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With all the critical acclaim the new Arch Enemy disc has received with the noted addition of their new vocalist the question comes to mind whatever happened to their former vocalist Johan Liiva? Well with the release of this album that question has one serious ass kicking answer. Nonexist is the new band of said vocalist and that is not the only news worthy of note while looking at this album. Johan Reinholdz, the mastermind and guitar wizard of the prog band Andromeda is on guitar.

Now you have another question…is this melodic death metal or progressive metal with harsh style vocals? This is actually a combination of the two styles but it leans more toward melodic death metal than progressive. The music is definitely death metal but with the added dimension of one seriously talented guitarist that adds that progressive type feel. The guitar work was the highlight for me with some the best leads I have heard in a while but not at the expense of overshadowing the rest of the song. More than a few talented guitarists sometimes seem to suffer from this problem and when you consider the age of Johan Reinholdz that ability and maturity is even more impressive. The vocals are also worthy of note as this may be Johan Liiva’s best vocal work to date. His vocals are delivered with such ferocity and conviction that you can not only hear but also feel the anger in his voice.

Any fan of the Arch Enemy style of melodic death metal with far better than average guitar work will absolutely love this album. Hell any fan of melodic death metal in general should love this album. With this being the first album from these guys as a unit the future is definitely looking a little bit brighter. Highly Recommended.