Arch Enemy's 'Deceivers' - Album Review

Whilst I was fairly positive about Arch Enemy's 2017 release Will to Power in my review of it (which can be read here), I do not think that I have listened to the album at all since I saw the band live the following February. I will dig it out again shortly, as I am seeing them again later this week, but a scan down the album's tracklist does not bring many of the songs to mind. I remember the singles, which were decent, but beyond that I struggle to recall anything else about the album. Looking back, I think I wanted to like Will to Power a lot more than I actually did. I loved, and still really like, 2014's War Eternal (which I also reviewed here), and I really wanted the band to kick on from that solid base - but despite some experimentation, Will to Power has not had much staying power with me. For me, War Eternal was probably the best Arch Enemy album since 2005's Doomsday Machine. Following a couple of decent-but-not-spectacular albums, and the departure of legendary frontwoman Angela Gossow, War Eternal saw Arch Enemy sounding the freshest that they had for a few years. It marked the debut of current frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz, who put in an incredible shift throughout, and her presence seemed to encourage guitarist and main songwriter Michael Amott to write some his best riffs and melodies in a while. Aided by new guitarist Nick Cordle, too, who helped to inject some freshness into the band's long-established melodic death metal sound, War Eternal was a triumph - and it is an album that I still return to regularly. I was looking forward to Will to Power a lot, then, but the departure of Cordle part-way through the War Eternal tour should have raised more concern. Whilst he will never likely be remembered as an important part of the band's history, he co-wrote a lot of War Eternal. I was looking forward to seeing the Amott/Cordle partnership develop - but it never had the chance to do so. The well-known Jeff Loomis was later announced as Cordle's permanent replacement, which probably raised my expectations for what was to come. I am a big Nevermore fan, and Loomis wrote most of that band's music single-handedly. I could not wait to see what he would bring to Arch Enemy going forward - but his only contributions to Will to Power were a few guitar solos. Reading some interviews at the time, it seemed that Amott deliberately kept Loomis out of the writing process for Will to Power - instead working more closely with drummer Daniel Erlandsson, who was heavily involved in the album's creation. I had hoped that Loomis not being involved in the creative side of the band would change, particularly with how stale Will to Power turned out to be with time, but when I opened the booklet of Deceivers, the band's latest release, when it recently dropped through my letterbox I was disappointed to again see his contributions limited to a few guitar solos. Why Amott seems unwilling to work with Loomis seems strange, considering that both his bother Chris and Cordle co-wrote many songs during their respective tenures in the band, but I can only assume that he does not consider Loomis' knotty, progressive songwriting style to be suitable for Arch Enemy. Based on how Will to Power turned out and my first few listens to Deceivers, though, a change is needed. For me, this latest album is nothing that Arch Enemy fans have not heard before. I know that it is quite fashionable in the metal world to consider much of Arch Enemy's catalogue to be weak, but when it comes to Deceivers, sadly, I generally have to agree.

In my opinion, Deceivers is one of the band's weakest albums. It does nothing massively different from before, but it lacks spark - with many of the songs here sounding like the band on autopilot. That being said, though, I think that it gets off to a good start. For me, the first four songs are easily the best cuts here - which had me quite excited when listening through for the first time. The opening song Handshake with Hell is one that grabs hold from the off, and the fact that it contains prominent clean vocals also makes it stand out. When White-Gluz joined the band I did wonder if they would start incorporating some clean vocals given her talents, but War Eternal only featured them occasionally in a background context. Will to Power then featured the ballad Reason to Believe which featured clean vocals for a good portion of it; but Handshake with Hell is the first traditional Arch Enemy song to feature clean vocals in such a prominent way. The song opens with a distant-sounding lead from Amott, before the rest of the band crash in - creating an epic-sounding build-up around him. A strident riff then comes in, and the song continues on in this stomping manner. Erlandsson's double bass drumming is not overly fast here, but it gives the song a kinetic energy - and White-Gluz's growls sound as good as ever. The verse is split half and half between harsh and clean vocals, which gives it a dynamic feel - before the chorus slows the pace somewhat. The chorus sounds heavier, although a melodic guitar lead gives it that trademark Arch Enemy sound, with White-Gluz delivering some of her most unhinged vocals yet. A low key bridge section features more clean vocals, which White-Gluz delivers against a pulsing synth and clean guitar backing. This part of the song builds in scope, before a solo trade-off between Amott and Loomis brings the house down. Despite what I am going to go on to say about much of this album, Handshake with Hell is an excellent opener - and it is one of the best modern Arch Enemy songs. Deceiver, Deceiver, which was released as the album's first single, is up next - and it returns to the band's typical sound. The pace is upped here, with lots of busy footwork from Erlandsson, and there is a bit of a punk feel throughout the fastest parts of the track. This energy makes it enjoyable, whilst the choruses slow the pace and go for a more epic overall sound with some more great vocals from White-Gluz. The mix of the break-neck sections and the more epic portions make for an dynamic arrangement, even if some of the transitions between these sections feel somewhat jarring. The band have done better, but as a representation of where the band are now, Deceiver, Deceiver is a solid track with a strong chorus. In the Eye of the Storm is another solid track, and a much more riff-focused piece that has a strong classic rock feel throughout. Amott is known to be a big fan of Michael Schenker, and the style of the German guitarist is very evident throughout the track. The main riff has a teutonic feel, with White-Gluz spitting out the lyrics between each iteration of, whilst the chorus keeps up the classic rock feel with a strong sense of melody. Amott's leads throughout the song are fairly basic, but full of great Schenkerisms (including during his solo), whilst the chorus vocal lines have a stadium-ready feel to it - similar in style to We Will Rise.

