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ARCH ENEMY
Blood Dynasty
Century Media

Anger!
Energy!
Flowing positivity!

It's all in ARCH ENEMY to give on the Swedish quintet's 12th studio album Blood Dynasty. The band, known for its mantra of "pure fucking metal", delivers strongly on their latest effort, having rebounded from a notable lineup change and bringing in newcomer Joey Concepcion to take over the guitar slot recently vacated by Jeff Loomis. According to guitarist/founder Michael Amott, as Joey had been a former student of his brother Christopher and had even played with him in ARMAGEDDON, his style of playing had been similar to his, making him an easy fit within the band. And with ARCH ENEMY's own mission statement of delivering the purest of metal having served the band well for three decades, Blood Dynasty shows no change in the lineage.

With vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, drummer Daniel Erlandsson and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo in tow, ARCH ENEMY are at their most bonding throughout the course of Blood Dynasty. Opening with the "Mr. Crowley"-sounding keyboard-laden intro of the chaotic raging power thrash of "Dream Stealer", the band fire on all cylinders as White-Gluz's possessed screams rule over the riff delivery of Amott and Concepcion and Erlandsson and D'Angelo's chugging rhythm. The same can be said for the equally extreme-sounding acrobatic displays of powerful heaviness such as "Illuminate The Path" (featuring some of White-Gluz's most clean-style vocals), "March Of The Miscreants" and the thrash assault of "Don't Look Down". Even the select choice of singles such as "Paper Tiger" and "The Pendulum" briefly sway towards more melodic-sounding tones before reverting back to their best-known moments of heaviness.

Perhaps the most intriguing number from Blood Dynasty is not only the closest to a tender power ballad that ARCH ENEMY have ever recorded, but it's also a deep cover. Cult French trad metal band BLASPHEME are given a fine homage thanks both to White-Gluz's operatic delivery and having French as a first language on AE's take of their haunting 1985 melodic hit "Vivre Libre". It's a remarkably surprising twist for an album that otherwise prides itself on following its own path for strictly its own purposes while challenging itself on its own terms and also the first time in their career that ARCH ENEMY have released a cover as a track on the standard edition of an album rather than the deluxe edition.

Produced by Jens Bogren, whose work runs a wide gamut of damn near every band associated with the Gothenberg music scene, at his neatly-named Fascination Streetstudio, Blood Dynasty is the pinnacle ARCH ENEMY album that keeps it all in the family while ensuring that its own identity never fully bleeds out completely.

4.5 Out Of 5.0

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