Arch Enemy - The Root Of All Evil Review
Posted by Dan Haggerty on 10.06.2009
The melodic death franchise from Sweden is back with more axe crushing fun performed on an album of self covers. Can they make this rework of their own classic catalog work, or is it a compilation retread with a lot of hype? Only one way to find out, so click the link!
Track Listing
1. The Root Of All Evil (Intro) 01:06
2. Beast Of Man 03:45
3. The Immortal 03:47
4. Diva Satanica 03:48
5. Demonic Science 05:24
6. Bury Me An Angel 04:25
7. Dead Inside 04:24 [view lyrics]
8. Dark Insanity 03:25
9. Pilgrim 04:50
10. Demoniality 01:40
11. Transmigration Macabre 03:33
12. Silverwing 04:22
13. Bridge Of Destiny 07:53
Total playing time 52:22
Current Line-Up
Angela Gossow - Vocals
Michael Amott - Guitars
Christopher Amott - Guitars
Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass
Daniel Erlandsson - Drums
Collectors Information
Comes also in a limited edition with exclusive patch and bonus tracks from the Live Apocalypse DVD:
14. Bury Me An Angel (Live) (04:22)
15. The Immortal (Live) (04:34)
16. Bridge of Destiny (Live) (07:36)
Also, if you pick up the Japanese edition you get these bonus tracks:
14. Wings Of Tomorrow (Europe Cover)
15. Walk In The Shadows (Queensrÿche Cover)
The Story
With seven full lengths down on the books, three with former singer Johan "Liiva" Axelsson and four now with Angela Gossow, someone made the decision to introduce the bands modern large fan base to the older classics from the band’s first singer. Arch Enemy is a project started by Michael Amott shortly after leaving Carcass, and the first three albums featured the raw melodic death metal that was in vogue in the mid to late 90’s with Liiva on guttural pipes. The albums where rough but blistering affairs that any fan of Gothenburg death should certainly check out. Eventually Liiva was out and Angela was brought in, and after that the band started to reach greater mainstream audiences to become a large player in the metal scene.
But the fans that came on board in the last decade have not heard the previous era of the band, something Arch Enemy has set about correcting it would seem since the early albums have been re-mastered as well. Accompanying those releases is the arrival of The Root Of Evil which is effectively a compilation of covers from the band’s Livva era performed by the modern incarnation of the band.
The question is: Are these covers worth your time?
The Review
I’ll start with being honest here on several accounts, the first of being an Arch Enemy fan. I think the bands Liiva era is great melodic death metal, and the Angela era is either hot to solid for me - Wages of Sin and Rise of the Tyrant being the ones I like the best. But that is opposed by the undeniable fact that this whole project originally came off as a money grab. I mean, why cover your own tunes? Especially when you are practically releasing those early albums as re-masters at the same time? I could see it if those albums are hard to get, but they're fairly easy to track down before the reissues. Plus, wouldn’t a band do something like this as a bonus disk to a collector’s edition of an album or part of a box set?
So it was with a wary ear I popped this baby in to check out these tunes.
It was inside of ten seconds of the first song proper that I quickly figured out why this album was made. It sounds like the Amott brothers have wanted to get a second crack at these songs, and with the opportunity went to town on them. No, they didn’t change them song or structure wise, they just played them up with better production and most importantly had a good time with the axe work. I can picture Michael and Chris sitting around listening to the old albums getting ready to remaster them, and thinking what they would do a little differently if they had a second chance to perform them. It’s a little thing, but the idea of the band having a good time with these songs makes them a lot more fun to listen to versus the implication of some label requesting a do over for the mall kids.
Yes, this is certainly polished up. Some old school death dealers will bitch about it, but it wasn’t the rawness of the originals that made the albums good, but the honest lead axe work that the lack of production couldn’t bury. Here, the band has these songs all produced up nice and tidy, but it isn’t blown our of proportion any less than you’d expect from these guys if they had the same cash reserves or studio access then as they have now.
Angela is, and I hate to say this, but really a non-issue with the songs. She doesn’t add anything to them, and the proTool work with her voice might even detract from Liiva’s originals, but that is the fault of some knob turner who didn’t get the memo Gossow did just fine on the single tracked edge on Tyrant. So she does a fine job if a little unstated for what she is capable of.
The number one reason to own this album is the guitar work. Chris and Michael sound for the entire world like the proverbial kids in a candy store having the time of their life. They just rip through these songs and make this album soar. The guitar tone, the riffs, the solos, there is melodic death metal heaven in those parts. And if anything, the album shows just how critical Chris is to the band, the brother usually seen behind his better known sibling which is a big mistake. Chris’ parts just rock out with classic goodness, piling on hooks and style to the rhythm that are subtle and minor yet brilliantly executed. As far as I’m concerned, he is the unsung hero here, because his parts along with the also excellently executed leads and riffs from Michael make this album worth the time and money hands down.
But honestly, if someone came up and asked me about this album, I’d tell them to just pick up the originals. There is no denying that the Liiva era of the band was great, and the fact that these songs rip points to just how well the original were constructed ffrom a musical standpoint. But this album is good also and a worthy spin. Modern fans will want to check it out and hopefully be inspired to delve deeper into the bands catalog, which more and more sounds like the real idea behind this project.
Finally, despite how much fun it is to listen to the Amott duo rip up the place, there is no denying that this is a compilation album of self covers. It’s a good time that will hopefully introduce newer fans to part of the bands catalog. Fans of the modern era of the band will find this an 8/10 or even an 8.5/10. Those who liked the traditional melodic death from the 90’s and the original rawness will see this as a curious over-produced retread that comes in at 6.5/10. I’m calling it down the middle with thumbs up for fun and guitar excellence.
The 411: A fun album that highlights the Amott brother’s ability to turn well thought out axe work into melodic majesty. This is their album and they own it left, right, and center. The rest do there thing well, toss in high production and you get a solid album. The pluses don’t change the fact this album is just a compilation of self covers that any Arch Enemy fan could and should get anyway, but it certainly does help make you forget it. I’m looking forward to the band busting these out live.
