Stigmata

由于外界的宣传和采访一直都围绕着Micheal和CARCASS这个焦点在不停地大做文章，于是乐队决定将第二张做的更加独特，屏弃所有外界期待的发展趋势，让他们打消这个念头。时隔两年，推出了“Stigmata”。这次Amott兄弟的双吉他演奏成了乐队的核心部分，并融合了传统的Thrash Metal和最新潮的Power Metal，风格强劲有力又不失灵活性。这张作品旋律更加流畅，音乐的细节处理上也更加繁复，编曲变化加大，难度也随之增加！这张唱片没有成为ARCH ENEMY最受欢迎的唱片，但是这是他们最快最重的一张。Johan Liiva的确不太适合ARCH ENEMY旋律多变的风格，他的单调唱腔成了唱片丢分的关键。但是他的风格也是当时乐队最大的特点，很多人也因此很接受他。(死域)

by Vincent Jeffries

The vehicle through which death metal guitar hero Michael Amott channeled his most extreme instrumental concepts, Arch Enemy was an experiment that produced predictably wild and undeveloped results. After the group's debut, Black Earth, shocked and amazed many fans of the Gothenburg sound, Arch Enemy signed with indie metal powerhouse Century Media and released Stigmata in 1998. As often happens with highly anticipated follow-ups, Stigmata disappointed some fans with what some called a more restrained sound and lesser material. Realistically, the tightly constructed production was to be expected, and the real driving force behind Arch Enemy's success -- Amott's guitar work -- is definitely present. On the negative side, vocalist Johan Liiva doesn't do much except stay out of the way, and the addition of Peter Wildoer on drums (in place of Daniel Erlandsson) doesn't help either. Perhaps confirming the band's critics, Arch Enemy asked Erlandsson to return for its next release, Burning Bridges. These problems are really minor when balanced against Amott's massive playing and songwriting, so while Stigmata is a fraction off from the band's debut form, Arch Enemy still delivers some nice melodic death metal on the sophomore effort.