Heavy Song of the Week: Arch Enemy Unleash Unadulterated Speed Metal on “Liars & Thieves”

Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Arch Enemy’s latest single “Liars & Thieves.”

“Liars & Thieves” is top-shelf Arch Enemy. The blisteringly fast track sounds like “Ace of Spades” played at double time, sprinting at an uptempo gallop that’s invigorating. And the harsh vocals of Alissa White-Gluz sound as sinister and commanding as ever.

The joy, the sheer enthusiasm and exuberance of this kind of speed metal — it’s no wonder the band paired the single with a Headbangers Ball-style concert performance video. The crowd shots of fans having a blast, losing their shit to the music, is how this song makes you feel — like you want to throw on your denim vest, run in circles, smash into stuff, hooting and hollering while you raise the horns.

The song has us highly anticipating the band’s new album, Blood Dynasty, which arrives on March 28th.

Honorable Mentions:

Full of Hell and Andrew Nolan – “Burdened by Solar Mass”

If Ulver had made the transition from their black metal phase to their trip-hop era in the middle of a track, it might have sounded something like “Burdened by Solar Mass” — the first single from the new collab album by Full of Hell and Andrew Nolan. The song opens with blasting extreme metal from the Full of Hell camp, which is suddenly halted by a sludged-out dub beat, indicative of Nolan’s contribution. The harsh screams of Dylan Walker are the binding thread throughout, unaffected by this captivating sonic U-turn.

HEALTH x Filter, “FREE TO DIE”

HEALTH and Filter are a fitting pair, two industrial acts that prominently incorporate melodic vocals. To no surprise, Jake Duzsik and Richard Patrick steal the show on the collaborative track “FREE TO DIE.” The duo carry a duet that sees Duzsik and Patrick’s higher register voices blending seamlessly with one another, riding above an arrangement that shifts between muted chords and blasts of hyper-compressed guitar.

Chelsea Wolfe – “Place in the Sun (Unbound)”

Chelsea Wolfe’s latest album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She features some of the most expansive production work of her career. But at their core, those are songs — like most — that were built upon from a more skeletal idea. Wolfe’s forthcoming Unbound EP gives us a glimpse into that process, as it pulls away the adornments to present selections from She Reaches Out in their bare form — as heard on this haunting version of “Place in the Sun.” Just voice and piano.