Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Armageddon Captivity and Devourment Company: Listenable Release: 2015 Genre: Death Reviewer: Greg Watson

Stylings and sound with a vengeance

After his quiet exit from Arch Enemy, Christopher Amott has brought Armageddon to us metalheads yet again. With their latest release, "Captivity and Devourment", Armageddon return to their death metal stylings and sound with a vengeance. Having only three albums under their belt, two of which never saw the light of day in the States until about two years ago, Armageddon show that their musicianship is on point as the band rip through tracks like "Locked In", "Conquer" and "The Watcher" with a ferocity that would leave an untrained metal head writhing in agony with ears bleeding. Vocalist Matt Hallquist's style is a raspy, death rattle more than the typical guttural growls and belched grunts that typify this genre. However, that's not to say that Hallquist can't deliver those styles of vocals, which he does throughout the album. Rather, he tends to break from the norm a little and almost has a bit of a black metal quality to his vocals. The guitar duo of Amott and Joey Concepcion deliver a dose of twin melodic fury with Amott handling most of the speedy fretwork. They work well in tandem and the melody and aggression they achieve is a match made in heaven. Amott's arpeggiated riffs that filled so many Arch Enemy releases are here as well as some new tricks that he's brought out of the bag. The album has a very modern feel to it with a production that sounds crystal clear and accentuates each instrument and Hallquist's voice to perfect precision. While most death metal albums tend to become repetitive or even stagnate after a few tracks, "Captivity and Devourment" keep things fresh and each song never follows the formula of its predecessor. This constant shift of sound really makes the album stick out and makes it a great multiple listen record as you'll probably catch things you didn't hear the first time. If you're looking for some death metal but don't want the typical offering that is usually out there, give Armageddon a shot, you'll be glad you did.