The Root of All Evil

One of the greatest slabs of metal ever produced. I have all of their previous releses, and was floored when I heard they were re-recording an amazing list of older material. Everyone in the band is firing on all pistons, and the production is OUT OF THIS WORLD! If you even have a passing interest in melodic death metal, you would be doing yourself a great disservice by not buying this album right now, and working your way back through their back catalogue.

More bands should rerecord there older music. Sound quality is so much better now than it was 10 years ago. I have arch enemy's first three albums and this is worth every penny. Imagine all those amazing solos in high quality sound.

I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews for this album, but I believe something different is at work here. Please read on.I've been a fan of Arch Enemy since the Burning Bridges days. I caught their very first U.S. performance, which was in Waunakee, Wisconsin of all places (I figured they would start on the east coast and work their way west), opening for Nevermore on their Dreaming Neon Black tour. I think my girlfriend at the time and I were the only ones standing at the gate screaming with horns up . . . many of those present were locals who didn't understand the greatness they were witnessing. Followed the tour to Milwaukee for seconds the next night. I was on the email list and received word of Angela Gossow's induction into the band. I remember that Mike & Company teased us with sound samples and commented: "soon we'll reveal the one behind the vocals." Along with the rest of the world, my jaw dropped as I learned that it was noneother than . . . the very beautiful Angela Gossow! What a treat! And I remember sending Angela an email to express my congratulations to her and my anticipation of hearing everything to come with her in the band. The down to earth and friendly person she is, she sent me a very nice reply. AE are not only incredibly musicians, they're a great bunch.There, those are my AE credentials. LOL.Let's not forget that all the material on this album is over 10 years old, and my experience is that it has been a rarity to hear this material played live anymore. I very much missed stomping along to such favorites as Dead Inside or Pilgrim. While I would have loved to see a re-make of my personal favorites: Eureka and Idolatress, I suppose the band had to draw a line at some point - they can't remake everything, LOL.I give 4 stars and not 5 because I too would prefer to hear new material. That said, I would never give this album a BAD rating because - as I said above - I think there is somethign at work here.When Angela came into the band, she had big shoes to fill. AE was still in its "younger" stages and still carving out its niche. 10 years later, AE has grown. I believe this album is a re-interpretation of its older material, as viewed through the eyes of its more experienced band members, and mixing in Angela's vocal style to the overall product. In a sense, this album strikes me as almost therapeutic to the band - a way of connecting Angela to its very roots.I agree with a few of the comments that have pointed out that some of the songs have lost a little bit of "edge." Well, again, lets not forget that the band undoubtedly sees the world and appreciates music differently than it did 10 years ago. Music, like people, has to evolve and grow. Music should not be a constant, it SHOULD be organic, and I believe that many of the previous reviewers should give this album another try, with "fresh" ears. Try to appreciate it for what it stands for, not for what the originals stood for.I sincerely hope that AE is using this album to re-visit its roots and warm up its chops in preparation to BLOW US AWAY with a new album in the coming months!

A+

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There seems to be some controversy with bands re-recording their old music. To the fans, it's either some cash-in attempt, or the group is supposedly ruining the legacy of their old music (because of the musicians that performed in the band back when the music was first written). Some have had it out for bands that do it, whether it's Exodus redoing Bonded By Blood with Let There Be Blood (because they feel that they're tarnishing the legecy of the late Paul Baloff), or Anthrax redoing some of their classics with The Greater Of Two Evils (because some felt that the newer lineup couldn't do the songs justice). Whatever the case, it's a pretty risky move re-recording classics. Especially when your band is Arch Enemy. There's three kinds of Arch Enemy fans: the ones that prefer the older AE with Johan Liiva on vocals and can't get past the fact that he was replaced by a female (Angela Gossow), the fans that prefer Angela as the band's vocalist and can't stand Johan's vocal style, and the ones that will listen to both (like myself). Here we have The Root Of All Evil, a compilation of songs from the band's first three albums: Black Earth, Stigmata, and Burning Bridges. There's already a lot of hate going around about this release, especially from the fans of the first three albums. Listen, the band didn't do this to cash-in or try to replace the classics, and I'm pretty sure that they've not run out of ideas (as they preparing to record new music in 2010). Why did they do this? Simply put: because the fans wanted it....and that's straight from Michael Amott himself, you can read about it in an interview online somewhere.Anyway, don't pass judgment on this so soon. If you're too close-minded to bother with this, then don't. AE aren't trying to replace the classics with this, this is a tribute to them, and it's also for the newer fans that haven't seen the current lineup perform these songs live and want an idea of how awesome they would sound, and this cd shows it. The albums had great production quality as they were produced by Fredrik Nordström (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames). They kept it simple this time: producing it themselves with longtime friend, collaborator, and legendary producer Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Megadeth, Exodus) mixing & mastering. Everything about this record sounds perfect. Whether you're a fan of either vocalist's style, or both, you should give this cd a shot.

A little disappointing.