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Arch Enemy album

Album   Released Publisher Rating
Stigmata (Bonus Tracks) 1998 EMD Int'l
Stigmata (China Bonus Tracks) 1998 Dream On
Stigmata (Japan Bonus Tracks) 1998 Toy's Factory Records
Black Earth (Bonus Tracks) 1996 Regain Records
Black Earth (Japan Bonus Tracks) 1996 Century Media Records
Back to the topStigmata (Bonus Tracks)
Review by Jason Anderson, All Music Guide
Released:
May 05, 1998
Label:
EMD Int'l
Rating:
Styles:
Death Metal
Heavy Metal
The vehicle through which death metal guitar hero Michael Amott channeled his most extreme instrumental concepts, Arch Enemy was an experiment that produced predictably wild and undeveloped results. After the group's debut, Black Earth, shocked and amazed many fans of the Gothenburg sound, Arch Enemy signed with indie metal powerhouse Century Media and released Stigmata in 1998. As often happens with highly anticipated follow-ups, Stigmata disappointed some fans with what some called a more restrained sound and lesser material. Realistically, the tightly constructed production was to be expected, and the real driving force behind Arch Enemy's success -- Amott's guitar work -- is definitely present. On the negative side, vocalist Johan Liiva doesn't do much except stay out of the way, and the addition of Peter Wildoer on drums (in place of Daniel Erlandsson) doesn't help either. Perhaps confirming the band's critics, Arch Enemy asked Erlandsson to return for its next release, Burning Bridges. These problems are really minor when balanced against Amott's massive playing and songwriting, so while Stigmata is a fraction off from the band's debut form, Arch Enemy still delivers some nice melodic death metal on the sophomore effort. [The 2009 edition included bonus tracks.] ~ Vincent Jeffries
Track # Track Time Composer
1 Beast of Man 3:36 Amott, Amott Ringtone
2 Stigmata 2:11 Amott
3 Sinister Mephisto 5:45 Amott
4 Dark of the Sun 7:00 Amott, Amott
5 Let the Killing Begin 5:18 Amott, Amott, Liiva
6 Black Earth 6:39 Liiva, Amott
7 Tears of the Dead 5:55 Amott
8 Vox Stellarum 2:08 Nordström
9 Bridge of Destiny 7:45 Amott, Amott Ringtone
10 Hydra (*) 0:56 Nordström, Amott
11 Diva Satanica (*) 3:44 Amott, Amott Ringtone
12 Damnation's Way (*) 3:47 Liiva, Amott
13 Diva Satanica (Live)(*) 4:05 Amott, Amott
14 Beast of Man (Live)(*) 3:38 Amott, Amott
15 Bass Intro/Tears of the Dead (Live)(*) 6:05 Amott
16 Bridge of Destiny (Live)(*) 5:42 Amott, Amott
Back to the topStigmata (China Bonus Tracks)
Review by Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
Released:
May 05, 1998
Label:
Dream On
Rating:
Styles:
Death Metal
Heavy Metal
The vehicle through which death metal guitar hero Michael Amott channeled his most extreme instrumental concepts, Arch Enemy was an experiment that produced predictably wild and undeveloped results. After the group's debut, Black Earth, shocked and amazed many fans of the Gothenburg sound, Arch Enemy signed with indie metal powerhouse Century Media and released Stigmata in 1998. As often happens with highly anticipated follow-ups, Stigmata disappointed some fans with what some called a more restrained sound and lesser material. Realistically, the tightly constructed production was to be expected, and the real driving force behind Arch Enemy's success -- Amott's guitar work -- is definitely present. On the negative side, vocalist Johan Liiva doesn't do much except stay out of the way, and the addition of Peter Wildoer on drums (in place of Daniel Erlandsson) doesn't help either. Perhaps confirming the band's critics, Arch Enemy asked Erlandsson to return for its next release, Burning Bridges. These problems are really minor when balanced against Amott's massive playing and songwriting, so while Stigmata is a fraction off from the band's debut form, Arch Enemy still delivers some nice melodic death metal on the sophomore effort. [This edition released in China included bonus tracks.]
