired as Michael Arnott stated in the band’s early interviews

Quote:

“an attempt to merge melody with aggression and technicality."

In fact, the first album "Burning Bridges" was slightly more of a solo project with Arnott doing bass guitar and songwriting. After the first three albums Arch Enemy brought in the vocalist we are now familiar with: Angela Gossow who was a journalist before joining the group (there’s a new fact for you if you didn’t know it!)

Arch Enemy’s sound became more Death Metal which in my opinion benefited the band more and, after three successful albums we now come to the new take on selected old songs. For the fans that have been there from the start they will notice that this isn’t just Arch Enemy simply doing the old songs in the new style with Gossow’s enigmatic growl, this is a COMPLETE reinvention.

My favourite has to be 'Silverwing,' a song that was slightly weak on "Stigmata" but that now becomes a monster with a guitar chorus that I find myself humming at times. Michael Arnott shows why he is one of THE best guitarists around today with his solo work throughout the album along with his brother Christopher. They’ve managed to adapt the songs to work with the new style whilst adding more melody too. The instrumentals on the album showcase Sharlee and Daniel’s bass and drumming skills respectively and also give you a break so you are ready to relax before the thrill starts up again.

Gossow’s vocal is strikingly haunting as always, she is considered one of the bet female vocalists for her genre and "The Root Of All Evil," as always allows Gossow to blow the rivals out of the water. Also, unlike other self produced albums (Muse for example), Arch Enemy also know how to make an album that will please their fans whilst at the same time creating new sounds thanks to the mixing skills of Andy Sneap who can add another album to his great records of 2009 list (he also worked on Megadeth’s Endgame.)

"The Root Of All Evil" overall is a great album both for existing fans of Arch and for new fans to jump on board. A worthy contender for Death Metal record of the year.