Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Stream Arch Enemy’s Covers of Moderat Likvidation’s “Nitad” and Anti Cimex’s “When the Innocent Die.”

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

Arch Enemy have been the model of melodic death metal consistency since their inception nearly 20 years ago. You don’t become that type of machine without making major sacrifices to your livelihood/general well-being. New frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz gets it. She recently ate shit onstage, slamming through a riser and suffering a compound fracture in one of her ribs, but is going against doctor’s orders and refusing to cancel shows. That’s some weapons-grade badassery, even though nobody would give AE shit for taking a few nights off.

That dogged commitment to professionalism and craft—and, to an extent, form—has also been the main source of criticism for this band. Ten albums in, many question Arch Enemy’s willingness to evolve and experiment. Well, we can’t question their capacity to devolve. The Swedish melodeath institution makes their Decibel Flexi Series debut in the August issue, paying homage to their roots by tackling two influential punk classics from their homeland: Moderat Likvidation’s “Nitad” and Anti Cimex’s “When the Innocent Die.” You might wanna listen to the originals if you’re unfamiliar, because as you can hear here AE lets one bleed seamlessly into the other for maximum ’bangability.

The disc is metallic silver on blue, and the covers will not appear on that just-released tenth album, War Eternal but part of Decibel’s August issue, which is available in extremely limited quantities here now.

The August 2014 issue of Decibel also features Godflesh, the Melvins, and Boris, and can be purchased here… but if you don’t just get a full subscription, Alissa White-Gluz might come to your house and break your ribs.