Arch Enemy

7 October 2009 | 1:35 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Sweden's Arch Enemy return to Australian soil this November with Suffocation and Winds Of Plague. The band just released their most accomplished album yet, 'The Root Of All Evil' and the first lady of metal, Angela Gossow, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

More Arch Enemy More Arch Enemy

Sweden's Arch Enemy return to Australian soil this November with Suffocation and Winds Of Plague.


The band just released their most accomplished album yet, 'The Root Of All Evil' and the first lady of metal, Angela Gossow, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

Thanks for the interview, can we start with your name and what you do in Arch Enemy?

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

I am the singer, lyricist and  ‘head of business’ in Arch Enemy. 

What are you guys up to right now, just taking a break before you go on tour again?

We are rehearsing for the upcoming Asia and Australia tour and doing the final preparations /tour advances for that one as well.

The band has some shows coming up in Japan next month, what's the crowd like over there?

We play one exclusive show in Japan 17th of October at the biggest metal festival in Japan: Loudpark 2009. We will deliver a special ‘old school’ set there, neatly tied in with our new release ‘The Root Of All Evil’.

The crowd is very emotional in Japan. They sing along, they smile at you, sad lyrics make them cry .. You see all kinds of outfits in the crowd: Lots of uniforms as many people come straight from work to the show..  Metal shirts, very different Japanese fashion outfits.. It is  a very diverse audience. They listen well, sing along with the solos, know the lyrcs. Our Japanese fans are very dedicated!

Your new album 'The Root Of All Evil' is coming out very soon. Tell us a bit about it?

We drew a full circle to the early days of Arch Enemy, which featured a different line-up. I wasn’t the vocalist, Daniel and Sharlee weren’t part of the band at times.. We felt its cool to bring it all together as we have the ultimate Arch Enemy line up now – and it has been stable for some years now. So we went along, picked our fave tracks from these 3 early albums and totally re-recorded them. It’s a cool way to introduce them to the broad audience we got these days. Many actually aren’t familiar with ‘Black Earth’, ‘Stigmata’ and ‘Burning Bridges’. We hope by re-recording them we will change that and will be able to add them to our upcoming live sets.

This is the third time you have worked with Andy Sneap as a producer. What do you like about him?

I like his sheer knowledge of sounds, his mixing skills, his trained ear and his relentless discipline. I like people who work hard, meet deadlines and never fall short to deliver. And he is one of these gems out there!

The new album features three re-recorded old songs (Black Earth, Stigmata, and Burning Bridges), why did you decided to re-do them?

We want all our fans to know these tracks, hopefully they will go back and pick up the original releases as well!

Angela's vocals seem to be getting heavier and heavier with each release, and from what I've heard, the new album is no different. Have you guys been trying to make each record consistantly heavier each time?

No. Its just that we don’t seem to be getting older and soft, but younger and more brutal with every album, haha.. I am stronger, healthier and in a lot better shape than I was 10 years ago. These days I got the discipline to take care of myself and to get the best out of my voice that way.

What's your favorite city to play in?

Wow. Tough question! I love to go shopping in Tokyo though.. So the combo of a superb show and a bag full of exciting new gear might put it there on the Nr. 1 spot. But I also love Sydney, Melbourne, New York, LA, San Fransisco, London, Paris, Cologne, Santiago, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth… We have played in so many great places and cities! 

Arch Enemy return to Australia in November. What are you looking forward to the most about this tour?

Australia is very beautiful in the spring. It will be all flowers and sweet scents there whilst darkness and cold rain will prevail in Sweden. We will be playing in great clubs, the crowd is nuts in the best way possible, I will go to my fave restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, I will be walking along the river in Brisbane, stay in nice places.. The whole Australia tour will be one big, fat treat!!! 

You are bringing with you Suffocation and Winds Of Plague. Are you big fans of these bands?

Well.. Winds Of Plague is a ‘new school’ death metal band. If you put keyboards in metal it can only be Nocturnus ‘The key’ for me. But I think they are doing a good job.. I am just very rooted in the early 90ies death metal and prefer the originals.

I was impressed by Suffocations ‘Effigy Of The Forgotten’ back in the day. Who wasn’t??? But I listened a tad more to Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Death, Morbid Angel and Deicide.

Nevertheless I think it’s a killer line up. It has something for everybody out there and its top-notch quality! 

What would you like to do whilst you are here that you didn't get a chance to last time around?  

I just like to sit down in a nice restaurant with a good glass of wine and watch people.. I like to get to know the country by observing. I am not so much into the ‘touristy’ 

Any final words for the loyal Arch Enemy fans?  

We love you in the most pure fucking metal way possible! We are looking forward to some great shows!!!

See you in November!

 

 

Arch Enemy are joined by Suffocation and Winds Of Plague on their upcoming Australian tour in November. For all the dates and venues click here. 'The Root Of All Evil' is out  now via Century Media.