Anthems Of Rebellion 2003

"One of the things that I really like about Arch Enemy is their ecclectic approach and how you can find elements of death metal, thrash metal, traditional heavy metal, power metal, progressive metal and so on, not just on the same record, but often in the same song. I think this is as much a contributor to Arch Emeny's originality in sound as the focus on melody is.

Ecclectism and variation certainly characterizes the mighty "Anthems of Rebellion". The first proper track, "Silent Wars" starts out as an old school thrasher, which constitutes its default athmosphere, but it contains elements from power metal and progressive metal alike. The following track, the hit "Rise" is a midtempo track, which reminds me of both Depeche Mode and Anthrax' "Only". And the rest of the album continues down the road of variation, incorporating elements from all of the metal landscape, and sometimes beyond. But, we are not dealing with a band that hasn't found its style, we are dealing with a band where ecceltcism IS its style.

I think this album will appeal to fans of many different subgenres within the heavy metal world (and probably be shunned by purists).

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"

"While not a bad album, for those that hoped for something as inspiring as the awesome Wages Of Sin (One of the best Melodic Death Metal albums ever IMO), well most likely be disappointed by this effort.

It starts off fairly well, but a track like We Will Rise, while at first very catchy, can be easy to get sick of (coming from me, and many other people that have heard this song), while the tracks Dead Eyes See No Future and Saints And Sinners are surely the best 2 tracks. Unfortunately a lot of the rest of the album doesn't do a lot to maintain listeners interest for repeated plays."