Welcome, Butcher Crew! The Saw is here with another single review. This time, Arch Enemy has dropped another track from their upcoming new album (Deceivers, from Century Media Records). “Handshake with Hell” is a bit different from their previous two singles dropped – “Deceiver, Deceiver” and “House of Mirrors.”

“Handshake with Hell” is (I think) an example of an evolutionary change being made by Arch Enemy. There certainly is that patented Arch Enemy – speedy, melodic – sound. We hear it clearly in the previous two singles. Here, that sound creeps in under an old school, straight Heavy Metal riff. Multiple screaming guitar solos from Amott and Loomis are filled in throughout the song. A time change marks the patented Arch Enemy sound. Then back to the main riff. And back and forth it goes. Very interesting…

One of the most striking themes of “Handshake with Hell” is clean vocals. Now, as of recently, Arch Enemy have employed clean vocals, only sparingly. On this song, the verses are delivered with White-Gluz’s gutterals, while the bridge and chorus are clean. It’s significant. She has a beautiful voice, in gutteral or clean. You know The Saw; I’m just trying to categorize this! If it’s not gutterals, is it Death Metal? Or is it Heavy Metal? Or something else? And I think this is that vertical evolutionary move by Arch Enemy, where they don’t want to stay the same, but desire to continue moving forward. They are an extremely talented band, rounded-out in every aspect; they will rule whatever they do. But in what category do they fit?!

Arch Enemy are celebrating 25 years as a band! Amott states that the band isn’t going to just sit back and cruise along (on their long-established sound) but will continue to challenge the status-quo and showcase their abilities as a band. The Saw is very interested to hear the new record when it drops.

There is a video for “Handshake with Hell,” and Arch Enemy’s 11^th studio album, Deceiver, is due to be released on July 29, 2022.

Stay Metal,

THE SAW