Wages Of Sin Review

Released: 2001
Genre: Rock
Tones: Aggressive, Bleak, Rowdy, Ominous, Menacing
Styles: Death Metal/Black Metal
Number Of Tracks: 21

Sound:	9.4
Lyrics:	8
Impression:	9.4
Overall rating:	8.9
Users rating:	8.6
Comments:	9

overall: 9.7

Featured review by: The Black Salts, on september 22, 2007

Sound: Wages of Sin is the defining album for Arch Enemy, released in 2001 as the band's debut with front woman Angela Gossow. Melodic, fast, heavy, and bleak Wages of Sin is a non-stop Melodic death metal masterpiece. But unlike many melodic death metal bands Arch Enemy wield a darker, eerier sound that does not strike as similar to Melodic death metal bands Inflames, Children of Bodom, and Amon Amarth, which produce more uplifting and folk-like melodies. Combining Gossow's spidery beltch, the Amott Brothers' heavy technicalities, Daniel Erlandsson's piercing beats, and Sharlee D'Angelo's present bass, Wages of Sin is sure to impress any fan of the Gothenburg and death metal scene. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: There are several religious implications from Wages of Sin, and the first that comes to mind is Ravenous, one of Arch Enemy's most popular songs. The chorus includes the well known "Carnivorous Jesus" line among other suggestive song titles such as "Savage Messiah", "Web of Lies", and "The First Deadly Sin". Wages of Sin targets Christianity as the source of one's desperation and inner suffering, but to any metal fan the power of the music will do just the opposite. The words are not overly deep and are often spoken aggressively and snakelike, demonstrating Gossow's presence and skill as a female death metal vocalist. // 9

Impression: There isn't a single Arch Enemy fan who dislikes "Enemy Within" or "Ravenous" off Wages of Sin, but for those of you who have never listened to either know that they are both fast and powerful. Enemy Within is a balance of melody and thrash, while what you gather most from the sound of Ravenous is its heavy, thrashy main riff. However because I am not a fan of slow, gloomy songs in metal, tracks like "Savage Messiah" and "Behind the Smile" aren't as enjoyable, but they remain great songs nonetheless. "Dead Bury Their Dead" is also a killer song, with a great opening riff and amazing solo. Fortunately I can say that every musician in the band is heard. Michael Amott is a legendary guitarist who never fails to impress fans with top notch melodies, riffs and solos; Daniel Erlandsson's sound is clear, fast and technical; Angela Gossow is a well known death metal vocalist who puts a lot of energy into her growling, and D'Angelo's bass is heard even above the roaring guitars, drums and singing. What more can I say? Go out and buy this album. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: animike123, on march 30, 2004

Sound: I have one word that would deff. desribe the sound of this album...ORGASMIC!!! They are my fav. New-Metal band (and no, not Nu-Metal, I mean a hardcore metal band that is not very old). The double-bass on this album is to die for. And the solos, Mr. Ammott is my 2nd favorite soloist (besides randy rhoads that is). // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Not much to say about the lyrics. They're good, but not amazing. But Angela Gossow is an amazing singer...and sexy too, ;-). The lyrics are somewhat in depth, and if you understand them you can apreciate them more. // 8

Impression: BUY THIS CD!!! You shall be enlightend. This is one of my fv. albums of all time. Revenous is an amazing pump-up song, and songs such as Behind the smile you can just get lost in the pure feeling and emotion. I love how this band can incorperate the old styles of Classic rock and fuse them w/ Nu-Metal, and just Kick- Your ass with it. If some faggot stole this cd, I would hang him with a barbed-wire nouse, then I'd buy 2 more, one for listening to, the other to keep in safe-keeping for a backup. Overall, ORGASMIC!!! // 10

overall: 8.7

Reviewed by: big bear, on february 11, 2004

Sound: The sound and overall level of musicianship on this album is excellent. The Ammot brothers twin guiar attack is simply outstanding, how they manage to play such technical parts in perfect cohesion is a mystery to me, and saniel Erlandson's manic double bass work thunders out with amazing speed and brutality. Tracks such as Ravenous and Shadows And Dust have all the heaviness you want, mixed in with beautiful melodies to create a vibe that is simply amazing. The instrumental Snow Bound is nothing short of breathtaking in it's melodicism. In fact the only track that delves into cliche'd Death Metal riffs is The First Deadly Sin, although this does help even out the overall balance of the disc. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on the album mainly fall into the "death and torture" death metal territory. Which is a shame, because these songs deserve more.

Although, Angela Gossow's (yes, it IS a woman singing, please get over it) voice eventually becomes just another instrument in the fray, so, such complaints ane only minor. // 6

Impression: Overall, this is one of the greatest albums in it's category and is sure to be a future classic, being all the more amazing when you consider that this is frontwoman Angela Gossow's debut album !

Standout tracks are the aforementioned Ravenous, Enemy Within, Burning Angel... ahh, to hell with it, theyr'e all great, apart from Behind The Smile, which opens with a Nu-Metal riff, but later redeems itself with a beautiful harmony section.

If the CD was stolen, I'd definitely go out and buy it again. And then seek out and kill the person who stole it!

