Written by Angelic Storm on 20.03.2014 at 19:23

Woah, to say this song is treading water would be an understatement. This is nowhere near the quality of the best Arch Enemy material, either with Johan or Angela fronting the band. Angela at her best, had real rage in her voice, and Alissa's growl is just hollow in comparison, and she also lacks the presence of her predecessor.

I had a hard time believing the band could do worse than "Khaos Legions", but if the rest of the new album is similar to what's on offer here, then I was presumptious to think that. lol Nice solos from Mike and Nick Cordie, shame that the song they're attatched to is so bland, and unmemorable...

A little harsh imo but I agree with most what you've said.

While she isn't terrible, there's just something off about Alissa's screams... I think it's that they sound very forced, almost sounding like off the roof of her mouth and with a hint of that "core" style which I absolutely loathe. (but in all honesty Angela wasn't a perfect screamer either and often had distortion/FX on her vox).

Your right about the song treading water, it feels recycled, formulaic and uninspired. But that to me is exactly how Khaos sounds, so I'd say it's no worse, just equally a pile of garbage!

All I can say from this one song is that it sounds a little better than their last album.

Written by AngelofDeth on 21.03.2014 at 00:00
A little harsh imo but I agree with most what you've said.

While she isn't terrible, there's just something off about Alissa's screams... I think it's that they sound very forced, almost sounding like off the roof of her mouth and with a hint of that "core" style which I absolutely loathe. (but in all honesty Angela wasn't a perfect screamer either and often had distortion/FX on her vox).

Your right about the song treading water, it feels recycled, formulaic and uninspired. But that to me is exactly how Khaos sounds, so I'd say it's no worse, just equally a pile of garbage!

The issue I have with the vocals, is there's no fire, passion, or rage in them. It's death metal vocals at their most lifeless and generic. I don't think Angela's vocals had any distortion/effects on them until the "Doomsday Machine" album. And whilst I like quite a lot of that album, the fact that her vocals sound so processed on much of it, is it's major downside. I really liked her vocals on the first two albums though, particularly on "Wages Of Sin" which are definitely a league above the vocals on offer with this new song.

As for Khaos, overall, it is bland, and a generic album. There are a couple of songs on it which I really like though, and are far better than this new song.

Written by deadone on 21.03.2014 at 00:56

The thing I don't like about it was the leady guitar bit in the chorus. Amott loves these but I think they ruin the flow of the song. And they sound so lame.

This, 1000000000 times this.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the vocals, the song theme and the mix is ultra boring and predictable (maybe just for me).
Sounds very much alike Khaos Legions, the music is over processed and sounds clean and smooth (=boring for this style).
Formulated, generic and the lyrics just make it worse.


(Remember "Black Earth"? or "Let The Killing Begin"?)

I like it. Nothing fantastic, but a big step up from khaos legions.

Zzzz... bring back Johan

Not bad. I would love to hear something a little grittier from this band though.

Vocals are weak, but Michael Amott's guitar works reigns supreme. I listen to AE because of him that's it.

I'm extremely satisfied with the results of this change up. I was expecting something more pop-metal sounding. Very pleased to hear that she even sounds somewhat similar to Angela. I look forward to the next release!

Better than the 1st half of Khaos Legions. Would I be the only one hoping for another Rise Of The Tyrant?

Written by M C Vice on 21.03.2014 at 09:04

Better than the 1st half of Khaos Legions. Would I be the only one hoping for another Rise Of The Tyrant?

I can't remember the first half of "Khaos Legions", but that fact probably says a lot about what I think of it. The small amount of songs on that album which I do love, are on the second half of it, and those songs are much better than this new song.

Whilst I feel that "Rise Of The Tyrant" is weaker than the 3 Angela-fronted albums which preceded it, it's clearly superior to "Khaos Legions" overall, and the vast majority of it is also superior to this new song. So at this point, I'd definitely take another "Rise Of The Tyrant".

Written by Angelic Storm on 21.03.2014 at 09:38

Written by M C Vice on 21.03.2014 at 09:04

Better than the 1st half of Khaos Legions. Would I be the only one hoping for another Rise Of The Tyrant?

I can't remember the first half of "Khaos Legions", but that fact probably says a lot about what I think of it. The small amount of songs on that album which I do love, are on the second half of the album, and those songs are much better than this new song.

Whilst I feel that album is weaker than the 3 Angela-fronted albums which preceded it, it's clearly superior to "Khaos Legions", and the vast majority of it is definitely superior than this new song. So at this point, I'd definitely take another "Rise Of The Tyrant".

Tyrant is my favourite of the Arch Enemy albums, especially vocally (Anthems is probably better lead guitar-wise). This song sounds like business as usual for the band, probably wouldn't have noticed the change in vocalist if not told. Maybe that's how she got the job - they just got a bunch of audition tapes and picked the one that sounded the most like Gossow.

