Teenager me is pretty excited to be reviewing the upcoming album Deceivers by Melo-death legends Arch Enemy. I’m a long-term fan of the band and have followed them right from the beginning and through various line-up changes. Arch Enemy is not one to rest on its laurels and has continued to evolve its sound through the years. This is their 11th album and I’m sure fans are going to love what the band has delivered. Deceivers is due for release 12th of August 2022 on Century Media Records.
Deceivers is an album that requires multiple listens to fully appreciate and in my experience, the best albums fall into that category. I was slightly underwhelmed on my first listen-through and the impression that I got was that this album follows a tried and tested formula without straying too far from the path. I was wrong. This album has an incredible amount of depth to it, it just takes time to blossom.
Having said that, Deceivers definitely feels more like a stadium release compared to previous releases and while the death elements are still there, it’s definitely firmly on the mellow side. Or, perhaps I’ve been desensitized to heavy music. There are definitely heavy moments, but they’re the except rather than the rule. Perhaps the album stand-out is Alissa White-Gluz’s vocals which are on full display here and her range is incredible. There’s no other way to put it. I think Alissa will always be compared to Angela Gossow, both are super talented and deserve to be considered in their own right rather than making comparisons.
The album kicks off with Handshake With Hell which has a great guitar intro building to high-pitched licks. The mid-section of the song is great and here we get to see the top of Alissa’s range. The haunting vocals at the 4-minute mark work well, I really enjoyed the multiple parts to the song.
It must be so hard to write a song that can pull that off.
I’ll take a moment to talk about the intro to In The Eye Of The Storm sounds. It’s eerily similar to Widowmaker by The Black Dahlia Murder. Don’t believe me, compare the two Widowmaker vs In The Eye Of The Storm. It’s a great song, don’t get me wrong. They’re just so similar at that intro that I had to do a double take. Is this a quiet nod to the late great Trevor Strnad?
Exiled From Earth is the standout track on the album. It’s got that thumping stadium sound in droves and is a lot of fun. Other stand-out moments are during House of Mirrors again shows just how high Alissa can go, the transition between The Watcher and Poisoned Arrow is so well done (I’m a big fan of well-done transitions). Lastly, Spreading Black Wings feels more like Arch Enemy of old, and I really dig that sound.
Deceivers is a stand-up and shout album for Arch Enemy. The band continues to go from strength to strength and this may just be the album that catapults them into the up stratosphere of Melo-death. Just remember, this album needs multiple listens to fully appreciate so please do just that.
Can’t wait to see it live.
Tracklist:
- Handshake With Hell
- Deceiver, Deceiver
- In The Eye Of The Storm
- The Watcher
- Poisoned Arrow
- Sunset Over The Empire
- House Of Mirrors
- Spreading Black Wings
- Mourning Star
- One Last Time
- Exiled From Earth
Arch Enemy: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Century Media Records
Category: Album
Country: USA
Reviewed by Phil Bergersen
