Dating Advice and Relationship Therapy with Arch Enemy
Over the course of their 20+ year musical career, Arch Enemy have cultivated a unique, recurring theme that prominently courses through each of their releases, as well as their overall general image and aesthetic. And given the band’s name and album titles like Wages of Sin and War Eternal, it’s clear that the only thing that theme could possibly be is this: deep, philosophical ponderings about the emotional and physical toll of dating and relationships. Because as each member of the band must well know, nothing speaks directly to the soul about the nature of true love quite like intensely bellowed death growls about chaos and tyranny.
Arch Enemy are on tour with Amon Amarth and At the Gates now; get tickets here!
On the nature of relationships:
“Friend or foe?
There’s no way to know
Through the battlefield of life
It’s kill or be killed
So many times
It’s a matter of degree
From being up on your luck
To down on your kneesIt’s a hellish inferno
This is war eternal”
— “War Eternal”
On being about to get married:
“Sudden implosion of silenced emotions
Buried beneath a scarred heart for too long
Delusions of hope fading away
Dying like leaves on frozen soilMy apocalypse is near
I can feel the end…coming here”
— “My Apocalypse”
On marriage in general:
“We are all doomed
To live in solitude
And never ending gloom”
— “Fields of Desolation”
On going through a tough break-up:
“Weak is your body,
Helpless your soul,
The beast destroyed your will
Left nothing but an empty shell”
— “Enemy Within”
On re-entering the dating scene after a break-up:
“There are many ways to die
But only one way to live
Let the cult of chaos reign”
— “Cult of Chaos”
On the dynamics of online dating:
“This is killing us
Fighting the truth a losing battle
We believe in nothing
Just hatred for each other”
— “Silent Wars”
On any one of the possible outcomes of neglecting to use protection:
“Demonic! Science!
A high price for a passion so intense
Demonic! Science!
This world no longer makes any sense”
— “Demonic Science”
On the popularity of ghosting:
“You will know
When I go
You will see
Exist to exit”
— “Exist to Exit”
On entering into a new relationship:
“Welcome to the circus
Leave your brain outside
Sit back – relax
As we feed you lies”
— “End of the Line”
On trying to make plans together for the future:
“Their rules
They’re fools
Empty words they promise so much
The present status quo remains untouched”
— “The World is Yours”
On deciding to start a family:
“The fire’s inside us tonight
These bridges will burn so bright
Tomorrow bears our name
No more power games”
— “Yesterday is Dead and Gone”
On actually starting a family:
“From the ashes of a corrupt undying world
They raise like a phoenix
A godless entity
They are the Khaos Legions”
— “Khaos Overture”
On having an open and honest discussion with your significant other:
“I’ve lived in darkness
Stood in the light
Crawled through the shadows
Between wrong and right
One thing I know for sure
This is a fight I must win!”
— “A Fight I Must Win”
On losing the divorce-related legal proceedings:
“Rise – the tyrants rise!
The enemy inside – the tyrants rise!
The end is here – feel it closing in
Blood runs redWatch in horror
Our lives destroyed
We failed”
— “Rise of the Tyrant”
