Within three months of the release of their sixth album
'Doomsday Machine' (August 2005, through Century Media Records), Swedish
melodic death metal act soon found themselves in Australia for the
first time, giving their long awaited fan base down under a taste
of their take on the Gothenburg sound.
Eleven months on, and Arch Enemy (comprising of vocalist
Angela Gossow, guitarists Michael Amott and Fredrik Åkesson,
bassist Sharlee D'Angelo and drummer Daniel Erlandsson) are once again
returning to Australian shores as part of the Gigantour festival.
Prior to a sound-check for their headlining show in
West Springfield (Virginia), I caught up with bassist Sharlee D'Angelo
to find out how satisfying their seemingly unending tour has been
since the release of 'Doomsday Machine', the reason behind the lengthy
delay of their debut DVD 'Live Apocalypse', an insight into the work
already underway on their new album and what fans can expect with
their return performances.
"So far, Gigantour has been really great. It's
been a huge success, especially for us. It's one of those tours where
we get to play to people that wouldn't normally come out to see us,
let alone having even really heard of us beforehand, and walk away
fans. We do signing sessions every night, and there are so many people
that have come up to us and told us that they'd never heard of us
before, and after having seen us that night for the first time, absolutely
loved it! (Laughs) That's a pretty good feeling. There are a lot of
people turning onto Arch Enemy throughout this tour, and that's fantastic!"
Of course, all things must come to an end, with the
month long US leg of the Gigantour (featuring Megadeth, Lamb Of God,
Opeth, Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity and The Smashup) soon coming
to a close. But it's hardly the end of Arch Enemy's touring plans,
as the band plan to tour through to the end of the year.
"There's about four dates left to go on the Gigantour
before we head down to Australia, and then we have some shows of our
own planned. So yes, we're nearing the end. But that doesn't mean
that we stop there. We'll continue touring through to the end of the
year with an extensive tour of Scandinavia starting in mid November.
That tour will be sponsored by Close Up magazine which is the biggest
metal magazine in Sweden. We never really played that many dates in
Sweden before. We've only managed to play some of the bigger cities
in the past so now we'll have the chance to play some of those smaller
and more remote locations. I think it'll be a great tour. Following
that, if everything goes according to plan of course, we'll actually
be finishing the touring cycle for 'Doomsday Machine' by the end of
January 2007. We've basically been on the road since July 2005 so
I think we're all anxious and dying to create something new."
While Arch Enemy have spent the better part of eighteen
months on the road, it hasn't stopped the band laying down ideas in
preparation of the next album.
"Yeah, absolutely! We have invested in a small
portable studio to record some of the ideas we have come up with.
When we stop touring, if that ever happens, and we get into the studio,
we will have a lot more material to choose from this time around.
In the past, the situation has been like a knife to the throat trying
to get together an album's worth of material together. With the portable
studio with us, we're now able to pick and choose what we want to
pursue ideas-wise a little more. I think that will make for a much
better album in the future. We're putting down whatever ideas we have
at the moment and I guess we'll just have to wait and see what it
sounds like a little closer to the time. At the moment, it looks like
we'll be going more extreme in regards to the differing styles we
have done in the past. The heavier stuff will be heavier and faster
and the melodic parts will be even more melodic! (Laughs) All we can
do is try and outdo ourselves with each new album. It's hard to say
what direction it will eventuate into this early into the writing
sessions but some of the riffs that we have down now are possibly
some of the best that we've written to date. Needless to say, it's
going to be metal all the way through."
All the more intriguing is Gossow's recent comment,
"I personally believe the last two Arch Enemy albums were too
harmless. We got to get the grit, bite, speed and danger back into
our music. Less controlled, more riffs, melodies, solos, different
parts, breaks, sudden changes", which appeared on Gossow's own
My Space site.
"I believe she said that more about the 'Anthems
Of Rebellion' album because we did expand on those extremities to
a certain extent for 'Doomsday Machine'. We basically packed a bit
more of everything into our last album and I think that with this
new album, we'll take those ideas even further in those different
directions. We'll cram in even more of those essentially different
elements that make up Arch Enemy into a great album."
As a stopgap between albums, Arch Enemy has offered
up a first hand experience of their impressive live performance with
their recently released live DVD 'Live Apocalypse'.
"I think it turned out great. It's a full package. There's a
little bit of everything on there. It took a little while for us to
get it all together and get it out there but we're absolutely happy
with it. We were swamped with touring all the time so it meant that
we just didn't quite have the time to put together all the extra material
sooner than we originally hoped for. We had boxes and boxes of tapes
and stuff that we had filmed and we just never found enough time to
go through it all in one hit. We were never at home long enough! (Laughs)
We were always out on the road somewhere. But when it finally happened,
and all of our ideas were finally realised, we were really happy with
it. I think it was worth the wait for the fans out there."
As mentioned earlier, Arch Enemy are taking part in
the Australian leg of Gigantour (alongside the likes of Megadeth,
Soulfly and Caliban), which according to D'Angelo is a tour the band
is really looking forward to.
"The last time we were in Australia was back in
November 2005 so the fact that we're returning so soon is great! Last
time we were down there, we were already looking into the possibility
of coming back as soon as possible. At the time, it didn't look like
it was going to happen any time soon but then the offer came up to
join Megadeth on Gigantour, and we thought it was a brilliant opportunity
to come back as soon as possible. We loved it down there last time
because it gave us the chance to play in a completely new territory
that we had never been to before. You're never really sure how well
people are going to embrace your music, but in the end, the response
was fantastic. So we were really looking forward to getting back to
your upside down country! (Laughs)"
Apart from the planned Gigantour dates, Arch Enemy will
also be heading out west to play some solo shows in Adelaide and Perth
as well.
"That's right. We only managed to play Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne
last time around so it's worked out perfect for us this time around
to do Gigantour in those cities and then fly over to Adelaide and
Perth on our own. We not only get to play in Australia again but we
also get to play a couple of cities that we didn't make it to last
time around. That's great. It's a huge bonus for us to play a city
like Perth. I have had friends who have played in Perth before and
they've all said that it's one of the best cities to play. Metal fans
are a little starved for shows over there so they really appreciate
it when a band makes the effort to go over there and play. It's also
great because I have never been to that side of the country before
either. So it will be great to see what that's like. Aside from that,
it also allows me to go and visit Bon Scott's grave as well, so that's
a real bonus for me."
Although having played to fans in Australia a year ago,
D'Angelo believes fans shouldn't pass up the opportunity to check
out Gigantour when it hits these shores.
"I really think people should come check out the
show. If not for us, then to check out this band called Megadeth.
I hadn't really heard of them before but trust me when I say they're
going to be big one day! They're really good! (Laughs) But seriously,
I think our shows will be just a bit more of what fans saw last time
around. Actually, it will be a whole lot more! (Laughs) Fans can expect
us to play faster and louder! All I can say is that if you don't show
up, I think you'll regret it for the rest of your life! Gigantour
is a package of pure metal and it will be worth every cent!"
I would like to thank Sharlee D'Angelo 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
