“This is Arch Enemy at full speed and power!” says guitarist Michael Amott
(Image credit: Xavi Torrent/Redferns)
After the release of Deceiver, Deceiver – their first original music in four years – and followup single House of Mirrors, which blends death metal with '80s-style lead guitars, Arch Enemy have officially announced their 11th studio album, Deceivers.
An 11-track record described as “ruthlessly catchy and mercilessly violent”, Deceivers is the band's first original full-length since 2017's Will to Power. And a third single is on the way, too. Handshake With Hell, the album's opener, is set to arrive next Friday (February 4), so mark your calendar.
“Having just celebrated our 25th anniversary as a group and now releasing our 11th studio album, one could easily assume that we would be cruising along and going through the motions at this point,” says guitarist Michael Amott. “In reality, nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Arch Enemy and our new album, Deceivers.”
He continues: “It is without a doubt always a challenge to raise the bar each time in both the songwriting and production side of things, and it can feel a bit daunting before we get into it. But once we do get started and fully immerse ourselves in the creative process, it's really like there is nothing else in the world and we are very focused.
“Creating Deceivers, we shut out the outside world and went deep into the artistic zone. I believe we pulled out some really interesting musical and lyrical themes this time, a few things might even raise an eyebrow or two – while retaining all the signature elements of the band. In the end, it's Arch Enemy at full speed and power!”
As vocalist Alissa White-Gluz explains, creating the LP took “a lot of travel, uncertainty and risk”.
“In the end, I think that helped fuel the extreme dynamics of the album,” she says. “We all had three more years of touring together under our belts since the last album, plus a year of pandemic isolation. It's safe to say we had a few more things to unleash in our writing.”
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She concludes: “I think it's a very diverse album that will please long-time Arch Enemy devotees as well as intrigue new listeners... I can't wait for everyone to dive into this album.”
While Deceivers will be Arch Enemy's first album of original material since 2017's Will to Power, the band issued a covers album in 2019, Covered in Blood, in which they offered renditions of Judas Priest's Breaking the Law, Megadeth's Symphony of Destruction and Iron Maiden's Aces High.
Deceivers is yet to receive an official release date, though preorders begin on February 4. In the meantime, you can check out its tracklisting and artwork below.
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
