Devil Music A-Z: Arch Enemy

Along with Opeth Arch Enemy was probably one of the first bands to get me over the stigma of harsh vocals. I've always had an interest in female fronted bands but it was usually something of a more tame fare then what this group put together. To hear those kinds of sounds come from a woman was real trippy to hear someone who used to listen to Warlock years before.

After quite a few spins though reality started to set in. Was this band really any good? Musically yes. Some of the riffs the Amott brothers have put together are fantastic. It was a fusion of groove and power metal with melodeath vocals. But the thing that intrigued me at first started to become the bane in my opinion. Angela Gossow does not have the range to match what the rhythm section does. Every song her vocals are the same pitch throughout which tends to lend itself to boredom. Not to mention on the last cd they released (which are a collection of rerecorded versions of the first couple of albums) Her vocals are really showing the wear and tear from years of doing this. I can respect her being groundbreaking but at some point you need to step back or do something different.

I understand why there was a shift from the original vocalist to who they have now but at some point, and it may have already happened, the novelty will wear off and where will this band be. I stil like them enough to mix them in a shuffle but I really can't listen to a whole album in it's entirety before looking for something else to play. Here is a video for you to judge for yourself if you've never heard them before after the jump.