I don't know where the artwork came from when I last talked about this. Well at least it's better then what I originally thought it was going to be. Now the question remains if the songs are going to be worth a shit. Still no word on track listing or definite release date from Century Media but here you go if you're an Arch Enemy fan. I'll file this under the same category as Devildriver and COB. I once cared but I've moved on. I'll listen to it to see if if it's any good when it comes out but my expectations will be low.
Is it just me or is this band getting lazy? I really hope that's not the cover art for the actual album because it's crap otherwise. Khaos Legions is going to be the name of the new Arch Enemy album and it's due sometime in May via Century Media. Why do we need to have a K instead of a C? Are we trying to be cool? I hope this long layoff is so Angela Gossow can rest her vocals because they were pretty ragged on the redo of older material called Root of All Evil back in 2009. Guess we'll have to wait and see when the first track gets released (leaked). Anybody excited about this coming out?
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.
There seems to be a minor trend with bands these days on rerecording songs or albums with current singers. So far in my opinion they haven't really panned out. Iced Earth and Exodus comes to mind for instance. Personally I think it's a slap in the face of the former singer to rerecord their material and then tour under that package.
Arch Enemy continues this with their new album The Root of all Evil. It's a collection of songs spanning the first three albums with Johan Liiva, who I understand was fired because his stage presence wasn't dynamic enough, rerecorded with Angela Gassow on vocals.
Her efforts to bring a feminine touch to death metal vocals has not done her any favors over the last few years. While the muscianship is top notch as usual, her vocals are to the point on this album that I can't understand a word she's saying where as with Johan I could. This band drives me nuts. I want to like them more but the vocals kill it for me everytime and it's even worse this go around.
The first three albums put this band on the map but their popularity and legacy is with Angela. Rerecording these songs seems to be more of a cash grab with no real value beyond the originals. I'd recommend this to new listeners maybe, but long time fans would do well to stay away from it. These guys have had plenty of time to record new material and instead dip into the well and insult a former member by putting this waste of time out.
