ARCH ENEMY- The Root Of All Evil

It was only a matter of time before this band took some of the best tracks of their back catalog and turned current vocalist Angela Gossow loose on them. The problem is, the band itself has altered it's approach to some of these songs, leaving a very hit and miss effort when all is said and done. The opener, Beast Of Man is good, but held up against the original sounds a tad over-produced and certainly lacking the immediacy and aggression of the first take. It's not that Johan Liiva was a better vocalist, it's that the band definitely (to these ears) changed with the addition of Angela, both to accommodate her style and just through natural progression. It's not horrible sounding in the least, but a bit of a step backwards compared with their other albums featuring Gossow. For die-hards, sure... I get this and they will love it no doubt. And the 3 live tracks kick some serious keister (they have the energy that seems to be lacking on the studio cuts). I don't hate the album, but I am glad I got it on sale, let's put it that way.