Arch Enemy Serve Legal Notice to AMG Refusing Payment for Review of Latest Album
Long-running Swedish melodeath institution, Arch Enemy recently served AMG Industries with a legal notice alerting them that the band would not be paying for the review of their latest album, Blood Dynasty, citing dissatisfaction with the mocking tone and the absence of a fanboying score.
After AMG’s Legal Department notified them that payment is only required for scores over 3.5, Arch Enemy’s attorneys forwarded a bill for the use of the band’s image. To justify their monetary demand, the band citied obscure Swedish laws from the 1800s prohibiting the capturing of a human soul via supernatural camera obscura devices.
At the time of publishing it was unclear if AMG intended to dispute the invoice or simply put the souls of Arch Enemy on the International Spirit Exchange (ISE) at a heavily discounted price.
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5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Michael Amott of Arch Enemy
Preferred format I’m a music junkie, and I’ll take it in any shape or form I can. Vinyl records were what I had as a kid and teenager (along with tapes), and they certainly hold sentimental value for me. I’m okay with CDs, though, and I stream a lot nowadays since I’m often on the go, traveling somewhere.
Some of my earliest musical memories are of sitting with my mother, listening to her record collection. She was a devoted classical music lover and wanted me to be one too, and for a while, I was. But among her carefully curated selections, there was one album that stood out: a solo record by Deep Purple’s keyboardist, Jon Lord. The way it blended rock, progressive elements, and classical influences captivated me. The baroque themes were breathtaking, and I’m quite certain this album and even the guitar work on this album (performed by a pre-The Police Andy Summers) has influenced my own music.
“The blast wave from a thermonuclear explosion has been likened to an enormous door slamming in the depths of hell…” [from the album’s 10th track, “The Possibility of Life’s Destruction”] This album profoundly shaped my musicianship and life, and even now, listening to it feels almost ceremonial. The raw intensity of their wall-of-sound approach is still astonishing. The impact of Discharge is immeasurable really, as they paved the way for speed metal, thrash, death, grind, black metal, and hardcore punk (d-beat!). For so many of us, this record was the gateway. If you want to understand the roots of extreme music, start here.
I’ll never forget the first time I encountered this band. It was through a phone interview with Lars Ulrich on Danish radio, he was speaking in his native Danish, and after the call, the DJ spun “Metal Militia” and “Motorbreath.” The moment I heard those songs, I was floored. The intensity, the speed, the sheer precision, it was a revelation! From that point on, I was on a mission to find their LP. Imagine going from record store to record store, asking for Metallica, and nobody had a clue who they were! When I finally got my hands on Kill ‘Em All, it cemented them as my favorite band for years. That record remains one of the most powerful debuts ever.
Getting into Sabbath in the ‘80s was one of the most exciting times I can recall as a music fan, traveling back and through time with their discography was amazing. Today I feel this—their 5th studio album—represents a peak in their creativity, musical evolution, and production quality. The album blends crushing riffs with softer, more melodic moments and complex arrangements, all while still maintaining their signature heavy riffs.
This album hit me hard in 1986, a time when I was obsessed with speed and aggression in my music. In stark contrast, it seemed to be aiming for something completely different—slow somber heaviness and a dark, epic atmosphere. I fell in love with it, and I still regard it as one of the best Swedish albums ever. In an odd twist of fate, I ended up playing on a Candlemass album years later.
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