What the hell was Arch Enemy thinking???

[lurch70]

I am not sure how you guys see Angela as a "gimmick"?
Yes, she is a woman, yes she looks good, but she definetelly can deliver as well.

I talked about this in another forum, where someone mentioned why certain bands sell and others don't. That's because half the sale is the music itself and the other is the "band".

"Personality" sells, everyone wants someone to relate to so to speak. Even me, in order to get my friends to listen to AE, I tell them they "have a chick singer" ... it makes them listen.

Honestly, I wish AE all the best ... I think all the members in tha band paid their dues and deserve nothing but success after long years of struggling. If they were a shitty band I can understand your complaints, but music is a "business" afterall.

 

[JayKeeley]

In reality, we're probably being hypocritical to view these two people any differently.

Not 'probably', but 'certainly'.

 

[JayKeeley]

The dust has settled...

Tonight I have sat and listened to Stigmata, Burning Bridges, Wages of Sin, and Anthems of Rebellion all in a row.

From a pure musical perspective, Anthems of Rebellion is utterly incredible! Seriously, there was such a backlash here that it made me doubt myself for a second...but my oh my, if anything, I actually like AoR more now than I did when I reviewed it!

As a side note, and in hindsight, Stigmata bores me to fucking tears. It has become so dated so quickly and there is nothing about it that makes me want to go back for more. And Liiva's vocals really did nothing for AE of old - this I will now believe til death do us part - and Gossow is indeed a better vocalist than Liiva.

Regardless of what AE want out of life, this album really is an example of brilliance.

That feels better.

 

[Nate The Great]

I hope my donation to the special olympics helps you win whatever event you excel at.

 

[JayKeeley]

So how many times did you listen to it then? And how many times did you listen to goatsblood - I ordered that the other day btw - bought it blind off your thread.

 

[Nate The Great]

Oh crap . . . you might be in for a jolt with Goatsblood. You'll like it more than Khanate, though.

I am still rotating AoR in my CD player on a day to day basis. I haven't been buying too many CD's lately, so it is getting its fair shake. I just feel it is way too dumbed down compared to the old stuff.

 

[neal]

I hope my donation to the special olympics helps you win whatever event you excel at.

this has me laughing my ass off.
-neal

 

[JayKeeley]

I am still rotating AoR in my CD player on a day to day basis. I haven't been buying too many CD's lately, so it is getting its fair shake. I just feel it is way too dumbed down compared to the old stuff.

OK at least you haven't abandoned it completely. So lets discuss this without getting into anything but the music. When you say the music has been dumbed down, on what basis do you think that? Are you comparing to Morbid Angel or Emperor or previous AE?

You see, to me, AE have never sounded so close to Megadeth as they do now. They are still extremely tight, they've added melody, and the vocals are just slightly more intelligible. The main riff to Silent Wars might as well be Holy Wars. Of course, if you think Megadeth riffs are "dumb", then fine, but I'm just trying to make the same comparison you're trying to make.

AoR is essentially speed metal to me, and I am so glad that they didn't make an obvious Slaughter/Soul clone, which would have been so easy to do if they were following the current Gothenburg trend. I almost see AoR as a nod to their personal idols. And since speed metal was never brutal or aggressive as such, people are misconstruing this new approach as taking an easy route to song writing.

 

[J.]

listening to Goatsblood as I write this. Holy motherfucking shit-stained sheets! Fuck AE. Fuck melody. Fuck musicianship. This is brilliant! Finally, another worthy 2003 release!

Though this will not be appreciated by most. It's fucking bruuuuuuuuuuuuttttttaaaaaaaaaalllllll

oh, and Jay, I told you I'd receive my Willowtip order before my The End order, eventhough my order from Willowtip was placed almost two weeks after. Still no Zyklon.

 

[JayKeeley]

listening to Goatsblood as I write this. Holy motherfucking shit-stained sheets! Fuck AE. Fuck melody. Fuck musicianship. This is brilliant! Finally, another worthy 2003 release!

You haven't even heard AoR you bint. Unless, when you mean "Fuck AE", you mean fuck all of their albums....heh.

oh, and Jay, I told you I'd receive my Willowtip order before my The End order, eventhough my order from Willowtip was placed almost two weeks after. Still no Zyklon.

I got an e-mail from tipton today saying that my stuff has already been shipped. I am intrigued by Goatsblood - I try to see the good in everything.

Hey, my Martyr Music order showed up already muthafukka! That was 48 hours man. Your Zyklon is lost in the ether, isn't that what your gut is telling you? I would just tell The End and have them ship you a second one man....

 

[Papa Josh]

AE has become a CM hype machine that I am just sick of hearing about, seeing, etc...

I think their current crap is just that.

I can't even remember the last time I pulled Wages Of Sin off of its dusty spot on my shelf...

Zod has been fondling too much Kryptonite... Angela's voice is weak. I've seen her live and she just wasn't all that.

Anthems of Rebellion??

For whom, dare I ask?

