On the heels of Arch Enemy announcing their 9th studio album War Eternal, a shocking announcement came out today that long-time vocalist Angela Gossow would be stepping down. Gossow joined the band over 14 years ago and made her debut as the band’s vocalist on the melodic death metal breakout album Wage Of Sin (2001). In her time as vocalist of Arch Enemy, the band enjoyed their greatest mainstream and commercial success with extensive touring worldwide, six chart topping albums, and building a massive fan base. Many look at Gossow as a pioneer of aggressive female death metal vocals. Her presence on stage is intense as much as electrifying to witness. With the departure of Gossow many fans may wonder where does the band go from here. Wasting no time, the band immediately announced former vocalist of Canadian metal band The Agonist, Alissa White-Gluz will be taking over. White-Gluz is an accomplished respected vocalist in the genre as well, and it will be extremely interesting to witness the her new dynamic in Arch Enemy. According to a thoughtful statement by Gossow, while her time as vocalist of Arch Enemy maybe coming to an end, she will still remain involved with the band in a management capacity. Gossow ‘s statement is as follows:
“Dear ARCH ENEMY fans, this is not easy to tell you…I have decided to step down from being ARCH ENEMY’s voice of anger. After 13 years of pure fucking metal, 6 studio albums and countless tours through five continents, I feel the need to enter a different phase in my life, be with my family and pursue other interests. I will however remain business manager for ARCH ENEMY, and I will continue to develop my artist management roster.
I am staying true to my heavy metal roots, just leaving the spotlight so to speak. I am passing the torch to the super talented Alissa White-Gluz, whom I’ve known as a dear friend and a superb vocalist for many years. I always thought she deserved a chance to shine – and now she’s getting it. Just like I got that chance back in 2001.
I want to thank all ARCH ENEMY fans, our labels Century Media (worldwide) and Trooper Entertainment (Japan), our dedicated road crew, and in particular Michael, Daniel and Sharlee for their love and support throughout all these years. It’s been one hell of a ride! We conquered every situation, made it through thick & thin together in the most exciting and rewarding time of my life. Thank you all for being there with me on stage, in front of the stage, and backstage. You have touched my heart, and I hope I was able to give something back to you. I am grateful for the wonderful memories – I will cherish them forever!
I am looking forward to the next decade of ARCH ENEMY madness! Right now I am listening through rough mixes of the new studio album and I am blown away! 2014 will see a renewed ARCH ENEMY at the top of their game. I am proud to be part of this ARCH ENEMY chapter, albeit in a different way – revving up the engines behind the scenes. I hope to see you in front of the stage; I will join you there this time. Let the killing begin, once again!”
- Century Media
- Century Media
In this interesting turn of events, White-Gluz is stepping down as vocalist of The Agonist, a title she held for a decade. Replacing White-Gluz with The Agonist is the very talented voice of Vicky Psarakis. The Agonist members made the following statement today:
“Today we announce that after 3 albums and countless tours we officially part ways with vocalist Alissa White-Gluz. We wish Alissa all the best with Arch Enemy and her future endeavors.”
White-Gluz, thrilled to take on the challenge of her life as lead vocalist of the force that is Arch Enemy, made the following statement:
“I am very honored and happy to announce a new chapter in my life and musical career beginning now; I have joined forces with one of my all-time favorite and globally respected bands, ARCH ENEMY. ‘Wages of Sin’ was the first metal album I ever bought, and it was love at first listen. It is not often that you get a phone call from your favorite band asking you to join! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such amazingly talented musicians whom I also consider great friends. I look forward to being able to write and perform at a whole new level now with ARCH ENEMY! Music is forever, metal is limitless and this is only the beginning!”
- Century Media
- Century Media
While this may come across as disappointing to dedicated Arch Enemy fans, many must keep in mind the band has sustained vocalist changes before when parting ways with Johan Liiva after three genre stand-out albums in Black Earth (1996), Stigmata (1998), and Burning Bridges (1999). Band founder and lead song-writer Michael Amott made the following statement about the change in the band’s line-up:
“We are eternally grateful to Angela for all her passion, hard work and talent. Her legacy is tremendous and will always be a big part of the band’s history. We feel great pride in what has been achieved in the past, but also look forward to new battles and new victories. We welcome Alissa with open arms – and we hope you will have open ears. We might have just created our most wicked metal opus yet with our upcoming album ‘War Eternal’!”
So before fans go rushing to judgement or developing preconceived notions about what to expect from new vocalist White-Gluz, they should remember one thing, change is part of life. White-Gluz’s vocal delivery is different than Gossow, but Gossow’s approach was different than Liiva. Each vocalist has their own unique qualities they bring to the music, defining their own aggression and intensity. Arch Enemy’s song writing has always relied heavily on strong guitar melodies and that style has morphed and adapted throughout the progression of the band. While many struggle to accept change at first, this maybe an exciting new chapter in the history of one of modern death metal’s most celebrated bands.
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