It seems that every melodic death metal band that decides to launch a new record and is highly supported by its record company its doom to be called a “sell out”, it happened to In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nightrage, At the Gates all bands that not only helped create the genre but that are liked to each other in some way or another. Well that happened to Arch Enemy when they launched Wages of Sin, Anthems of Rebellion and now with Doomsday Machine; of course after a few weeks of people and critics actually hearing the album (because all the talk about been sell outs always happens in the first week or two after the release) they had no choice but to admit this is a good album.

The guitars of the Amott brothers are back and they are better than ever, more complex solos, highly refined and heavy riffs in every song and a good overall song writing make this record one of their best, definitely and improvement from Anthems of Rebellion.

The intro song is just… less say a warm up for the two guitars blending in a smooth and calm melody; when Taking back my soul begins, Angela Gossow explodes in your ears, and the drums retaliate without mercy, this song is fast, powerful and melodic, a pretty good start.

Nemesis is a solid track, but the speed is taking down a few notches by the sudden peaceful parts so that either Michael or Christopher can show off a little (I still find very coincided to place in the album booklet the exact parts in which Michael plays and the ones were Christopher plays). My apocalypse is a mid tempo song that really shows that you don’t need to be super fast in order to achieve heaviness, to me the strongest song in the album, and the one that stays with you long after hearing it “My apocalypse is near…” see what I mean. Carry the cross is another solid track with some tempo variations that bring some melodies into play and some basic chorus structures, the same with I am a legend – Out for blood, and after this track, track 6 the album gets a little boring, of course there is one more good song Machtkampf in track number 10, but the rest of the songs are not very interesting, not even the instrumental piece were the Amott brothers go wild, good showcase of talent, but not necessary for an album like this… in my opinion.

To conclude, a good record, worthy of your attention, and definitely Arch Enemy is far from been a sell out band, they are just growing in a direction some old school metal fans don’t like.