### Arch Enemy: Wages of sin

#### 03/11/08 || Daemonomania

Checking my email last night, I was deeply surprised to find a message from the McCain campaign. I’m pretty liberal and have never signed up for any sort of Republican propaganda distribution network. What was really odd was that the subject line simply read METAL! Should I delete it as junk? Or see what sort of wacky message awaited me? Below is that email in its entirety, which was prefaced with a note from a McCain staffer informing me they had read some of my prior work on GD and felt I would present the presidential hopeful’s opinions without bias. Without further introduction, I give you Senator John McCain.

John McCain: Hello my friends, and thank you for having me here at Global Domination. Not that I support dominating the globe, mind you. I’m not President Bush! I’m writing to you good folks not to talk about my campaign, but to talk about heavy rock and roll music. My opponent says I’m out of touch with the young people, and I’m here to prove him wrong. Also, I know that a lot of the youth who listen to this type of music are disaffected with politics as usual, and I want to show them that the people who help shape the world are just like YOU. I’ll bet you didn’t expect me to like metal, did you? Well, I’ve always been a maverick. Always will be.

I know that you don’t just get these reviews and post them the same day, so by the time you read this I may or may not be President of the United States. Sure hope so, but you never know. I’ll count on middle-America’s history of doing the right thing, and not supporting someone who is smart and scary and different from them. Speaking of the U.S. of A., I know a lot of GD readers are from all sorts of foreign countries and might not care too much about politics in our country. I hope you’ll change your mind, since it sure would be nice to actually have a coalition of willing countries should we have to stand up again to America’s enemies.

Sorry about all that. I promised no politics, and I’m a straight talker. On to the review. I’ve chosen to write about an album by a bunch of clean-cut young Swedish kids called Arch Enemy. It’s called “Wages of sin,” and since they call this type of music “death” metal, it appears the wages of sin is death! That should please my more faithful voters out there.

I’ll tell you how I came to hear “Wages of sin,” since normally the only Swedish music I’ll listen to is Abba. I was in Iraq, visiting the fine men and women serving in the United States military, and happened to also meet a young man who was working as a contractor for the army. I’ll just call him Ryan the Contractor. He played me a CD, and at first these old (but not TOO old to lead this country) ears were shocked by what they heard. He made me a copy anyway, and I’ve really come to enjoy it. It gets me all fired up before I go out and give a big speech in a battleground state.

What do I like about these Arch Enemies? Well, I like that despite the fact their music is so tough and fast, they’ve got a great ear for melodies. Seems to come with being Swedish, I’d say. And while some of the more breakneck numbers like “Dead bury their dead” and “The first deadly sin” make me feel like I’m back in a POW camp, they’re always willing to slow things down a bit for all of us that aren’t used to this super speedy stuff.

Yep, I like almost every song on here. Once the piano starts on “Enemy within,” I’m drawn right into their angry little universe full of shadows, lies, smiles and dust. In a climate where we might have to face a new, dangerous, and undefined enemy within each day, it’s good to have a little dose of aggression. The first two songs are a bit more melodic and tend to sound more like traditional rock and roll to me, but of course with much more complicated drums and guitars. Gosh, the way these guys play makes me tired just listening to it! Talking about those guitars, their solos are incredible. Quite the pair of ax-men, these Amott brothers.

Then we start to get into the really serious stuff. “Savage messiah” has a spooky introduction that makes me about as nervous as the idea of “spreading the wealth.” Then it really kicks into high gear, with some grim lyrics and a nice, sweet-sounding slow section in the middle. Skipping ahead to the end, I also like the two tunes “Behind the smile” and “Lament of a mortal soul,” which they were nice enough to throw on as a bonus track. “Behind the smile” has a very pleasant keyboard sound in there, and if they’d ever play this type of music on the radio I’d say that would be the one to go with. But the lyrics are so sad – about a person who feels alienated and quite possibly suicidal. Reminds me that we really have to work out a health care plan that would benefit all Americans.

One song I want to talk about in particular, and that’s “Ravenous.” Normally the speed on display here would have my head spinning, but the song is so well put together that even an old (again, not too old) timer like me can really appreciate it. This is quite a standout and one I’ve taken with me on the campaign trail. Can’t say that I’d play it at a rally though. The lyrics are about a carnivorous Jesus, and I doubt that would go over well with my more conservative “base.” Then again, what’s wrong with the Lord being a cannibal, as long as he’s consuming the flesh of people who are planning further attacks against our country? But I’m sure it would be too hard to convince those Evangelicals of anything like that, so I won’t even bother trying.

There are some problems with “Wages of sin,” just like there are some promises I’ve made that might have to be scaled down a bit given our current economy. The song “Heart of darkness” drags on a bit too long. “Web of lies” and “Shadows and dust” are not only generic song names, but they also sound very low-effort to me. And when a person is academic, aloof, and not giving it their all, no matter how great of a musician/speaker he or she is – the people can spot a phony. And the little interlude “Snowbound” doesn’t really serve much of a purpose, and is a bit fruity to boot. Not a dig against you “alternative lifestyle” folks out there, mind you.

I’m also not too impressed with the bonus disc. Pretty sure there’s a reason these guys got popular with “Wages of sin,” that guy they had singing before was darn awful.

Sarah Palin: Hi there John, could I just cut in for a minute? Thanks! I just wanted to say that I’m so proud of Angela for standing up to the good ole boy network of macho men death metal vocalists and really singing her little heart out. She doesn’t look like much of a hockey mom to me, but she’s still an inspiration to women everywhere!

McCain: Thanks Sarah. Always great to have your input. So to close things up, I’ll say that “Wages of sin” is pretty much the only thing I listen to that has come out since 1972. It is certainly heavy duty rock and roll, but it has enough melody and basic song structure to appeal to someone who isn’t familiar with the more extreme side of life. In fact, I’d say the only two items that stick out for me as being “death metal” are the drums and the vocals. No wonder this one was so popular.

Looks like the Domination gang asks for a rating at the end of each review. I’ll give it a 7.5 see you on November 4th’s out of 10!

Thank you again, my friends. Go out, grab a pair of headphones, and make your way to the voting booths. Let’s all stand up, fight, never quit, make history, and get this country moving again.

- Information
- Released: 2001
- Label: Century Media
- Website: www.archenemy.net
- Band
- Angela Gossow: vocals
- Michael Amott: guitars
- Daniel Erlandsson: drums
- Sharlee D’angelo: bass
- Christopher Amott: guitars

- Tracklist
- Disc one:
- 01. Enemy Within
- 02. Burning Angel
- 03. Heart of Darkness
- 04. Ravenous
- 05. Savage Messiah
- 06. Dead Bury Their Dead
- 07. Web of Lies
- 08. The First Deadly Sin
- 09. Behind the Smile
- 10. Snow Bound
- 11. Shadows and Dust
- 12. Lament of a Mortal Soul (Bonus Track)
- Disc two:
- 01. Starbreaker (Judas Priest cover)
- 02. Aces High (Iron Maiden cover)
- 03. Scream of Anger (Europe cover)
- 04. Diva Satanica
- 05. Fields of Desolation ’99
- 06. Damnation’s Way
- 07. Hydra (instrumental)