When Alissa White-Gluz joined death metal act Arch Enemy during their previous release “War Eternal”, the lineup change couldn’t have gone smoother. Alissa White-Gluz not only took the band to a new level, she introduced a whole lot of new opportunities for the band.
With “Will To Power” another lineup change has been made: ex-Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis joins Arch Enemy. The combination of Loomis and Michael Amott seems to work well. The melodic guitar parts blend in well with the often audible brutality up to a point where some of the songs are very powerful. White-Gluz takes a stronger position in the band, which is something refreshing to hear.
The introduction “Set Flame To The Night”, is a standard Arch Enemy introduction, but when the powerful “The Race” kicks in, we are left with a great opener promising us a great ride. The track ends with an impressive guitar solo. “Blood In The Water” has interesting vocal parts, building up to great melodic guitar solos. “The World Is Yours” is probably the best song for me on the album. It starts off with that tension that you need and kicks in with an awesome riff. White-Gluz’ vocals and the lyrics are a true piece of art. The song is very empowering.
When Alissa White-Gluz was announced to join the band, we already knew that she also does great clean vocals. This has been hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles. And yes, finally our prayers have been heard. This album she fortunately gets to use her beautiful voice in “Reason To Believe”. The song has the perfect combination of clean vocals and growls. It’s very dark and heavy material, but very interesting for Arch Enemy. “Reason To Believe” is the most refreshing song on the album, hopefully we will get to hear more of these in the future. It surely shows us the talent of White-Gluz.
“Will To Power” has taken the band to a new level, it took the parts of Arch Enemy’s previous work and inserted some new refreshing elements, that we’ve all been waiting for. The rhythmic section is a strong motor in the brutality of Arch Enemy, while the guitar riffs and solos are very strong. The vocal parts are more diverse than ever and the emotions on this album are very well connected to what White-Gluz is singing lyric-wise. This album has been certainly worth it to wait for.
Tracklist
- Set Flame To The Night
- The Race
- Blood In The Water
- The World Is Yours
- The Eagle Flies Alone
- Reason To Believe
- Murder Scene
- First Day In Hell
- Saturnine
- Dreams Of Retribution
- My Shadow And I
- A Fight I Must Win
Line-up
Alissa White-Gluz – Vocals
Michael Amott – Guitars
Jeff Loomis – Guitars
Sharlee D’Angelo – Bass
Daniel Erlandsson – Drums
Links
https://www.archenemy.net/
