Review of the Album "Black Earth" by Swedish Melodic Death Metal Band Arch Enemy

Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy was created and started by the planning, thought process, and ideas of guitarist Michael Amott. The band’s debut album called Black Earth released in 1996 is an album that I used to have but I still like it a lot. Singing on this album is the vocalist Johan Liiva. He would sing on this album, Stigmata, and Burning Bridges. Joining the band’s founder Michael Amott is his younger brother Christopher who was born in 1977.

The first song called Bury Me an Angel features terrific lead interludes in the song that set the stage for what was to come later. The song is a philosophical and spiritual way to look at what happens in this human life span as some people are torn over what to do from the time that they are alive until the time that they die. If the human soul is not free of hate, the person holding onto these evil influences or spirits will be ruined for all time. There is a sort of metaphorical look at the song as angels have to be buried in order for our souls to be set free from sin, evil, and darkness.

Dark Insanity is a song that is lyrically similar to the first song. It is about a person that has been spiritually and mentally sickened as he is crawling on the floor too weak to really move and escape from the insanity that has been created for him. Even when Arch Enemy has dark lyrics, their music is still solid. Eureka is a song about a person that is hungry for knowledge but he is looking for it in what is referred to as a poisoned fountain. He is getting flashbacks from his past and in the journey, he seems to have found his Eureka or his secret to life. Or has he? His last wish is for him to be set free from this life of boredom. The one person that he loved so much did not love him in return.

The album lyrically touches upon the subject of how life can get very chaotic, confusing, and sometimes even toxic if we put ourselves in front of the wrong crowd of people.

The song called Idolatress is about a person that is seen standing in a place where he is totally lost and confused. However, at least mentally he is living in a world where he feels safe and free from despair. Eventually when he returns to his real life, he will have to figure out how to escape his feelings of angst.

Cosmic Retribution is a melodic song that lyrically predicts the end of life on Planet Earth as there remains a single machine that carries inside it a single embryo of human life. Technology is in constant change as robots are expected to replace human labor in the job sector. There are two short instrumental songs in this album, the first one being a heavy one called Demoniality. Time Capsule is different musically in the sense that it is an acoustic one being influenced by progressive metal and early In Flames.

Transmigration Macabre is a fast death metal song that resembles early Florida style death metal such as the band Death in its early years from about 1987 through 1990. However, Johan Liiva’s vocals are very rough and harsh though they would get better by 1999 where he would be at his peak vocally. Black Earth is a very solid start for Sweden’s Arch Enemy and they would hit a peak from 1999 through 2001.