Vi spinner vidare på samma tema ett tag till, finnes material för minst ett par veckor till. Vi slår på stort denna fredag med en ARCH ENEMY intervju gjord i mitten på December 2001. Intervjuoffret var den relativt nyförvärvade Angela Gossow, som tog över skutan efter sångaren Johan Liiva’s avhopp.

Jag kommer faktiskt ihåg när ARCH ENEMY på sin hemsida lade upp material från kommande plattan "Wages of Sin" 2001 men vägrade att tillkännage den nya sångaren utan ville helt enkelt ha feedback från fansen innan de gick ut med beskedet om att den nya sångaren faktiskt var en sångerska. Fansen hade dock redan talat innan beskedet, de gillade det nya starkt och det var inte många som backade ur även om det nu visade sig vara en kvinna som tog rollen som den nya frontfiguren i bandet.

I mina ögon så ändrade Angela Gossow bilden av en mansdominerad metalvärld förr all framtid, och då säger jag inte att det inte funnits starka kvinnofigurer inom metal sedan tidigare, för det har det. Men inget kvinnofrontat "extrem metal" band hade nog innan nått samma höjder som just Angela Gossow med "sitt" ARCH ENEMY.
Det känns lite löjligt att tänka att det inte ens har gått 10 år sedan detta inträffade med tanke på att det inte är speciellt många ögonbryn som höjs inom dagens scen när det kommer till "growlande" frontkvinnor. Som sagt, Angela Gossow var inte mitt första möte med en kvinnlig "growlerska", men däremot så är hon nog den kvinna som lämnat de störta fotavtrycken efter sig.

Som vanligt så är intervjun nedan oredigerad från dess originalskick då den första gången publicerades 2001, stavfelen m.m får ni på köpet helt enkelt.

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I’m sure many of us were surprised in early 2001 about the departure of Johan Liiva and the mysterious new vocalist for Sweden’s best band, Arch Enemy. Fast-forward to very early 2002 and this is what we have, or more appropriately, who we have – Angela Gossow. Although Fraulein Gossow has not been a member of any prominent bands, she is a veteran of the German underground death metal scene with bands such as Asmodina (1991) and Mistress (1998). Both bands released a total of 2 self-financed CDs and a bunch of tapes.

-Interview by: Ryan / Conducted in mid-December 2001-

After the revelation of the new singer, things went well for the first few months following the (Japanese) release of Arch Enemy’s next great opus, "Wages Of Sin."
Until, "my voice left me. So I had to start from the beginning. My nodules are gone now, and I get permanent vocal coaching since August. I hope I can stabilize this situation now and will not develop nodules again,"explains Angela.

Speaking of "Wages Of Sin," it’s definitely the best of 2001 and one of the band’s best ever.
"’Wages Of Sin’ is a great album, but if you want to get the best AE album ever, you have to take some songs from every album and make a new one out of it. I think the sound on "Wages Of Sing" is the best one Arch Enemy ever had," she replies.

It’s quite true if you’ve had the chance to hear it. The material is also more aggressive than in "Burning Bridges," and the next album will be even more hard-hitting.
"Michael and Chris are the riff-masters and kings of melody. We had lots of frustrating moments in the last months, and we used these emotions to write new song-material. It’s fucking brutal!"

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the new album is the vocals. Who would have thought something else catches your attention more than the Amott brothers’ guitars on an Arch Enemy album?
Her response, "They knew somehow this will happen, so they are not pissed off of so. I am a bit afraid of this ’fame.’ I don’t want to disappoint anyone." No one in their right death metal mind can say anything bad about the vocals on "Wages Of Sin."

It also sounds like the rest of the band understands her and they get along. Well, they do.
"Actually, I think more like a guy. I have a pretty rough sense of humour. We have a really great time together!"

I’ve wondered (and you probably have too) if she was a fan of Arch Enemy before she joined.
"I liked their stuff. I had all their albums. My favourite tracks are still ’Bury Me An Angel,’ ’Dead Inside,’ ’Diva Satanica,’ ’The Immortal,’ and ’Burning Bridges.’ But I never loved them as much as I loved Carcass, Death – Chuck, rest in peace! – or Morbid Angel. Nowadays, I prefer Arch Enemy of course."

To me, Arch Enemy’s vocals were the weakest part of the band, until now. I just wasn’t a big fan of Johan Liiva.
"I think his vocals on ’Black Earth’ were just great, fucking brutal, he really sucked on ’Stigmata’ and he was good on ’Burning Bridges.’ And I know that he is a very nice and kind guy – a bit shy though. Not so good when you are supposed to be the front-fighter."

Wonder why "Wages Of Sin" hasn’t been released worldwide yet?
"Show me a band that is happy with Century Media. We had several fights; we wanted to get out of the contract. They wouldn’t let us go, but fighting on would have killed Arch Enemy. So we gave them the "Wages Of Sin" material – a long time ago. Now they will release it in March 2002 after we added lots of bonus material."
North American and European fans will get some bonus tracks and two videos. A double-CD! Even without the second CD, "Wages Of Sin" is worth the wait.

As for tour plans,
"yes, it seems South America and Korea will happen too. Nothing announced yet, but we hope…and discuss…and make plans."
Angela also reveals some songs that she can’t wait to sing live – "’Diva Satanica’ will be my sonic orgasm. Followed by ’Burning Angel’, ’Ravenous,’ ’The Immortal,’ ’Beast Of Man,’ and ’Bury Me An Angel.’"

The unavailability of "Wages Of Sin" outside Japan has forced many to try their luck with MP3s – such as myself. I don’t feel guilty at all because I know I will buy the North American edition
"I don’t feel betrayed when people trade Arch Enemy files. Usually, after I listen to some cool files, I rush into the shop anyway to get the real CD with lyrics, pictures, etc.," says the split-resident of Germany and Sweden.

No matter what artists or record execs argue, MP3s are great for discovering new bands. Unfortunately for Angela,
"I would be glad if somebody could give me a good newcomer’s name. I am so tired of all these clones."

It would be alright with me if there were any Arch Enemy clones, but there are none. No one can match the sheer musicianship of the band, and will most definitely not find a singer that is as talented as she is attractive, at least not in death metal.

// Ryan