[4/5]
Seven albums in, you'd think Swedish melodic-death dealers Arch Enemy would be at least beginning their initial ascent over the proverbial shark-especially after two relatively stiff (but somehow profile-enhancing) releases in 2003's Anthems Of Rebellion and 2005's Doomsday Machine. Yet Rise Of The Tyrant is far and away the most satisfying Arch Enemy album of the four they've recorded with throat-shredder Angela Gossow (opener "Blood On Your Hands" is easily the most ferocious jam they've recorded in the last seven years). The Amott brothers' hermetic guitar acrobatics, though occasionally mired in the Beverly Hills, 90210-isms that seem to be integral to their otherwise sufficiently blazing lead steez, deliver a thorough rhythmic thrashing throughout. Best of all, they've put the rock back in their death, and it's about fucking time. (CENTURY MEDIA) J. Bennett
 Official Website: http://www.centurymedia.com
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