April 25, 2001 - Wages Of Sin

A day after my last release and just under two years since "Burning Bridges", Arch Enemy released their fourth album "Wages Of Sin" on April 25, 2001. There's one pretty major change since the 90s, and that is that lead singer Johan Liiva is no longer with the band! He was fired due to substance problems and unreliability and I can't say that I will miss him, as I always thought he was the band's weakest link. Their new singer probably came as quite a shock at first, because she's a woman! Angela Gossow takes over lead vocals and it's definitely a bold decision to choose a female singer for a melodic death metal band. But let's give things a listen before we judge!

The album kicks off with "Enemy Within" and after a quiet piano intro they finally shift into a more typical Arch Enemy riff with a nice heavy rhythm section and one of the Amott brothers (Christopher and Michael are both guitarists) playing some pretty cool lesd guitar overtop. Gossow comes in for the first time and she sounds so heavy and awesome! Her voice is about a million times better than Liiva's and it fits this death metal style so much better! She sounds so ferocious and heavy, I love it! After jamming through a couple solid verses and choruses it's solo time and one of thr Amott brothers plays a pretty sweet guitar solo that is very Iron Maiden-esque. The rhythm guitar is nothing to snuff at either and Daniel Erlandsson's drum fill right before the solo is pretty wicked too. This was a nice, high energy song that seems like a great album opener, well done! Up next is "Burning Angel" and it's a little slower but still pretty fast and metal and Gossow really shows off her range as she sounds good screaming low, and even better hitting some super high screams! The music is heavy and yet pretty accessible metal with the lead Amott playing some pretty cool guitar the whole way through. There's another guitar solo, this one a fairly long one, and it's got all kinds of sweet guitar, including a couple shredding bits that sound sweet. With Gossow on vocals now, everything just sounds so more powerful! Another above average tune! Track 3 is "Heart Of Darkness" and it's got a nice marching rhythm section with a pretty catchy and cool lead guitar riff. Gossow sounds great screaming overtop with some blood-curdling high notes and this is some pretty sweet death metal! The chorus is super slow and simple, still heavy but not nearly as exciting as the verse, which they nicely move back into. After the next round they set the stage for solo time with another simple rhythm riff, then we hear a short but pretty epic and cool guitar solo before they close things out with a final chorus. The more complex parts were great, the simpler parts were just decent. The next track is "Ravenous" and they dive right in with some great guitar and drums, before nicely moving into a fast and heavy main riff with great contributions from everyone! Gossow's screams are as heavy as any man's, the lead and rhythm guitar are both awesome, and the rhythm section is a solid fast one, some awesome metal! After a couple rounds of awesomeness they slow things down and shift to a new epic backdrop with some pretty sweet lead guitar that sets the stage for a synchronized solo! Both Amott brothers sync up and play the solo together and it sounds pretty awesome and it's pretty crazy that they could do that! This is easily my favourite song so far, so much great metal! Track 5 is "Savage Messiah" and it has a super slow, doom metal vibe with some nice super low bass by Sharlee D'Angelo and some slow, epic guitars. The pace quickens as they reach the verse and Gossow sounds so good overtop this chugging and heavy main riff. The chorus is back to the slower stuff but Gossow still sounds so dirty and heavy! Solo time happens overtop another slow riff and it's an epic sounding solo but nothing too memorable. Up next is "Dead Bury Their Dead" and it's got a pretty groovy and catchy main riff, for a death metal riff that is at least! Erlandsoon plays some great fast drums and Gossow sounds great once again, she just elevates every song! We hear a wicked early guitar solo between verses and things are pretty relentless, yet somehow a little groovy, an interesting combo that I love. Solo time is spectacular on this song with each Amott getting a chance to show off and neither of them disappoint with a couple phenomenal back-to-back solos! This one might even be better than "Ravenous", another phenomenal song! Track 7 is "Web Of Lies" and Erlandsson plays some great drums to kick us off before they settle into a typically cool main riff. Words don't do proper justice to all these different, unique metal riffs that all have soke pretty sweet guitar and some great screams by Gossow. There's another pretty wicked guitar solo and this all fits the Arch Enemy formula, but it's an above average formula for sure! The next track is "The First Deadly Sin" and it's got a pretty heavy and yet also pretty catchy main riff with some pretty cool rhythm guitar and bass, followed by some super fast thrash-y lesd guitar that sounds great. The verse is super fast and awesome, then they slow it down for the catchy and heavy chorus. It's a great combination of riffs and after a pretty cool guitar solo they break it down with a super slow part, before nicely ramping back up for a final verse and chorus. Lots of good stuff here! Track 9 is "Behind The Smile" and it's got a heavy and groovy main riff and Gossow screams in a distorted, dirty voice that sounds pretty heavy, she is incredible! The music is simpler than other songs, but it's catchy and still solid and that sums up the chorus very nicely as well. They set the stage really nicely for solo time and then an Amott brother rips off a short but really epic and cool solo. A final chorus finishes things up and if this is one of the album's waker songs, it just shows the high bar they have set. Up next is a short instrumental called "Snow Bound" and it's just the Amoty brothers on this one. One plays a soft and smooth light rhythm guitar riff and the other plays a slow epic lesd guitar riff overtop. It's a super epic interlude and it leads right into track 11, "Shadows And Dust". It's another typically cool main riff with some pretty sweet lead guitar leading the way and Gossow comes in and out with her great screams. After a couple solid headbanging rounds it's solo time and we're treated to a long and awesome solo with several parts of crazy shredding that sound sweet! After a final chorus they jam out a closing riff until it fades to a finish and Erlandsson has time for several pretty good drum fills. The final song on the album is "Lament Of A Mortal Soul" and it's got a nice long intro that perfectly sets up another heavy yet catchy main riff with tons of cool guitar and Gossow sounding great screaming high and low. There's back-to-back guitar solos, with the first one being really awesome with some great shredding, and the second one being more simple and epic. After nicely jamming out the end of the song they close out the album with a short epic piano part that nicely brings things down at the finish.

That is the end of "Wages Of Sin" and I thought it was a pretty awesome album! Arch Enemy play a ton of awesome metal music, including two songs that I thought were particularly wicked, and what a new singer Angela Gossow is! She sounds so heavy and awesome and I love the energy she adds to this cool band. I think it's easily better than "Stigmata" and I can't wait to see where Arch Enemy go from here! Bring it on!