Arch Enemy (Band) / YMMV

Awesome Music: Death Metal with epic guitar solos provided by guitar god Michael Amott! Why Not? Aside from the Broken Base as to whether Johan or Angela is better, most of the band's music qualifies under this. The most notable cases would be Stigmata and Burning Bridges for the Johan Liiva era while Wages of Sin and Doomsday Machine are this for the Angela Gossow era.
Broken Base:
- Johan Liiva vs. Angela Gossow. One side of the camp enjoys the more extreme Johan Liiva era, while another prefers the more melodic Angela Gossow era. Alternatively, there are fans who like both singers' output.
- Alissa is seen as either as good a replacement as any for Angela who faithfully and skillfully handles the material, or unable to fulfill the legacy of her predecessors.
First Installment Wins:
- Although a highly divisive band, most fans will agree that Arch Enemy's first four albums^note, the fourth of which being the first with Angela Gossow, are some of the greatest Melodic Death Metal albums ever made.
- The Johan Liiva era in general is often regarded as this among a good chunk of death metal listeners. It's not at all hard to find fans who stopped following the band after he left and went on to check out his other projects instead, believing him to be the "true" voice of Arch Enemy.
Mis-blamed: While Alissa is polarizing and frequently disliked for many reasons, many of her detractors who also didn't like War Eternal in general have blamed her for "watering down" their sound. This, however, is not at all her fault, as she had virtually no input in the songwriting process and only wrote half of her lyrics.
Replacement Scrappy: Alissa White-Gluz has become very divisive among the fanbase. Many fans say that she does not live up to Johan Liiva and Angela Gossow. This can become understandable as Arch Enemy is often considered a spiritual successor to Carcass and unlike Alissa's two predecessors who have a Jeff Walker-vibe to them, Alissa's growls are too feminine for the role she is in. It is very likely that Arch Enemy's decline in popularity can be attributed to Alissa being frontwoman and having weaker live performances in return.
Retroactive Recognition: Fredrik Åkesson was in the band for two years before joining Opeth. He appears in the "My Apocalypse" video.
Signature Song: "Nemesis" from Doomsday Machine.
Tear Jerker: The lyrics to "My Apocalypse" are about coming to the end of your life and looking at what's left with great nihilism.
- The guitar solo in, "My Apocalypse," is also a painful tear jerker.
- The Day You Died. It is inspired by Grave of the Fireflies. If you haven't seen it, watch the subbed version and listen to the song again. I dare you...
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Death metal purists have this reaction toward the more commercial direction taken from Anthems of Rebellion onward, though Doomsday Machine is largely spared from this.
Viewer Gender Confusion: Angela's voice is so masculine that if you haven't been to any live concerts, or seen any music videos or pictures of the members, you might think she's a guy.

YMMV / Arch Enemy (Band)

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