Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Album number 12, I remember buying the first album “Black Earth” when it came out, so I have been listening to these guys from the start, yet another lineup change in the guitar department for this one, with Jeff Loomis leaving and Joey Conception coming on board, I am interested to see if there is a change in direction for this one, let’s find out!
Dream Stealer
Kicking off with a gothic organ pulsing in and a thunderstorm, this wouldn’t be out of place on a COF album, that riff is almost out of a black metal place, furious start, then a change before the verse kicks in, its full pelt, really nice mix of vocals on the pre chorus and then a really abrupt change into a double kick part for the chorus, there is lovely half time part, then a quick solo comes in, nice tapping interlude there and then Joey first solo I am pretty sure then Michael comes in with a more melodic solo before hitting the chorus again
Illuminate the Path
Phased intro to this one as it builds in, this is a more mid stomper, with a double kick pattern just driving along, some nice cymbal work in there as well, then it evens out and you hear a melody part before the verse which is a four to the floor stomper, then that melody comes in again you had a taste of, that chorus is just full of Alissa clean singing, little bit of growl at the end, solo section and there is straight away a melody part comes in, Micheal with the first solo, Wah drenched as usual, then back into the vocals, before the song smashes out with a really heavy double kick groove!
March of the Miscreants
Lovely drum work again to kick this off and an off-time groove, I think in 7/8, not something they do very often and its really cool just adding something to the verse, it straightens out in the chorus part, with Alissa holding a distorted melodic vocal part over a straighter riff, some nice gang vocals in the background of the chorus, the middle riff is a total Heart work style part when you think about it, very Carcass, then it changes into a clean delayed guitar part, before falling into a very slinky groove, really nice part there with a melody and more static chords, key change into the first solo which is definitely Michael, very soaring feel, then the odd time groove comes in and Joey is up with a bit of trem bar abuse in there, before we are back into the verse and out to the chorus!
A Million Suns
Love the start of this, trem picked guitar parts with a cool rhythm part, the guitars are almost two separate parts working together, then when the chorus comes in it is totally epic sounding, then when it half times it really grooves, crisp production, you really hear with headphones all the component parts going on, that’s a really interesting middle section, and then comes in a really nice technical solo from Joey, then part two is Micheal with an absolutely lovely solo that builds and climbs up in feel, some really nice drum work as well in the background that is easily missed and then back into the chorus and into a heavily orchestrated outro with again some nice drum work!
Don’t Look Down
Thats a nasty riff to kick that off, really thrashy in feel, and the drums follow it right in the same vein, then it changes to a double kick verse part, really driving and clean sounding, the guitars are really sharp, then a really nice build up part that takes you right in to the chorus, where it goes half time and really head down driving, then changes between feels, great use of time and drums to make this part absolutely massive, but that riff in the verse, it is filthy, that’s a proper shredder of a solo right there from Joey, cracking tune!
Presage
Think that’s a cello that comes drowning in and you hear a steel string acoustic part coming in, very baroque sounding and there is a nice choir part in the background as well, nice little prelude to the title track!
Blood Dynasty
Harmony guitars bring this one in, with two separate counterpoints coming in then the riff comes in, one playing the melody and the other the chords, over a nice slow driving groove, then it picks up as it goes into the verse and Alissa comes in screaming, the riffs and feel change and switch around, before that melody comes back in again as we hit the chorus part, the middle part then comes in and you have a really nice switch up in feels before Michaels solo comes in, as always melodic and soaring in feel, it’s what he does, then it slips into a spoken vocal part before a key changes and into the chorus again, as Joey then comes in with his solo as the song finishes out.
Paper Tiger
I’m just saying, with a riff like that, the 80s are back, really reminds me of a hair metal song, then Alissa lets a high scream out, now if it wasn’t for the vocals this is pure 80s, I’m not complaining but it’s a bit odd, till you get to the pre chorus and it gets a bit heavier, but that chorus, just think of it with clean singing, even the middle with the harmony guitars and vocals, the solos are great but I don’t know about this one at all!
Vivre Libre
Clean guitars and a bit of atmospherics in the background to start this one, then Alissa comes in with the clean vocals, it reminds me of Priest for some reason, then when you kick into the pre chorus part, it kicks up in gear, not in a heavy way, just the orchestration, but still with the clean vocals, the vocals are seriously impressive in the second verse, with Alissa hitting some proper high cleans, lovely solo from Micheal right there, full of melody and grace, then the first heavier part comes in after that then the gang vocals come in on the backgrounds, properly epic track, love the way it drops down again to that clean guitar at the start!
The Pendulum
Thats a real groove at the start of this one, lots of orchestration along with it before it drops into the verse, that guitar and drum syncopation makes it seem so heavy and then a nice switch to the start with the orchestration in the pre chorus before a tempo change into the chorus part, then a lovely Yngwie counterpoint style riff comes in before the first solo, which again is pure Yngwie which is Joeys solo before Micheal comes in with his Wah drenched sound, then there is a break with a harpsichord before the band kicks back in with the same refrain over the chorus, really liked this one!
Liars and Thieves
Opening with an epic almost power metal feeling intro to this one, then a switch to a weird riff that almost feels like it doesn’t work, or it is too fast for the part, the chorus is almost like a hardcore sort of vocal part, yeah that riff really isn’t working for me at all, then you have a clean vocal and the power metal leanings are right there again, before the tom groove of the middle section, then bang into another riff, think Joey has the first solo and then Micheal comes in after him, pretty sure on that, then back into that intro part again which rounds out the album!
8 out of 10
You know in the most part what our going to get with an Arch Enemy album, are they trying to go even more melodic and use more of the clean singing, absolutely, and this might not be for everyone, the first 4 Arch Enemy albums will always be my favs, however, I actually like the experimentation of this album, now the last song was the only one that didn’t grab me, the rest really did, some really interesting songs in there, and another step on the bands evolution, I don’t think you’re going to get a balls out album like Black Earth again, this is like War Eternal but with more melody, give it a listen, it will take a couple of spins for sure, but I like it!
Tracklist Blood Dynasty
- Dream Stealer
- Illuminate The Path
- March Of the Miscreants
- A Million Suns
- Don’t Look Down
- Presage
- Blood Dynasty
- Paper Tiger
- Vivre Libre
- The Pendulum
- Liars & Thieves
Arch Enemy line-up:
Alissa White-Gluz – Vocals
Michael Amott – Guitars
Joey Concepcion – Guitars
Sharlee D’Angelo – Bass
Daniel Erlandsson – Drums
Pre-order now: https://www.blood-dynasty.com