So if you like swedish melodic death metal (or are looking to get into it), there's no better place to start than here. Classic! // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Deathbass89, on march 03, 2004

Sound: The sound in Wages Of Sin is amazing. For you who don't know who Arch Enemy is, they are a death metal band from sweden (with an exception of the singer because she came from Germany). The band is Mike Amott(Lead Guitar and former Carcass guitarist), Christopher Amott (Lead guitarist and also Mike Amott's little brother), Daniel Erlandsson (drums), Sharlee D'Angelo (bass guitar), and Angela Gossow (Lead Vocals). A lot of it is fast and heavy guitar rifts and double bass on the drums. The most amazing part of this album is the guitar solos because they are melodic yet heavy. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: I would have to say that in their lyrics, they have fantacy, santanic, and violence in their lyrics. Those kind of lyrics go great with the music, after all, it is a death metal band. If you look in the booklet that comes with the CD case and you look at the lyrics, you will see that lead guitarist Mike Amott writes most of the lyrics. The singer is very talented. She sounds like she is posessed by the Devil. When I first heard her, I thought she was a man until I saw a picture of her(she is cute too). I was surprised. She is the perfect singer for a death metal band. // 10

Impression: All the songs in this album is awsome, but if I had to pick, it would be Enemy Within (Track 1), Heart Of Darkness (Track 3), Ravenous (Track 4), Savage Messiah (Track 5), Dead Bury Their Dead (Track 6), and Shadows And Dust (Track 11). What I love about this album is that it has it's own sound, the heavy guitar riffs and solos, and the singer. If I losted this album, I would tear my house apart looking for it or buy another one. This album is definitely worth buying. Well I hope you liked the review and as a Death Metal fan, Arch Enemy is one of my favorites. // 10

overall: 7

Reviewed by: beaster_bcrich, on december 03, 2005

Sound: Overall, they have a normal dealth metal sound. Mabey even thrash in some parts, but I wouldn't concider them thrash. Really, they don't have all that much going for them. The first song Enemy Within has a catchy intro after the minute of piano, but kind of goes down hill from there. But still not have bad. If you like anti-Cristian band, there one that knows how to sing anti with just coming out with it. We've seen a couple metal bands now with women as lead singers, and so far I recomend this one over all the others. Not half bad intrumentals, and hard but not annoying vocals, it's not a bad listen if you like the type of music. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: As I mentioned before, promonently a anti-Cristian lyric base, but not bailtent about it. In fact, its more twisted religious than anti-Cristian, but still has Cristian ties. Angela Gossow does a good job in the singing area. Its in your face, deep, and growly, not this screming crap like we see so mush of today. At the same time, it still has lyrics that you can think about and get more than what lies on the srface, like what you get with others like Lamb Of God. // 7

Impression: If I was walking though a music store devoted to metal, they wouldn't be my first choise. But in the long run, they can play and sing better than some of the more main-stream metat out there today. I like the vocalist's growly voice and the guitar isn't that special, but not stupitly repeative. The whole twisted religous aspect of the lyrics can get a little old, but thats a matter of yout mind. I wouldn't replace the CD right away in case of theft and or loseage, but I would eventually replcae it. // 7

Comments

[grungehead27]

arch enemy kicks ****in ass

for that matter any band out of sweden kicks ass

and band out of ****ing scandinavia is amazing.

[Shreddin 4 Life]

You know, for a "grungehead" you sure know how to pick your metal and of course, any band out of Scandanavia kicks ****in' ass. Arch Enemy rules!!!

[guitarist_2006]

****ing arch man

[metalreaper450]

This cd straight kicks ass
sick melodies
sick riffs
sick vocals
what more do you want?

[Kevin67]

the intro to ravenous is gay, erspecially when the play it in the middle of the song

[Kiotaka]

Kevin67 wrote:

the intro to ravenous is gay, erspecially when the play it in the middle of the song

You think it's gay cause you can't play it! :P

[(sic)ness6669]

Kiotaka wrote:

Kevin67 wrote:

the intro to ravenous is gay, erspecially when the play it in the middle of the song

You think it's gay cause you can't play it! :P

ya that is probably true dude. its pretty intense. amazing cd.

[The Black Salts]

Mr. Beaster you sound like a rock fan who listened to Arch enemy one day and decided to compare their sound to other metal you deem "screams" too much, which is not a good idea. You don't sound like you know what you're saying and if you don't know enough about music to properly review an album just save us the time and don't make ignorant comments.

First of all, saying that Arch Enemy doesn't have a lot going for them in the metal world is like saying Lamb Of God, Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth, Megadeth, and Opeth aren't popular, which is stupid.
If you're talking about musicality, you're also wrong. Arch Enemy is one of the few bands in which you can actually admire every musician. The drums are good, the guitars are good, the bass is good, and the singing is good. So what exactly are you saying? Were you sleeping while the album was playing?
Then you say the guitars aren't that "special"? Are you kidding? Mike Amott is a great guitarist.
What's that? If you ever lost the album you wouldn't replace it but then you would replace it? That doesn't even make any sense, you crack head.

[fr33t0m]

Everyone who likes metal should grab this album. "The Black Salts" above comments hit the nail on the head. This album will not disappoint you! 9.5/10