Track # Track Time Composer
1 Beast of Man 3:35 N/A Ringtone
2 Stigmata 2:11 N/A
3 Sinister Mephisto 5:45 N/A
4 Dark of the Sun 7:00 N/A
5 Let the Killing Begin 5:18 N/A
6 Black Earth 6:39 N/A
7 Hydra N/A N/A
8 Tears of the Dead 5:55 N/A
9 Vox Stellarum 2:08 N/A
10 Bridge of Destiny 7:44 N/A Ringtone
11 Diva Satanica (Bonus Track) N/A N/A
12 Damnation Ways (Bonus Track) N/A N/A
Back to the topStigmata (Japan Bonus Tracks)
Review by Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
Released:
May 05, 1998
Label:
Toy's Factory Records
Rating:
Styles:
Death Metal
Heavy Metal
The vehicle through which death metal guitar hero Michael Amott channeled his most extreme instrumental concepts, Arch Enemy was an experiment that produced predictably wild and undeveloped results. After the group's debut, Black Earth, shocked and amazed many fans of the Gothenburg sound, Arch Enemy signed with indie metal powerhouse Century Media and released Stigmata in 1998. As often happens with highly anticipated follow-ups, Stigmata disappointed some fans with what some called a more restrained sound and lesser material. Realistically, the tightly constructed production was to be expected, and the real driving force behind Arch Enemy's success -- Amott's guitar work -- is definitely present. On the negative side, vocalist Johan Liiva doesn't do much except stay out of the way, and the addition of Peter Wildoer on drums (in place of Daniel Erlandsson) doesn't help either. Perhaps confirming their critics, Arch Enemy asked Erlandsson to return for their next release, Burning Bridges. These problems are really minor when balanced against Amott's massive playing and songwriting, so while Stigmata is a fraction off from their debut form, Arch Enemy still delivers some nice, melodic death metal on the sophomore effort. [This edition released in Japan includes bonus tracks.]
Track # Track Time Composer
1 Beast of Man 3:37 Amott, Amott Ringtone
2 Stigmata (Instrumental) 2:11 Amott
3 Sinister Mephisto 5:45 Amott
4 Dark of the Sun 7:00 Amott, Amott
5 Let the Killing Begin 5:19 Liiva, Amott, Amott
6 Black Earth 6:39 Liiva, Amott
7 Hydra (*)(Instrumental) 0:57 Amott, Nordström
8 Tears of the Dead 5:54 Amott
9 Diva Satanica (*) 3:43 Amott, Amott Ringtone
10 Damnation's Way (*) 3:49 Liiva, Amott
11 Vox Stellarum (Instrumental) 2:08 Nordstöm
12 Bridge of Destiny 7:45 Amott, Amott Ringtone
Back to the topBlack Earth (Bonus Tracks)
Review by Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Released:
1996
Label:
Regain Records
Rating:
Styles:
Death Metal
Heavy Metal
Reissues can be quite revealing when a band has been around for a decade or more. A reissue might demonstrate that a band's sound has pretty much stayed the same over the years, or it might make the listener say, "You know, this band has done a lot of evolving since this album was recorded." Arch Enemy's debut album, Black Earth (which was recorded in 1996 and reissued in the United States by Regain in 2007), is definitely an example of the latter. Between 1996 and 2007, Arch Enemy experienced some lineup changes, and their approach became increasingly polished along the way. That isn't to say that Black Earth is not well played or short on chops, only that Arch Enemy favored more rawness in the beginning. Arch Enemy's 1996 lineup -- Michael and Christopher Amott on guitar, Johan Liiva on lead vocals and bass, and Daniel Erlandsson on drums -- keeps the slickness to a minimum on bare-knuckles thrash metal/death metal scorchers like "Idolatress," "Transmigration Macabre" and "Fields of Desolation" (all of which show the influence of both Sepultura and Iron Maiden). Black Earth underscores thrash and death metal's debt to punk, but the power metal influence is quite evident as well, and for all their bombast, the tunes on this album are fairly hooky and relatively accessible. Of course, longtime followers of Arch Enemy will debate the merits of their early output versus what came later. Some headbangers prefer the gruff-voiced Liiva over his replacement Angela Gossow; others will counter that Gossow was an improvement over Liiva. At any rate, Black Earth was a promising debut for Arch Enemy and is among the Swedish combo's more consistent and memorable efforts. [This version of the album contains a bonus video of "Bury Me an Angel."]
