Arch Enemy push their boundaries with a fearsome new collection.

Release Date:  28th March 2025

Label: Century Media Records

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Blu-ray / Digital

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

Having labelled 2022’s Deceivers album as a possible career high, Arch Enemy founder and guitarist Michael Amott boasts: “This new album pushes the boundaries of what we’ve done before – it’s everything you’ve come to expect from this band, and then some!” Quite some claim. Let’s see.

And, fresh from the back of the Rising From The North tour, Blood Dynasty does indeed confirm another episode. One chock full of furious tempos, mighty riffing and the combo of clean and fearsome guttural vocals. An album that delivers what it pictures on the package. The evidence is immediate. The storm force pummeling of of Dream Stealer that emerges from the fanfare overture combines a furious pace yet isn’t without a hint of melody. It kick starts an album that takes the darkest of metals as its core and embellishes with the occasional sparkling crust.

MONOLITHIC

The riffs on Illuminate The Path are simply monolithic. A track that would in turn, make a top notch single. Again, the dastardly is tempered with the endearing. Check the rather nice chorus and a solo that’s built on feel rather than technical prowess. And then any song with ‘march’ in the title is going to do what it says on the tin. March Of The Miscreants grinds out another pounding rhythm on a first half that sets some insane tempos and where the screams and ferocity see Don’t Look Down capture the paranoia and panic of vertigo.

The intensity of the opening sequence is immediately contrasted with the almost madrigal-like palette cleanser of Presage. A moment to catch the breath and a brief interval that sets a more sedate tone for what’s to follow and leads into the title track. A slow burning drama with a six note guitar hook, heading beyond the halfway marker, the tempos are more considered and the playing more refined. Less is definitely more. Another side of Arch Enemy, dialled down a tad yet retaining that sharp edge and polished glint of dark Metal.

OLD SCHOOL METAL

The title track kicks off a run that sees Arch Enemy take up the challenge of an old school Metal gallop via Paper Tiger and a brooding bluesy cover of Vivre Libre (harsh vocals duly parked for a while, bar the Viking chant). The latter may well be the Arch Enemy concession to the power ballad. While some may baulk at the cleanliness of the vocals but swimming against the tide is always a challenge.And so shall they end as they began. Liars And Thieves, as Michael Amott has said after incorporating the track into the live set, has “been an absolute beast in the pit!” Like his opening remarks, hard to counter.

Marking thirty years of Death Metal excellence, Arch Enemy take us on a journey packed with new beginnings. Blood Dynasty is an album that sees Arch Enemy evolving yet continuing to vent their spleen and rage against the machine.

Here’s Liars & Thieves:

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