“Rulers of the wasteland, rejoice in the flames.“
Arch Enemy have been a constant in metal over the past few decades, becoming a staple with 2005’s Doomsday Machine and cemented themselves in the genre with 2014’s War Eternal. Over their lengthy careers they’ve created and fostered a following that has seen them continue to thrive as a band through multiple decades. Former The Agonist vocalist Allisa White-Gluz has fronted this most recent era, taking the reigns from Angela Gossow in 2014. White-Gluz made her full-length debut on 2017’s Will To Power, which saw Arch Enemy stick to familiar ground, and now, with Deceivers, the group looks to find a foothold in this new decade.
Deceivers sees Arch Enemy once again return to the aforementioned familiar ground. There are the huge anthemic moments across the record, with tracks such as “House of Mirrors” sitting on vocals hooks of “In a house of mirrors you’re never alone, welcome home” and lengthy guitar riffs. Early on, it shifts to pacey bangers in “The Watchers“, which will no doubt be a cause of circle pits on Arch Enemy’s yearly festival adventure. While it’s difficult to fault these songs for their technical ability and performance, as the record begins to hit “Mourning Star” their sound begins to show its age.
Though there is an argument for “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”, Deceiver’s ultimate issues is that it too often sounds like the Arch Enemy we’ve known across the last two decades. There is plenty to enjoy for those who are fans of Arch Enemy and their established sound, and it will still be one to enjoy live, yet it can also be seen as a missed opportunity to push the envelope and fully embrace a new era. With White-Gluz having had time to grow into the group, Deceivers could have moved the group out of the shadow of records such as War Eternal.
Deceivers will find popular support amongst Arch Enemy’s fan base and those who have come to enjoy the group’s sound over the years, but sticking to this sound will likely leave them in a silo and fail to attract the attention of potential new listeners. Their sound has now truly reached the limit of what Arch Enemy can achieve with it, so perhaps what comes next in a few years time will see them experiment and return to being a force to be reckoned with.
5/10
Deceivers is out this Friday via Century Media Records, and can be pre-ordered here.