Written by M C Vice on 21.03.2014 at 09:47
Tyrant is my favourite of the Arch Enemy albums, especially vocally (Anthems is probably better lead guitar-wise). This song sounds like business as usual for the band, probably wouldn't have noticed the change in vocalist if not told. Maybe that's how she got the job - they just got a bunch of audition tapes and picked the one that sounded the most like Gossow.

Although the overall quality of Angela's vocals had started to deteriorate by this point, I do think "Rise Of The Tyrant" is her angriest and most emotional vocal performance, and that fact compensates for it's drop in overall quality. There's a genuine rage in her voice during the majority of that album, which I find very engaging, and also relateable (It's also the first AE album I think where at points, it's obvious that it's a female on vocals rather than a male). And I think that's ultimately what's lacking in the vocals in this new song. There's no emotion or anger there whatsoever, it's a by the numbers performance, which sounds robotic and lifeless. I'm listening to ....Tyrant right now, and it is absolutely true. The vocals on "War Eternal" (the song at least) is like Angela singing but with the emotion and anger removed.

I don't care what any of you say, this is my sexy satanic summer singalong shanty of 2014.

I'm ok with this. Excited even. I've found it hard to look forward to a new Arch Enemy album for quite some time now but this time I'm genuinely excited to see where this new line-up goes. I like Alissa's voice and think it is a great move to get her on board as I've become somewhat bored of Angela Gossow despite how good she was. 'War Eternal' may not be that great of a song but considering the past few albums haven't been all too impressive anyway it was kind of expected. The song is sufficient enough though but I certainly hope the rest of the album contains better quality.
I'm not sure how much input Alissa has had on this track or other new material so I'm going to keep an open-mind about her performance this go around. For me the following album is going to be the real make or break effort.
Interesting to note as well that Angela isn't totally out of the picture. Given her behind the scenes role, relationship with Michael Amott and the apparent friendship she has with Alissa I wouldn't be too surprised that we'll get a duet of sorts somewhere down the line.

Oh and Alissa is fucking gorgeous btw. Ya'know, just incase anybody hasn't noticed or anything.

Written by Angelic Storm on 21.03.2014 at 10:04

Written by M C Vice on 21.03.2014 at 09:47

Although the overall quality of Angela's vocals had started to deteriorate by this point, I do think "Rise Of The Tyrant" is her angriest and most emotional vocal performance,

As I've said before, sometimes she sounds like she's gonna burst into tears and other times like she's gonna blow her voice box out on that album.

Written by M C Vice on 21.03.2014 at 11:46
As I've said before, sometimes she sounds like she's gonna burst into tears and other times like she's gonna blow her voice box out on that album.

Yep, both those statements are very true. Whether you like her vocals or not, it's undeniable that she's putting her heart and soul into that vocal performance, which makes it immediately engaging and relateable to me. There's an anger and passion to those vocals which is completely abscent in the new song.

Arch enemy traded any shred of musical talent they had left for a friggin gimmick. Looks over talent is what they chose. Even when she was in The Agonist it's always been about how hot Alissa is, not her vocal "talent". I guarantee that if Alissa wasn't attractive then most of her so called fanbase wouldn't even be around. Her vocals are absolute shit. They might as well of hired the Butcher Babies to take Angela's place. This video is laughable, and so is the song.

Brothers have you seen Mike's first info about the album: heavy metal influences! Dont you feel that beautiful rythmic section?
There are definatelly changes and not changes but CHANGES. The new song itself is awsome. Sorry I have to write this butsome of you just grumble:mad7: What did you expect punk rock

Same Arch Enemy sound, now with weaker vocals.

I like her voice but i like Angela's attitude more.

This song is almost more hilarious than reading through this thread.

Generic song and and bland singer. I really don't know if Alyssa would be even noticed on the metal community without her so called "hotness".

Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.03.2014 at 01:31

This song is almost more hilarious than reading through this thread.

Let this guy rule the world.

It's more of the same, that's all that can be said... it's okay, but I can't help but feel like i've heard this song 10 times before from Arch Enemy. The band is talented, that is clear - but they're not using the talent much. It would be great to hear them go down the less generic route, eg. maybe back to the roots, Burning Bridges or early era In Flames style.

Written by ozzysong on 24.03.2014 at 18:01

Generic song and and bland singer. I really don't know if Alyssa would be even noticed on the metal community without her so called "hotness".

She would be, because a lot of people know of The Agonist.

Written by Doge of Venice on 27.03.2014 at 16:07

She would be, because a lot of people know of The Agonist.

What he's saying is that he believes people only like Alissa cuz she's hot, regardless of what band she's in or was in.

Am I the only one who actually likes the song? It's cheesy and structured enough for me to enjoy it.

Written by R Lewis on 27.03.2014 at 18:26

Am I the only one who actually likes the song? It's cheesy and structured enough for me to enjoy it.

Nope. I actually enjoyed it too. It's not their best, and I'm sure they can do better, but I still enjoyed it.