A bunch of classic tunes ...

Eleven years ago it is now that I have discovered the band of the Amott brothers for me, and was overwhelmed as a young metal Noob of the fact that a woman in such a brutal growls and grunts Gossow. As a fan of Melodeathkapellen like In Flames, Soilwork, At The Gates, Nightrage Arch Enemy was at that time also exactly my cup. And even if my taste in music has since changed somewhat, the tape could still be carried away with every album. Whether a "Burning Bridges" on the Johan Liiva has roared as the last male singer, the breakthrough album "Anthems Of Rebellion", or the really ingenious "Rise Of The Tyrant" - even when I heard ever more Thrash and Death Metal , the band was mainly with the latter album still high on my hit list.
Logically, that "Khaos Legions" was then also expected the same feverishly and brought into the collection.
And then I suddenly lost all interest in the band. Unlike all previous albums, this disc could no longer carried away. I had the feeling, Arch Enemy tried to show a more mature side of, by making their sound now softer and more accessible - "Khaos Legions" seemed to me as if you had the former beast pulled all his teeth. And that was so discouraging that I have completely lost the band for a long time out of sight.

Only now, after I have (even after a long skepticism) still bought low "War Eternal", I also "Khaos Legions" dug up again to compare the albums and find out what has me at the time so disturbed.
It took a while now but somehow get used to it and even to discover positive sides, but with all the albums before this CD can not yet measure.
Although the band in many places with good, swift thrash riffs really cut down one, triggers one the aggression but too often again through gentle, jazzy parts on, taking it all through melancholy refrains the force. The first example of this is equal to the second right song - "Bloodstained Cross". He starts with banging, then builds a gloomy threatening Bridge voltage - very fitting with the text at this point, "All the prayers in the world will not help you now" ... and then fizzles out the effect of this threat, as the Suddenly love Refrain quiet and with a very beautiful melody comes along, and merely prevents Angela screaming that the song now is to pop rock. Is that constitute a contrast now anyway? It does. But in my eyes not successful. As you do it in "Cult Of Chaos" much better: Here too, the slow grooving Refrain contrasts with the rapid verses. However, without drifting into kitsch, here one has beautiful threatening sluggish Groove Metal. Disturbing I felt only the drumming, which would have made a Lars Ulrich honor, but to the rhythm not quite fit and it somehow takes the thrust. The drumming itself seems to me at times at all rather uninspired ago, and the drum sound seems somehow produces very powerless.
Of the above-mentioned melody "love" there is incidentally also countless - and Amott sets this playful also masterfully to, no question. Very often, these melodies clearly classical influences what the musical level of the band probably really should upgrade. The only problem is that I sounds a little too good. It is sometimes so schmaltzy, that I wonder if I accidentally launched any hit - as I said, only Angela tube reminded that there is still running Arch Enemy.
The melancholy is not the problem - were also formerly the albums very melodic and even then often interspersed already of classical influences and had also quieter parts - but they sounded more interesting then, rousing, and in no case to hit tearjerker. In addition, this element has been skilfully combined with the aggression of thrash, heavy and a little death metal combined. Not so here. Here you lumbers partly by fast riffing, then suddenly completely break it, and to let the lead guitar hinweinen right sad. And then you also have to midtempo rocker such as "No Gods, No Masters" - in itself a nice song. The problem for me was that he (and others of its kind) as offbeat song hardly forms a contrast to the rest who repeatedly ausschweift despite all the rage in calmer climes.
And a word about Angela's vocals: This sounds through the ubiquitous Double Tracking somehow undefined and blurred. A pity.
So much for the things that stand out to me here is still unpleasant.
But the album does have its good points. "Under Black Flags We March" for example, is a flawless Judas Priest tribute with hymn character. "No Gods, No Masters" is also a cool, somewhat melancholy midtempo anthem, whose only problem is that you as a "ballad" of the album is not so stands out because you simply with similar "soft" and "cheesy" elements in the more aggressive Songs works. "Cruelty Without Beauty" bang tidy and that also creates change through different speeds, but always remains threatening and heavy. Very cool here, reminiscent of Slayer intro, the Death Metal Part with the blast beat and the slower chorus, which builds a Hitchcock-like atmosphere with keyboards. "Cult Of Chaos" is also one of the better songs, like I said bothers me only the drumming a little. "Vengeance Is Mine" waits with blazing fast riffs, very thrashy, and here you skilfully combines as before the melodic parts with the harder elements. "Through The Eyes Of A Raven" is at times bitter, therefore, and is rather slow, leisurely and then builds again an anthemic sing points. Nett.
The rest of the songs have their good points, but unfortunately much of what I regurgitates something sour.
Perhaps we could have a little more out of the album with the production, this time unfortunately sounds unfamiliar schmalbrüstig and less powerful than usual, making the sound again can cast a soft ticking.

Many will otherwise view album than I, and therefore what I see as the weaknesses, rather positive rate, which is clear to me.
For me, "Khaos Legions", however, the hitherto softest work of the band, and although I have now discovered some good things about it, I prefer the previous album.