Track # Track Time Composer
1 Bury Me an Angel 3:40 Arch Enemy
2 Dark Insanity 3:16 Arch Enemy
3 Eureka 4:44 Arch Enemy
4 Idolatress 4:56 Arch Enemy
5 Cosmic Retribution 3:59 Arch Enemy
6 Demoniality 1:19 Arch Enemy
7 Transmigration Macabre 4:09 Arch Enemy
8 Time Capsule 1:08 Arch Enemy
9 Fields of Desolation 5:30 Arch Enemy
10 Losing Faith (*) 3:16 Arch Enemy
11 The Ides of March (*) 1:46 Arch Enemy
12 Aces High (*) 6:56 N/A
13 Bury Me an Angel (*)(Multimedia Track) N/A Arch Enemy
Black Earth - Amazon.com
Price: $15.98     2 Reviews
Back to the topBlack Earth (Japan Bonus Tracks)
Review by Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Released:
1996
Label:
Century Media Records
Rating:
Styles:
Death Metal
Heavy Metal
Reissues can be quite revealing when a band has been around for a decade or more. A reissue might demonstrate that a band's sound has pretty much stayed the same over the years, or it might make the listener say, "You know, this band has done a lot of evolving since this album was recorded." Arch Enemy's debut album, Black Earth (which was recorded in 1996 and reissued in the United States by Regain in 2007), is definitely an example of the latter. Between 1996 and 2007, Arch Enemy experienced some lineup changes, and their approach became increasingly polished along the way. That isn't to say that Black Earth is not well played or short on chops, only that Arch Enemy favored more rawness in the beginning. Arch Enemy's 1996 lineup -- Michael and Christopher Amott on guitar, Johan Liiva on lead vocals and bass, and Daniel Erlandsson on drums -- keeps the slickness to a minimum on bare-knuckles thrash metal/death metal scorchers like "Idolatress," "Transmigration Macabre" and "Fields of Desolation" (all of which show the influence of both Sepultura and Iron Maiden). Black Earth underscores thrash and death metal's debt to punk, but the power metal influence is quite evident as well, and for all their bombast, the tunes on this album are fairly hooky and relatively accessible. Of course, longtime followers of Arch Enemy will debate the merits of their early output versus what came later. Some headbangers prefer the gruff-voiced Liiva over his replacement Angela Gossow; others will counter that Gossow was an improvement over Liiva. At any rate, Black Earth was a promising debut for Arch Enemy and is among the Swedish combo's more consistent and memorable efforts. [The Japanese version contains bonus tracks.]
Track # Track Time Composer
1 Bury Me an Angel 3:40 Arch Enemy
2 Dark Insanity 3:16 Arch Enemy
3 Eureka 4:44 Arch Enemy
4 Idolatress 4:56 Arch Enemy
5 Cosmic Retribution 3:59 Arch Enemy
6 Demoniality 1:19 Arch Enemy
7 Transmigration Macabre 4:09 Arch Enemy
8 Time Capsule 1:08 Arch Enemy
9 Fields of Desolation 5:30 Arch Enemy
10 Losing Faith (*) 3:16 Arch Enemy
11 The Ides of March (*) 1:46 Arch Enemy
Black Earth - Amazon.com
Price: $13.99     7 Reviews
Debut effort from Sweden's Mighty Arch Enemy from 1996, includes 3 bonus tracks 'Losing Faith', 'The Ides Of March' & 'Aces High' (Iron Maiden cover).
Back to the topExternal Links
Related Pages
Arch Enemy's Profile Page
Table of Contents
Stigmata (Bonus Tracks)
Stigmata (China Bonus Tracks)
Stigmata (Japan Bonus Tracks)
Black Earth (Bonus Tracks)
Black Earth (Japan Bonus Tracks)
External Links