The introduction of a new member within any band's ranks
can certainly make a difference. But when the member happens to be
the vocalist, opinions are certainly swift and forthright from both
fans and critics alike.
In the minds of some, Swedish melodic death metal act
Arch Enemy's replacement of Johan 'Liiva' Axelsson (after three highly
regarded studio albums and a live album) with German vocalist Angela
Nathalie Gossow in 2001 was certainly an unexpected change, and one
that meant that the band would never be quite the same.
But for all the adverse criticism and scepticism thrown
in the band's direction initially, the release of 'Wages Of Sin' the
same year soon proved that not only could Gossow fill the enormous
gap left in Axelsson's departure, but Arch Enemy could also move on
creatively with a new member on board. As strong as 'Wages Of Sin'
was for the band, their follow up album in 2003's 'Anthems Of Rebellion'
was an even greater success sales wise, so much so that it has become
Century Media Records' fastest selling title to date.
Now with Gossow firmly established in the Arch Enemy
line up (alongside guitarists Michael and Christopher Amott, bassist
Sharlee D'Angelo and drummer Daniel Erlandsson), the group's new album
'Doomsday Machine' sees the band hitting their stride with a release
that not only remains true to the signature sound of Arch Enemy's
past, but also throws up a couple of surprises that ensure that the
band aren't solely relying on their past, but forging ahead with the
future.
While travelling between dates on the latest Ozzfest
jaunt (which has a very European flavour this year with The Haunted
and Soilwork joining Arch Enemy on the second stage), I caught up
with drummer Daniel Erlandsson in Columbus (Ohio) travelling between
shows to talk about the making of 'Doomsday Machine', his reflections
on 'Anthems Of Rebellion', deciding to work with renowned producer
Andy Sneap this time around and the initial reactions towards Arch
Enemy's sixth full length effort.
"We just got the first reports on sales figures
(taken from Nielson SoundScan) today for 'Doomsday Machine', and it's
done pretty well so far. It's only been released here in the U.S.
for a week, and it's sold around twelve thousand CDs in that time.
That's pretty good for us, when you consider that 'Anthems Of Rebellion'
did around four thousand in the same amount of time. So we definitely
see this as a step up for the band. The reviews too have been overwhelmingly
good. Usually you get people on the internet bitching about the album
being this and that, and not as good as the other albums or whatever,
but then we're pretty happy with 'Doomsday Machine' ourselves, so
it doesn't really matter what people say. We know we've done a good
album, and it seems that a lot of people agree."
Although receiving some harsh criticism for 2003's 'Anthems
Of Rebellion' at the time of its release, Erlandsson believes that
the album was exactly the right direction Arch Enemy needed go for
at the time as a follow up to 'Wages Of Sin'.
"When we recorded 'Anthems Of Rebellion', we focussed
more on getting the sound stripped down. We wanted to keep the song
writing a little simpler, and we definitely achieved that. Comparing
it to the new album, I think 'Doomsday Machine' has a lot more of
everything. It's got a lot more melody, and a lot more variation in
the songs. I still think that 'Anthems Of Rebellion' was a very good
album, and that it's managed to stand the test of time. The songs
from that album still go down very well live, so I'm happy with that
album."
As Erlandsson, compared to 'Anthems Of Rebellion', 'Doomsday
Machine' does feature a lot more of everything, with a greater difference
between the slower paced melodic tracks, to the faster paced more
traditional sounding Arch Enemy numbers.
"I think you're definitely right there. We wanted
to make sure that we brought back all the trademark elements of Arch
Enemy's sound. I think we managed to do that quite well. But there's
also elements within the album that's kind of new to us. Like there's
a little bit of keyboard sampling in a couple of tracks, and some
other special effects that enhance the overall atmosphere of the album."
Interestingly enough, it's the two tracks ('My Apocalypse'
and 'Skeleton Dance') that feature sound effects that will surprise
most.
"That came about as a mix of us wanting to trying
to do something new, and someone being available to help out. We were
fortunate enough to work with people during the recording that were
good at playing keyboards, and equally good at finding unique sounds.
We definitely wanted to enhance the atmosphere on the album, and I
think the sounds we chose in the end are there for that very reason.
They were chosen to be solely in the background, and not to dominate
the mix by adding a little bit of atmosphere."
After five full length studio albums, Arch Enemy are
now confident that they've found their own unique sound in the melodic
death metal genre, but it doesn't stop them from experimenting and
pushing forward into new areas.
"Yes absolutely. I totally agree with that! (Laughs)
Some ideas are pre-planned, while the rest is left up to fate! (Laughs)
I mean every album that we do is a reaction to the last one we recorded.
'Anthems Of Rebellion' was stripped down compared to 'Wages Of Sin',
so this time around it wasn't going to be stripped down. I think 'Doomsday
Machine' is more of a combination of the older albums, but at the
same time, I think it's a progression for the band as well. When I
listen to 'Doomsday Machine', I can definitely hear old Arch Enemy.
If you listen to this album, and the very first Arch Enemy album (1996's
'Black Earth'), there's obviously going to be a lot of difference
because the band has progressed within that time."
Much like the recording process that produced 'Anthems
Of Rebellion', the putting together of 'Doomsday Machine' was a relatively
painless ordeal, and quick in putting together after the decision
was made to record close to home, rather than relocate to England
in Andy Sneap's Backstage Studios.
