Arch Enemy "Wages Of Sin"

Wages of Sin is the fourth studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It is the first Arch Enemy album to feature the vocals of Angela Gossow. It is also the first album they use Standard-C tuning, which they still use today. It was released on 25 April 2001 in Japan, but the European and American releases were delayed to 18 March 2002.

Wages of Sin was well received by most critics, who praised the new singer Angela Gossow. Blake Jessop of Blistering said that she handles the vocals on the album expertly. But he wrote that "while less diverse than Liiva, the diminutive German's more traditional death metal style gives Wages an uncommonly brutal, if slightly less creative air." Jessop also states the album "musically, it is predictably brilliant". Dennis of Lords of Metal said that "the female vocals by Angela Gossow are a remarkable performance" and that it was a big improvement compared to the former singer Johan Liiva. Jeff of Metal Storm stated that "with Wages of Sin, Arch Enemy delivers to us one of the best albums of the year 2002 and proves us by the same opportunity that girls are not relegated to only sing in atmospheric and gothic metal." Ty Brookman and Jon Eardley of Metal Review was surprised with the Gossow vocals. Brookman commented that when he heard that Arch Enemy would a female singer, his first reaction was "career suicide", but after to listen to the album, he changed his mind stating that "Gossow delivers a vocal tirade that rivals any male vocalist." Brookman praised the band, however, he said about the album that there are elements that seem lacking in a few places. Eardley said that this album has "one of the best vocal performances of 2001" and that it "is a true masterpiece." Chris Flaaten of Chronicles of Chaos wrote that "the album has their best production to date and variety is abundant" and that the band found what they needed in Gossow. Despite Serge Regoor of Archaic Magazine states that her voice sounds great, he comments that "actually the vocals are much better too, but they are still not as good compared to the guitarwork." Haavard Holm of Tartarean Desire praised the band writing that it "has capacities beyond the normal" and stated that "Wages of Sin is simply so well done in all ways, that it will be hard for any band to overcome this album in this genre." Another critic of Tartarean Desire, Vincent Eldefors praised the singer Angela Gossow stating that she is one of the best lead vocalists in extreme metal along ex-Opera IX Cadaveria. Adam Bregman of Allmusic wrote that Gossow "is just the right touch to add to a band who ranks among metal's most progressive and unique outfits."

Blabbermouth.net's Borivoj Krgin praised the production of the album calling it "most impressive production job out of all the Arch Enemy albums." El Cid of Metal Rules praised the band stating that "this is arpeggio heaven amongst other things, the drumming is tight, the bass is excellent and the guitars are simply magnificent." Jeff of Metal Storm liked of quality of the production and praised the songs and the musicians calling it of "simply excellent" and "simply brilliant", respectively. He said that "the Amott brothers are certainly among the best guitarists of today's metal scene."

Much like 1999's Burning Bridges, Wages of Sin is a powerful barrage of complex riffing that alternates between the blindingly brutal and the stunningly melodic, all the while maintaining a level of intensity that is rarely heard on present-day metal recordings. The musicianship, as usual, is impeccable, with the Amott brothers proving once again that they are the masters of their craft, with the bulk of their guitar work owing as much death metal overtones as they appear to be derived from a more traditional hard rock approach, particularly in the song arrangements, which rarely deviate from the conventional.– Borivoj Krgin, Blabbermouth.net

Wages of Sin won a Burrn! magazine award in the category Best Album.

Track listing

Writing credits adapted from album booklet

1. "Enemy Within" Angela Gossow Christopher Amott, Michael Amott 4:21
2. "Burning Angel" M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 4:17
3. "Heart of Darkness" M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 4:52
4. "Ravenous" Gossow, M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 4:06
5. "Savage Messiah" M. Amott M. Amott, Sharlee D'Angelo, C. Amott 5:18
6. "Dead Bury Their Dead" M. Amott M. Amott 3:55
7. "Web of Lies" M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 3:56
8. "The First Deadly Sin" Gossow, M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 4:20
9. "Behind the Smile" M. Amott M. Amott, C. Amott 3:28
10. "Snow Bound" (Instrumental)   M. Amott, C. Amott 1:34
11. "Shadows and Dust" Daniel Erlandsson, M. Amott C. Amott, M. Amott 4:28
12. "Lament of a Mortal Soul" (Bonus Track) Gossow M. Amott, C. Amott 4:04

The first pressing of this album contained a bonus CD, titled A Collection of Rare & Unreleased Songs from the Arch Enemy Vault. These songs feature the band's previous vocalist, Johan Liiva.

A Collection of Rare & Unreleased Songs from the Arch Enemy Vault

1. "Starbreaker" (Judas Priest cover) Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing 3:25
2. "Aces High" (Iron Maiden cover) Steve Harris 4:24
3. "Scream of Anger" (Europe cover) Joey Tempest Marcel Jacob, 3:46
4. "Diva Satanica" M. Amott C. Amott 3:43
5. "Fields of Desolation '99" Johan Liiva C. Amott, M. Amott 6:02
6. "Damnation's Way" Liiva, M. Amott Liiva, 3:47
7. "Hydra" Instrumental C. Amott, Fredrik Nordström 0:57
8. "The Immortal" (music video) 3:57

Includes a second booklet in Japanese.

First release with Angela Gossow on vocal duties.

Recording information:

Recorded in December, 2000 at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Mixed and mastered in January, 2001 at Backstage Studios in Ripley, England, United Kingdom.