The second (
"Embrace The Mystery") and third (
"Three") albums from
ARMAGEDDON — the Swedish melodic metal project of
ARCH ENEMY guitarist
Chris Amott — will get a proper and domestic release outside of Japan, where they originally came out back in the years 2000 and 2002, respectively.
"Embrace The Mystery & Three" will be released as 2CD set with upgraded artwork, several bonus tracks and liner notes on November 16, 2009 in Europe and on January 26 in North America via
Century Media Records.
Commented
Chris Amott: "It is with great pleasure that I announce the first time ever release of these albums in Europe and the U.S.! Any fan of melodic hard rock and shred guitar playing should check this out —
'Embrace the Mystery' and
'Three' feature many great instrumental performances and epic songs! These two albums were recorded in 2000 and 2002 and have until only been available in Japan. I put a lot of work into these recordings at the time, so I am glad to see them come out!"
Originally formed in Halmstad, Sweden in 1997,
ARMAGEDDON was launched as a melodic death metal act, with the band's debut album,
"Crossing The Rubicon", released via the now-defunct
W.A.R. Records label in Europe and
Toy's Factory in Japan. Next to guitarist and mastermind
Chris Amott, the album also featured drummer
Peter Wildoer (
DARKANE,
MAJESTIC, now also in
PESTILENCE) and bassist
Martin Bengtsson, who both then moved on to join
ARCH ENEMY, recording, releasing and touring
ARCH ENEMY's 1998
"Stigmata" release.
Chris revisited
ARMAGEDDON with 2000's
"Embrace The Mystery" album, once again released in Japan on
Toy's Factory but never available internationally. This album presented a rather melodic and traditional metal approach and featured
LAST TRIBE member
Rickard Bengtsson on vocals,
Dick Lövgren on bass (now member of
MESHUGGAH but previously a touring bassist for bands like
EUCHARIST,
ARCH ENEMY and
IN FLAMES) as well as
ARCH ENEMY drummer
Daniel Erlandsson (also previously active with
EUCHARIST and
IN FLAMES and currently a member of the reunited
CARCASS). Following the album's release,
ARMAGEDDON supported
IN FLAMES and
THE HAUNTED on a Japanese tour, which remain the only live performances for the band until now. In 2002
ARMAGEDDON released its third and (so far) last album exclusively in Japan again. Simply entitled
"Three", it showcases
ARMAGEDDON as a three-piece, with
Chris Amott handling all vocal duties next to playing guitar as well as
Daniel Erlandsson on drums and new bassist
Tobias Gustafsson (
EUCHARIST).
The
"Embrace The Mystery & Three" 2CD set marks the long-overdue international release of these two jewels of modern Scandinavian melodic metal, not only including the full original versions of both albums packaged in a revamped version of the original
"Embrace The Mystery" artwork by
Niklas Sundin (
DARK TRANQUILLITY,
ARCH ENEMY,
IN FLAMES), but also comes with six special bonus tracks (demo and rehearsal songs as well as cover versions of
IRON MAIDEN and
MERCYFUL FATE) and liner notes by
Chris Amott.
"Embrace The Mystery & Three" isn't only an essential historical release for collectors of the mentioned main bands of the involved high-quality players but with its total of 26 tracks and 100-plus minutes of playing time it also represents a worthwhile purchase for supporters of the melodic metal genre in general!
"Embrace The Mystery & Three" 2CD (102:26) track listing:
CD 1
"Embrace The Mystery" (47:45):
01.
Awakening (0:38)
02.
The Broken Spell (4:29)
03.
Blind Fury (4:07)
04.
Worlds Apart (3:06)
05.
Cry Of Fate (5:07)
06.
Illusions Tale (4:22)
07.
Moongate Climber (2:45)
08.
Embrace The Mystery (3:25)
09.
Sleep Of Innocence (3:51)
10.
Grain Of Sand (3:38)
11.
Worlds Apart (Rehearsal) (3:03) *
12.
The Broken Spell (Rehearsal) (3:42) *
13.
Die With Your Boots On (IRON MAIDEN cover) (5:33) *
* Bonus Tracks
CD 2
"Three" (54:41):
01.
Gathering Of The Storm (0:59)
02.
Burn The Sun (4:25)
03.
Stranglehold (4:39)
04.
Heart Of Ice (3:53)
05.
Well Of Sadness (6:04)
06.
Rainbow Serpent (4:37)
07.
Winter Skies (4:02)
08.
Final Destination (4:29)
09.
Spirit Kiss (2:17)
10.
The Contract (5:04)
11.
Winter Skies (Demo) (4:05) *
12.
Sands Of Time (Demo) (5:46) *
13.
Desecration Of Souls (MERCYFUL FATE cover) (4:21) *
* Bonus Tracks
For more information, visit
www.myspace.com/armageddonsweden.