 

[J.]

You haven't even heard AoR you bint. Unless, when you mean "Fuck AE", you mean fuck all of their albums....heh.

Yeah, I meant pre-AoR stuff.

I got an e-mail from tipton today saying that my stuff has already been shipped. I am intrigued by Goatsblood - I try to see the good in everything.

Yeah, I love how Tipton lets you know that is was shipped. I ordered two Suffocation albums from him just yesterday. I bet I have 'em before Zyklon shows up.

Goatsblood is impressing me more as I delve deeper into the album. Sounds like a more brutal and dirtier Eyehategod. Not really your thing, but who knows, you may love it.

Hey, my Martyr Music order showed up already muthafukka! That was 48 hours man. Your Zyklon is lost in the ether, isn't that what your gut is telling you? I would just tell The End and have them ship you a second one man....

Damn, Martyr Music was fast. Maria's a cool gal. She hooked me up with a free album (my choice) after the Post Office lost my order.

Yeah, I gave The End two weeks and they blew. They'll hear from me tomorrow.

 

[JayKeeley]

Yeah, I gave The End two weeks and they blew. They'll hear from me tomorrow.

If you end up with two Zyklons at any given point, can I have one?

 

[Ayeka]

This week's cover-mounted Kerrap CD features Rancid, To My Surprise, Funeral For A Faggot, Machine Head, Pennywise, Ill Nino, Violent Delight, Muse and...Arch Enemy!

Now, what does that tell us?

Incidentally, the same issue has a rather good interview with the band, the journalist conceding the gimmick-factor in a female singer, and Angela passing fair comment on it. Seeing as a few of you have been moaning about What'shisname guitarist not being acknowledged for his work pre-Arch Enemy, the interview covers that quite nicely. They also take the time to acknowledge some other female-fronted bands that aren't trendshit like Kittie (oops, they've been unfashionable for nearly two years now! ) and....oh, I dunno, The Donnas or god knows who...

 

[JayKeeley]

Avril Lavigne and Kelly Osbourne. \m/

 

[Nate The Great]

I The End is getting a bit big for their own good. They are now getting into some of the major label stuff (Metallica). Willowtip is awesome, but they don't quite have the selection yet.



For AE: The music is dumbed down in terms of orginallity. The lyrics don't help that at all. Angela's lyrics are SO cliched they almost make me laugh at times. Anyway . . . I don't see the Megadeth comparison at all. Rust in Peace is still hard for me to play through, and I've been playing that album on guitar since it came out. I could figure AoR out on guitar in 2 hours . . . easily. I'm not bragging. I'm just saying they don't equate at all. AE plays typical chord progressions behind Angela's "glorious" choruses. Megadeth didn't do that until Countdown to extinction (well maybe a little before that). I'm not saying AoR is the worst album of the year . . . just the most dissappointing. I thought it would be darker and meaner. Not fluffy and squishy. I'm waiting for their cover of "Rubber Ducky."



Rubber ducky,

Your the one.

You make bathtime

Lots of fun!

 

[JayKeeley]

So what you're saying is that you judge an album based on whether you can play the riffs or not? What does that say for your opinion on Sabbath or the Sex Pistols? Don't answer that.

*cue neal any second now...*

OK so I'm being facetious but here is my final summary: I started with Wages of Sin. I love it - most people I know (personally) love it. Shit, even the wife who hates 'death metal' loves WoS. I then went backwards and got BB and Stigmata. I like BB (not as much as WoS), and I actually dislike Stigmata altogether. It bores me to tears to be quite frank. Liiva is a complete disaster.

So when I heard AoR, it was actually quite refreshing because it continued the style of WoS. Perhaps the pattern of people who like AoR against the people who dislike it depends on when those folks started listening to AE....perhaps people who like AoR started with WoS in other words?

Hope that makes sense. If not, I give up! The moral of the story is: "if it sounds good, then that's good enough".

 

[J.]

I started with BB and Stigmata at the same time. Neither blew me away. Then I got Black Earth and it was blah. Then I got WoS and it was even more blah. What a blah band AE is.

 

[Erik]

I The End is getting a bit big for their own good. They are now getting into some of the major label stuff (Metallica). Willowtip is awesome, but they don't quite have the selection yet.

What's wrong with that? Mainstream releases such as Metallica's will cost more but if you're willing to pay then being able to order it from the same place as the other stuff can be nothing but a good thing.

I have lots of respect for The End. Firstly, what they release is most excellent, especially the IVS sub-label. As for the mailorder there have been lots of complaining about slow deliveries lately but I'm pretty certain they're working their collective asses off to deliver stuff as fast and accurately as possible. With all this increased popularity they might want to think about hiring another staff member or something though, dunno.

 

[JayKeeley]

I started with BB and Stigmata at the same time. Neither blew me away. Then I got Black Earth and it was blah. Then I got WoS and it was even more blah. What a blah band AE is.

Can I ask - what made you keep going back for more each time? You only have to put your hand in the fire once.