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The Arcane Order formed originally as Scavenger in 2000, changing their name upon signing with Metal Blade in 2005. They released their debut album The Machinery of Oblivion to pretty much unanimous acclaim in 2006, with a great display of Melodic Death/Thrash. Many an eye looked eagerly to the album's predecessor to see if they would continue in the same vein of quality, or fall into the dreaded sophomore album trap that many a band would disappear shortly afterwards.

Well, to my ears at least - it's pretty decent, but it's certainly not going to blow holes in your head. Coming on like a pissed off, considerably more extreme In Flames one moment, before sweeping into a massive dramatic synthesizer led blastbeat ridden passage the next, these guys certainly know their way around musical dynamics. The guitars are generally contained to a high tempo chug, occasionally reminding of the maddened bound of Stapping Young Lad (especially when they're being backed with the aforementioned cinematic, emotive keyboard work). However, there is generally more anger displayed in the music than any of the aforementioned comparisons, with a lot of minor key passages full of dark shimmering chords progressions. This is not to mention some killer shredding solos spattered colorfully into the songs either, which really add an extra portion of spice to the usual dull melo-death boredom. Vocally, it's fairly Anders Friden worship most of the time (well, before Friden began aping the vocalist of Korn, that is), frequently adding in a few death grunts on the heavier passages to keep it interesting.

In summary, I'd say for those who love Melodic Death Metal bands that convey swathes of mood via synthesizers without wussing out completely - this would be a great addition to your collection.