I said earlier that the album's first four songs are strong efforts, and The Watcher closes out this promising opening suite. Alongside Handshake with Hell, The Watcher is likely my favourite cut here - largely as it focuses so much on the melodic part of the the band's melodic death metal sound. This is largely evidenced during the chorus, though, as much of the song is fast-paced and in-your-face. The riffing throughout is very much death metal influenced and the driving drumming of Erlandsson ensures that the pace remains high. The verses again have a punky feel, which keeps them moving, with Amott's rhythms and the deep bass tones of Sharlee D'Angelo creating the basis for White-Gluz's writhing vocal display. The chorus is much more strident, though, with the pace once again dropped to allow for the anthemic vocal melodies to rain forth - which again are backed by a hooky lead. The chorus might well be the album's best, and it is one that is hard to get out of your head once you have heard it. The song is likely to be a real live favourite going forward, and it is always great hearing the band sounding so melodic. Sadly it is at this point, though, when the quality takes a dive. All four of the opening songs are enjoyable - but, for me, Poisoned Arrow is step down. It is one of two songs here co-written by Amott's brother Christopher, but it does not sound like the ripping tracks that he used to write when he was in the band. It is instead a true mid-paced track that never really gets going. The chorus is not bad, and it is backed by a decent guitar lead, but the rest of the song plods along somewhat. For me, Arch Enemy excel when they are playing faster. They also excel at an anthemic upper/mid-paced style, see Handshake with Hell, but their slower songs sometimes are a bit of a slog. Poisoned Arrow feels a bit like one for me, despite the decent chorus, and it certainly takes the shine off the album following a strong opening. Sunset Over the Empire is better, but it never reaches the heights of the opening numbers - and instead essentially sounds like the band cruising. It does open with a bass riff from D'Angelo, which is something a bit different for the band, but this does not last. It would have been interesting if the song continued in a more bass-led manner, as the band rarely showcase D'Angelo's bass playing at all, but his prominent playing only graces the song's intro - and the rest of the track is a typical fast melodic death metal track with a slower-paced chorus that attempts an epic sound. There are some strong synths during the chorus, which do boost it, but for me the song lacks great guitar leads. All of the best Arch Enemy songs are filled with great leads but, outside of a short solo section, there is little to write home about here from that perspective. House of Mirrors is better again, though, and is the song here which likely comes the closest to matching the quality of the opening few. It does not do anything hugely different, but there are some massive grooves throughout. Amott's riffing throughout the song is very good, and I also really like White-Gluz 1980s-esque opening scream. The chorus also has something of a slightly different vibe, largely thanks to the groove-based riffing and another excellent guitar lead. Arch Enemy's songs are not generally groove-focused, but it works well throughout House of Mirrors. It allows Erlandsson to try a few different tricks behind his kit, whilst both Amott and Loomis impress with busy guitar solos.

Spreading Black Wings, which is dedicated to the late Lars-Göran Petrov of Entombed fame, slows the pace down and goes for a heavier approach. Given that Petrov was a big figure in the Swedish death metal scene, it is unsurprising that a song that pays tribute to him focuses on the death metal side of Arch Enemy's sound. There is less focus on guitar leads here, and the song generally operates in the mid-paced realm. Thankfully, though, it is not as a much of a slog as Poisoned Arrow. A few guitar leads would have been welcome, but the song gets by thanks to its overall menacing tone. Some of the riffing throughout the song sounds quite evil - and it is one that very much goes for atmosphere rather than hooks. There is not even a guitar solo here, with the riffing and White-Gluz's throaty vocals holding everything together. Her vocal performance is very raw, which is again unsurprising, and the subtle use of cold synths (handled throughout the album by Erlandsson) helps to elevate the atmosphere. A short instrumental piece, Mourning Star, follows, which is the latest in the long line of atmospheric pieces written by the band. It starts off more synth-based than usual, though, with a cold keyboard line dominating, before Amott's mournful guitar comes in. The piece carries on the sombre vibes of the previous song, but like many of these interludes it never feels like an essential part of the album. The album is almost over by this point, though, and the penultimate cut One Last Time returns to something more akin to the band's typical sound following a few different focuses. It has all the makings of a strong song, but for me all of the parts do not really hang together. There are some great riffs throughout the track, particularly during the second half of the verses which have an Accept-like quality to them, but everything builds up towards a chorus that does not hit the mark. The rest of the song is pretty great, but the chorus is lacking in strong hooks. I actually prefer the atmospheric pre-chorus, which briefly features White-Gluz's clean vocals again, but the chorus again goes for that slower-paced feel - when an upbeat vibe and remaining in Accept-like territory would have likely sounded better. As such the song lacks punch, which is a shame as there is a lot of potential in many of its disparate parts. The album then comes to a close with Exiled from Earth, which is another strong track - which helps to end things on a high. It does not reach the heights of the opening suite of songs, but there is a big focus on guitar leads throughout - and there is an upbeat feel that White-Gluz nails. She has always been great at a fists-in-the-air style, and this song is very much in that vein. The chorus sounds massive, with some excellent guitar leads to back it, and Amott's melodic guitar solo is a great representation of his restrained style. There are better songs here, but Exiled from Earth is solid closer - particularly in the context of what is a faltering two-thirds of the album. All in, then, Deceivers is, for me anyway, a disappointment. Thinking back to Will to Power, though, I cannot say that I am hugely surprised, and Deceivers just feels like more of the same. It is telling that the best songs here are ones that do something a bit different or just go all-out as far as anthemic songwriting goes. For me, the band's songwriting style needs a shake up, and Loomis is surely the man to help Amott revitalise the band. Amott probably will not realise this, though, but I am hoping to see an improvement on the next Arch Enemy album whenever it comes out.

The album was released on 12th August 2022 via Century Media Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Handshake with Hell.