Interview by Kris Peters
Swedish metal masters Arch Enemy are a rare, true enigma of the heavy metal landscape.
With a sound impossible to pigeon hole and a live performance that is pure aggression, adrenaline, and intensity throughout, Arch Enemy have become the heavy band that knows no boundaries and transcends all musical genres.
Following the release of last years brutal yet melodic album Deceivers, Arch Enemy are set to bring their live show to our corner of the globe this month with a string of shows starting in Auckland on February 12 before hitting Australia for five more dates.
Their last tour here before the pandemic saw Arch Enemy play to sold out crowds around the nation, with their performance heralded by many critics as amongst the finest metal shows ever seen in this country.
Guitarist Michael Amott joined HEAVY recently to chat about the tour, with one of the topics of discussion centering around structuring the set lists and if preference is placed on the three albums with current singer Alissa White-Gluz appearing on.
"She was a big fan of Arch Enemy before," he answered. "She loves singing the old stuff, actually. Already when she joined the band I remember the first rehearsal - even before she joined the band, we were just rehearsing and jamming - and she sung what were not her songs at that time without a lyric sheet or anything. We just played a whole bunch of songs. That was a seamless transition as well. She really loves singing the old stuff and we enjoy playing the old stuff as well. The thing that has happened with Arch Enemy that is really interesting over the last 8 or 9 years is the band has grown so much and the last three albums are our most popular that we've ever had. The audience reaction is always huge for those newer era songs, so it's difficult to not play them (laughs). It's always what the people want to hear."
In the full interview, Michael talks more about the tour and what to expect, what has changed with Arch Enemy since their last visit in 2018, their new album Deceivers, how Alissa is improving in her role as vocalist with each release, the early days of Arch Enemy, changing vocalists from Johan Liiva to Angela Gossow in 2000, whether it was always his intent to bring in a female singer, how that affected the dynamics of the music, the transition from Angela to Alissa in 2014, surviving multiple vocalist changes and more.