...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI...


..::OPIS::..

I guess the most fitting analogy to use here would be that Black Earth is to Arch Enemy what Heaven & Hell was to Black Sabbath, being the reunion of a beloved prior lineup in all but name. And while it obviously couldn’t hope to generate the same ludicrous amount of hype as when we all heard Dio, Iommi, and Butler were getting back together, I can remember it causing a stir in the metal scene all the same. The musicians who brought us the first 3 classic AE albums, still widely considered to be the band’s best, are all getting back together for some shows? Despite having never considered myself a die-hard fan of the band, in any incarnation, it was impossible not to be intrigued. Limited to a mere couple of tours in Japan, few are the people fortunate enough to have experienced one of these concerts firsthand (I count myself very lucky to have done so in 2019). But for those who never got the chance, 20 Years of Dark Insanity ought to be a fantastic consolation. Indeed, this is so much more than a mere live release. Never mind that on those terms alone, it’s easily one of the best I’ve ever heard/seen, this is without a doubt the single best product Arch Enemy has ever put out, effectively functioning as a top shelf re-recording and best-of to boot.

For my money, every song on here utterly blows its studio version away. A big part of this is down to Johan Liiva, whose vocal technique has evolved significantly since he first laid down these tracks in the 90’s. Though I’ve encountered plenty of praise for his performances on those albums, it’s not an opinion I share; his unwieldy barking and grunting was the thing above all else that kept me from giving those records the attention they otherwise clearly deserved on a musical level. Here, he sounds like a completely different vocalist. More ghoulish, eerie, and with a somewhat desiccated quality, as if he were slowly rotting from the inside. To put it another way, he sounds much like how the skeletal depictions of the band members on the cover look. Instead of coming off like he’s straining to shout his lungs out over top of the guitars, his growls sit comfortably in the mix as part of the arrangement, content to serve more of an atmospheric role than demanding to be a point of focus (that is, and always should be, the domain of the Amott brothers in this band). Though I still wouldn’t think to rank him high in my personal pantheon of death metal singers, his improved performance alone is enough to make me reach for this over any of the first 3 studio records.

The rest of the band is simply on fire throughout, tearing through these old classics with enough vigor to make you swear no time had passed at all since their release. They don’t quite manage to squeeze the entirety of the Liiva-era into the setlist, but it’s about as close as anyone could reasonably expect. All the fan favorites are accounted for, replete with plenty of crowd support; hearing hundreds of frenzied Japanese fans singing along with the guitar melodies in songs like “The Immortal”, “Pilgrim”, and “Bury Me an Angel” is simply spine-tingling. And while perhaps not every tune from Stigmata or Burning Bridges could make the cut, the second half of the show sees them run through the debut album, Black Earth in full, with a performance so fantastic it all but renders the original 1996 version obsolete. The newly added piano/orchestral intro preceding it is the cherry on top, reinterpreting the signature theme from the closer “Fields of Desolation”. This paired with the reprise in the middle of “Cosmic Retribution”, and then capped off with the track proper at the end actually provides the album with an overarching feeling of cohesion, almost akin to a conceptual work. Add to this the brothers’ gloriously thick guitar tone and Liiva’s refined vocal style, and it should be little surprise I’ve never touched the studio release since.

… huh? What do you mean there’s a new song? Well, yes, there is actually a new original studio cut, “Darkness Has Returned” on the CD version. Truthfully, I can probably count the number of times I’ve listened to it on a single hand, including just prior to writing this review. To its credit, it’s a fair bit more musically adventurous than your average track from the Gossow and White-Gluz eras, particularly where that slower, classically influenced middle section is concerned. The primary riffs that drive the song however do tend to fall back into that modern stomping territory characteristic of the band’s later material, and the full package ultimately doesn’t measure up to the rest of what’s on here. While not bad, it goes to show that merely revisiting and even successfully revitalizing one’s older work usually isn’t enough to get those same creative juices flowing again. This song stands in stark contrast to the rest of the album not just for the lack of a screaming audience, but for the fact it was written in a different time, by a band who are now in a much different headspace than they were 20 years before. It’s fine for a listen every once in a blue moon, but will never be what I’m looking to hear whenever I decide to pop these discs in.

With that aside, this is the band’s best release by a mile in my book, regardless of whatever name it was put out under. And what’s a name matter anyway? Much like anyone who had the opportunity to see Heaven & Hell live all but surely claims to have seen a Black Sabbath concert, I will always refer to the show I saw in 2019 celebrating the 20th anniversary of Burning Bridges as an Arch Enemy concert. The same holds true for this album. Except this isn’t just any Arch Enemy album. This is THE Arch Enemy album. The one I’ll be spinning for years longer than any other, that’s for sure.

UnholyCrusada



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Black Earth
2. The Immortal
3. Dead Inside
4. Pilgrim
5. Sinister Mephisto
6. Diva Satanica
7. Tears Of The Dead
8. Let The Killing Begin
9. Angelclaw
10. MCMXCVI
11. Bury Me An Angel
12. Dark Insanity
13. Eureka
14. Idolatress
15. Cosmic Retribution
16. Demoniality
17. Transmigration Macabre
18. Time Capsule
19. Fields Of Desolation
20. Beast Of Man
21. Silverwing
22. Bridge Of Destiny
23. Vox Stellarum



..::OBSADA::..

Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass
Daniel Erlandsson - Drums
Michael Amott - Guitars
Christopher Amott - Guitars
Johan Liiva - Vocals



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkQ3ZP--lg


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