"Over the last three years we've been touring quite
extensively, and you have to fight for any sort of free time with
the label and management. We just decided that we needed time to make
a new album. They pretty much gave us three months to record it, and
deliver the final product, so we spent close to two months rehearsing
the songs, and another three months in the studio. We chose to record
it close to our hometown in Sweden (of Halmstad, in south-west Sweden),
and that basically meant that at the end of every day, we could go
home and sleep in our own beds. Providing of course that you wanted
to! (Laughs) That was a huge advantage. I mean when we were recording
'Anthems Of Rebellion', we were recording with Andy Sneap in England.
That meant that you had a return flight ticket, so you knew that you
only had eight days to finish all your tracks. You had to leave whether
it was complete or not, because the flight was already booked. But
having said that, every time we record an album, we always book plenty
of time in the studio. No matter what you do or how much you plan
ahead; you'll always find yourself pressured at some point. You will
always come up with new ideas while in the process of recording, and
the more ideas you come up with, the more time you burn. You tend
to put the pressure on yourself in a way."
Unlike 'Anthems Of Rebellion', Arch Enemy decided to
use Rickard Bengtsson (who is vocalist for Last Tribe and Armageddon)
at Slaughterhouse Studio as co-producer (with the band), with Andy
Sneap handling the mixing.
"We recorded the album with Bengtsson in Sweden,
and then took the hard drive over to England and Sneap mix the album
over a three-week period. I think when we looked back at 'Anthems
Of Rebellion', we thought the album was a bit too clinical sounding,
and almost monotonous in a way. So we actually wanted to try a different
producer with this album first. But in the end, it just seemed like
a good idea to go back to Sneap for the mixing part anyway. He proved
to be flexible, and try some new ideas that might otherwise be a bit
new to him. It's not that he's so much reluctant to trying new ideas,
but because he was so involved with 'Anthems Of Rebellion' from the
very start of pre-production right through to the finished product,
it was hard for him to hear something new after a while. He was there
the whole time. With 'Doomsday Machine', he had a fresh approach to
the album. He only heard the songs for the first time when they were
about to be mixed. We obviously went to England, and we brought along
Bengtsson with us as well to come up with ideas. I think we managed
to get a pretty unique sound on this album. Sneap's album tended to
sound a bit similar one another. But with 'Doomsday Machine', I think
the differences are evident, and it really stands out. I think it's
got a bit of a natural touch to the sound, as well as being very precise
and machine like! (Laughs)"
Another important aspect to 'Doomsday Machine' is Gossow's
vocals, and how she's managed to find her place within the band after
her third effort with the group.
"I think she's done a great job. I know when it
came to 'Anthems Of Rebellion', she wasn't very happy with the sound
that she got on the vocals. So this time, she wanted to make sure
that her performance was a lot more varied and different from song
to song. I think she may have found that easier with 'Doomsday Machine'
because every song has it's own mood, and you wouldn't want to have
the exact same sounding vocal on every song. Like I said, we recorded
in our hometown of Halmstad, so she chose to do a couple of hours
worth of vocal recording in the evenings, so therefore she didn't
have anywhere near as much pressure on herself like last time."
One question that couldn't pass without an answer was
just where did the title 'Doomsday Machine' come from, and what exactly
is a 'Doomsday Machine'?
"That's a good question! (Laughs) Basically the
title comes from a line in the song 'Dead Eyes See No Future' (a song
based on the atrocities of war) on 'Anthems Of Rebellion'. We pinched
it from there. The way I look at it, Arch Enemy the band is the 'Doomsday
Machine'. We sort of roll in from town to town, and destroy everything
in our path! (Laughs) It's something like that. There's no deep concept
behind it. The 'Doomsday Machine' isn't a metaphor for the world as
we see it today. We didn't see the title in that way. People are coming
up with all kinds of interpretations, and we're hearing it more and
more, but it's nothing like that. For us, it's just a cool title for
a cool album."
Another interesting title comes up in the song 'Machtkampf'.
"Roughly translated from German to English, it
means power struggle. It obviously comes from Gossow because she's
German. Originally she wrote the whole song with German lyrics, but
we all thought that was a little too much in the German style for
a Swedish band, so she had to strip that down. In the end, all that
remained was the title."
Even though 'Doomsday Machine' has only just been released,
Arch Enemy have plans for another release before the end of the year,
which will be the band's first DVD.
"We recorded the footage for a DVD in London last
year at a live show that we did, and we have plans to release that
sometime before the end of the year. That was filmed with around ten
to twelve cameras, so that will look and sound pretty cool. We're
just putting the finishing touches to it now. I can't say too much
about what to expect at this stage, but I think fans will enjoy it."
In the meantime, Arch Enemy will keep themselves busy
with the most extensive tour ever undertaken by the band to date,
with the current Ozzfest dates just the beginning.
"We're probably going to be on the road for the
next eighteen months to promote this album. So we have a lot of gigs
ahead of us! (Laughs) We're doing Ozzfest at the moment, and I think
that still has around five weeks left of that. Then I think we have
three weeks off before doing a full European tour, an Eastern tour
and then finally an Australian tour. I would like to say that the
Australian tour is one hundred percent confirmed, but you never really
can be sure until you have it written down on paper! (Laughs) But
we're definitely planning to come to Australia sometime before the
end of the year, sometime around early November I think. We hope to
do around three or four shows, perhaps as the headliner. But again,
I can't be certain of that. I hope that it all comes together. We
have had a lot of requests over the years from Australian fans asking
us to come down, so it's going to be great when we finally get there."
I would like to thank Daniel Erlandsson for his generous
time, and Andrew Haug at Century Media Records for making the interview
possible. For more information on Arch Enemy, check out: www.archenemy.net
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
