Nipping right on its heels is the high-octane thrasher and de facto title song “Deceiver, Deceiver”, which batters with the intensity of a thousand war-hammers and showcases how long-time drummer Daniel Erlandsson can bring down the fury while allowing for the riffs to do plenty of the talking. Kicking off the sonic kill session is the upbeat banger and extravaganza of guitar-driven majesty “Handshake With Hell”, which in addition to seeing Amott and Loomis cut heads with the best of them, also sees Alissa utilizing her highly capable natural singing voice, something not heard since her days with The Agonist.

Naturally it’s been impossible for even a casual follower of this fold to not have noticed the flood of promotional videos making the rounds online, underscoring their seriousness about coming back with a vengeance following 2 years of forced house arrest, and what’s been unleashed so far proves to be the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Likewise, this album functions as the most ambitious demonstration of technical flair carrying the Arch Enemy moniker in quite a while, with each member bringing their A game. Atmosphere and peripheral additions to the standard arrangement of guitars, bass and drums take a prominent role in turning a collection of symmetrically structured and moderate length anthems into a near cinematic affair, with quasi-symphonic keyboard passages and occasional studio effects providing some contrast to the blood, guts and glory approach that is this band’s trademark. Following her exodus in 2014, and that of Christopher Amott a couple years prior, this stalwart of the art of melodeath would continue to build on their legacy with a heightened sense of technical flair and nuance following the arrival of ex- The Agonist vocalist Alissa White-Gluz and former Nevermore shredder Jeff Loomis.įollowing two impressive albums that quelled any fears that this band’s core audience had of these two newcomers drastically altering the signature sound they’ve come to expect, this quintet has unleashed their most formidable and expansive studio offering in recent memory in 2022’s “Deceivers.” Though by no means a stylistic departure from the typical mixture of infectious melodies, mad thrashing riff work and guttural shouts that boil over with sheer intensity, it marks a more expansive approach to things that mirrors much of what has taken shape in the broader death metal movement in recent years. But following their first trilogy of LPs, they’d become of a focal point of popular fascination with the entry of vocalist Angela Gossow, whose lioness-like roars played perfectly to their signature sound. Originally founded by virtuoso guitarist and then recently former member of Carcass Michael Amott and his brother Christopher, they originally cut their teeth as an unofficial 4 th member of the famed Gothenburg 3 despite not hailing from said city, combining elements of In Flames’ hook-driven melodic guitar assault and the darker, riff-driven aggression of At The Gates to pave a unique niche within the then nascent sub-genre.

A discussion of the melodic death metal craze that swept northern Europe during the 90s and flourished into the new millennium cannot be had without the name of Swedish mainstays Arch Enemy receiving a mention.

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