Wild and fun ol' times back when D&D groups met in person. We had it so good and didn't appreciate it. Roll20 is great and all, but it needs more puppers.
THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH ARCH ENEMY
Arch Enemy is a band formed from many parts and places – originating in Sweden but now comprised of members from North America as well. Their latest album, Will to Power, was released in September via Century Media Records—a relentless, melodic death compilation of brutal riffs and a no holds barred vocal performance from Alissa White-Gluz, who was born and raised in Montreal. We sat down with the frontwoman prior to Arch Enemy’s co-headliner at the Vogue Theatre, alongside Trivium.
1. Your latest release, Will to Power, came out earlier this year. It is the second effort by you, Alissa, to contribute in full – with the addition of clean vocals and the introduction of Jeff Loomis of Nevermore fame on guitar as well. What new inspirations did you draw from this time around that differentiates Will to Power from former releases?
I don’t know if there were any particular influences in writing on Will to Power compared to War Eternal. I’m always inspired by the members in my band; the music that they write to provide a canvas for me to put lyrics and vocals on top of. I’m always happy to put in my two cents to contribute in any way possible. I contributed what felt best for the music and what felt right for me to make the best music possible.
2. What is your favourite track to play live off the new album?
We’ve played about half the album live, but “The Race” is really upbeat; I wrote the lyrics so I suppose there’s a little bit of a bias there. I still love singing Michael’s or Daniel’s [lyrics], but “The Race” is very high energy and seems to get people going. It’s probably one of the most challenging, too, which pushes me as well.
3. I think it’s always exciting to have a mixed bill in terms of genres. How has your North American tour been alongside fellow bands Trivium, While She Sleeps and Fit for An Autopsy? Have there been any memorable moments?
It’s really been great – it’s a really strong tour package; we all play different genres but we have a similar appeal. Fit for An Autopsy is really heavy, While She Sleeps is really catchy, very UK-sounding, and of course Trivium – everyone knows what they sound like. And of course, us, who don’t sound like any of the other bands but we all share a commonality of having melodies. All the shows have been great with a lot of them being sold out. For me personally, playing a sold-out Montreal show was the highlight as that is where I grew up.
4. Which bands would you like to collaborate and/or tour with in the future that you haven’t already?
I’d love to tour with Doyle for obvious reasons. Megadeth too, because I love them. And even though it wouldn’t fit, I would love to tour with Halestorm as they’re a fun rock and roll band. Lzzy is such an amazing performer, singer and musician... but I suppose that’s kind of selfish—when it comes to putting together an actual tour package, I think I’d be pretty terrible at assembling one as it’d just be music that I like and not necessarily what our fans would like. But we’ve been very fortunate with who we’ve been touring with this year – including this current leg and earlier in the year with Lacuna Coil, who I’d love to tour with again.
5. Summer is always busy with festivals—particularly in Europe, which accommodates the likes of Wacken, Bloodstock and Resurrection Fest. Do you prefer playing larger shows or more intimate venues?
I know that you’re supposed to say the more intimate shows, but I enjoy the big stages with the bigger audiences; functionally, it allows me to move around more on stage. If you add in the acoustics... in a small room, it’s harder to control the volume on stage which makes it very difficult to hear. With a large stage, programming monitors to get a really clean and concise sound is better – but both have their appeal. Shows like tonight or even smaller club shows, they’re fun, but logistically there’s a few more challenges you have to work around.
6. You have some special merch designed for your Canadian shows, jersey shirts inspired by Canadian hockey teams. How did this come about?
I have a friend who is a merchandiser and a fellow Montrealer, and he’s a genius when it comes to merch items. He’s able to look at clothing and figure out how to incorporate it with our band. So for the jerseys, obviously as Canadians love hockey, he figured it would be awesome as an exclusive for the Canadian dates. But for me personally, I know nothing about hockey – so no judgement.
7. It looks like you’re headed off for a few more European dates at the conclusion of this tour. Can we expect anything else from Arch Enemy or individual projects from that point onward?
We have six weeks after on a European tour with Wintersun, Tribulation and Jinjer, which is happening in January and February. For March and April we’re looking into Southeast Asia and Australia, with summer focusing on festivals again—so we’re actually booked until 2019, which is what Arch Enemy does. If we ever have time off touring, you’ll generally hear about my solo project [Alissa], Michael’s project Spiritual Beggars, or Jeff Loomis’ work. That’s when we get to separate and focus on our own music, but we currently don’t have any time.
8. As per tradition with the Permanent Rain Press, we ask you: “If you could be any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?”
I would want something that tastes really bad so I wouldn’t get eaten and remain in existence.
Thank you to Alissa for taking the time—and probably the most metal response we’ve heard yet to our signature ice cream question! Check out http://www.archenemy.net/en/ for news, tour dates, and more. Their music is available for streaming on Spotify.
Words by: Timothy Nguyen
Photo credit to: Katja Kuhl
