Hard rock and metal fans have had a lot to be happy about this year. New releases from the likes of Pop Evil, Machine Head, and Killswitch Engage are just a few examples of how much the hard rock and metal masses have had to appreciate so far this year. Ther are also highly expected new albums on the way from Dirkschneider and the Old Gang, Shadows Fall, and others on the way, too. While audiences wait for those upcoming records, there is still lots of other engaging and entertaining fare already available, including Arch Enemy’s latest album, Blood Dynasty. Released March 28 through Century Media, the 11-song album (the band’s 12th) is another strong new offering from the veteran extreme metal outfit, as the five singles it produced have shown. There are other songs worth noting that point out the album’s strength, not the least of which being ‘March of the Miscreants.’ ‘Vive Libre,’ one of the album’s later entries, is just as notable in its own right. Much the same can be said of ‘Don’t Look Down.’ This and the other two songs noted here work with the album’s expansive list of singles and that whole with the album’s remaining works to make the whole a work that Arch Enemy’s established fans will appreciate just as much as more casual fans.
Blood Dynasty, the recently released 12th album from Arch Enemy, is a strong new offering from the veteran melodic death metal outfit. It is a presentation whose musical and lyrical content alike will appeal to a wide range of audiences, as its expansive list of singles has already shown. While those songs make up nearly half of the album’s body they are not the only songs that show the album’s strength. ‘march of the Miscreants,’ one of the album’s early entries proves to be its own notable entry. The album’s third entry, the song clocks in at just under five minutes (four minutes, 50 seconds to be exact). Part of what makes the song so notable is the musical direction that the band took with this song. The arrangement here is centered on a guitar riff and rhythm section that is more akin to vintage Fear Factory works than any of the extreme metal sounds that Arch Enemy itself has crafted. Even in the choruses, the melodic approach is a different approach, even with some of the subtle familiar speed/thrash leaning for which the band has come to be known in place. Even with that stylistic similarity, the band still manages to make the song its own work, giving the work its own unique identity.
The lyrical message presented alongside that engaging and entertaining musical arrangement adds to the song’s impact. The message in this case is that familiar call to listeners to be proud of themselves and to stand up against what they believe is wrong. This is clear as front woman Alyssa White-Gluz screams in the bridge, “Will you take a stand/or bend your knee and bow?/Onwards and upwards/Feel the heat/No retreat/Unbowed/Unswayed/Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat/From the shadows/We shall ascend/Triumphant/Triumphant and free.” That message is just as clear in the song’s lead verse, which finds White-Gluz noting, “In realms obscure/Forever underground/We see the world with different eyes/Hell-bound to this heretic sound/Never give up/No compromise.” That very statement to “never give up/No compromise,” alongside the note of “the miscreants” seeing things “with different eyes” brings home the noted message even more. It is a message overall that is easily accessible and familiar. To that end, it works with the song’s equally powerful and unique musical arrangement to make the whole its own example of how much Blood Dynasty has to offer audiences.
‘Vive Libre,’ which comes late in the album’s 43-minute history, is another prime example of how much Blood Dynasty has to offer audiences. That is due in part to its own musical arrangement. Where ‘March of the Miscreants’ is a heavy, intense work with a fully accessible and familiar lyrical message, ‘Vive Libre’ takes audiences in a completely different direction. Exhibiting clear 80s rock influence, the verses have what can be easily considered a doom metal style approach. That very juxtaposition of sound and style within the song makes for plenty of interest. White-Gluz’s vocal delivery style is comparable here, to that of Lita Ford or to a slightly lesser degree, Joan Jett while the instrumentation presents the noted equally unique approach. The whole herein makes ‘Vive Libre’ quite the departure for the band this time out and welcome at that because of that nature.
Looking at the song’s lyrical theme, comes across as being a sociopolitical commentary of sorts. This is inferred as the song, which is sung entirely in French (thank goodness for Google Translate) states in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “On the surface/The waves of hatred/Where sobs cause pain/With words/Of healthy phrases/The ideals/Of a vain idea/To live free/Oh live free/And survive to live free.” It comes across as someone wishing for that freedom again; freedom “covered” by that hatred and the “ideals of a vain idea.” The desire for that freedom continues to seemingly be stated in the song’s second verse, which states, “Too much death/For an idea/And too many bodies/Desperate/In a setting of freedom/Still seeking the truth.” This is an intriguing way to address the seeming message. To that end, the delivery style and the seeming message itself work with the song’s musical arrangement to make the whole another notable addition to Blood Dynasty helping to show the album’s strength.
One more of the more notable of the album’s entries comes late in the album’s first half in the form of ‘Don’t Look Down.’ This is another interesting musical addition to Blood Dynasty in that right from its outset, the full throttle metal riff by Michael Amott is a throwback to the thrash of the late 80s and early 90s. It is another of so many changes of sound and style featured throughout the album that is certain to engage and entertain audiences. When that approach is paired with the band’s more familiar melodic death metal approach, the whole comes together to make this arrangement yet another impressive, unique work that so many audiences will appreciate.
Audiences will appreciate just as much, the song’s lyrical theme, which comes across as another presentation encouraging listeners to be strong. This is inferred as White-Gluz screams in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Piercing thorns of venom/Grow in the minds of the weak/Mother nature gave us/:Lips to conceal our teeth/Not wind, nor hail, nor thunder/Will hinder the tall poppy’s climb/From the ashes/Rise up/Reach out for that speck of sky/Listen/You’ll hear your name/Praise echoes as disdain/Stand your ground/heavy is the head that wears the crown/Because the nail that sticks up/Gets hammered down/Stand your ground/No one is a prophet in their hometown/Never look down.” The “poppy” is metaphor for a person, and those obstacles are metaphor for the obstacles that would otherwise hold a person down. That mention of the nail that gets hammered down comes across as metaphor for the person who stands strong gets beaten down by those whose praise “echoes as disdain.” This is a strong seeming statement. If it is the correct interpretation, the result therein is a message that is sure to connect with plenty of audiences.
The seeming message continues in the second verse with even more metaphor as White-Gluz screams, “As the sickle dances/To decapitate the queen/It’s such a sick romance/That blades of grass can cut so deep/Time for harvest/pay the piper/A crescent moon to turn the tide/As the song of insects/Grinds away the still of night.” There is a lot of contrarian visualization here. The blade of grass being able to cut so deep is comparison to something seemingly so harmless being secretly capable of so much emotional damage. That contrast of the moon controlling the tides while the insects “grind away the still of night” builds on that message, with the most unlikely things having so much impact. Again this is all this critic’s interpretation. If the interpretation is, again, even close to being correct, then it is a message that is delivered in a unique way and that is powerful in itself. Keeping that in mind along with the engaging and entertaining musical arrangement featured in the song, the whole makes the song yet one more unique addition to the album that continues to exhibit the album’s strength. When this song and the others examined here are considered alongside the album’s singles and that collective with the rest of the album’s entries, the whole therein makes Blood Dynasty clearly another welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums that will certainly appeal to Arch Enemy’s established audiences and to casual metal fans alike.
Blood Dynasty, the latest album from Arch Enemy, is a strong new offering from the veteran melodic death metal outfit. The album’s singles have already made that clear. They show that throughout the record the band has really taken a new creative musical direction. The same applies to the songs examined here. The lyrical themes that accompany those songs make for their own engagement and entertainment. When these songs are collectively considered alongside the album’s remaining offerings, the whole makes Blood Dynasty another successful offering from Arch Enemy and one more of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.
Blood Dynasty is available now through Century Media. More information on the album is available along with all of Arch Enemy’s latest news at:
Website: https://www.archenemy.net
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