Written by angel. on 18.03.2014 at 12:42

^^ The entire band hot ? None of the guys in this band are even close to being hot

Written by [user id=20536] on 17.03.2014 at 22:50

Written by BloodTears on 17.03.2014 at 20:53

I'm still processing it. Arch Enemy without Angela Gossow... Yes, it's difficult to assimilate. Some people didn't like her for many reasons, but I always did like her and saw myself in her.

Anyway... excuse me while I go listen to Wages Of Sin now and cry.

Yeah, I am with you on this one. Arch Enemy may not be my favorite band, but I always believed Angela was the strongest member and her voice is massive. I guess the new album can only tell, but right now I have this feeling that it will end up with a similar outcome as Anette trying to fill Tarja's shoes in Nightwish so to speak.

Written by psykometal on 18.03.2014 at 13:00

Pssh. Chris and Daniel were always the cute ones.

Written by [user id=4365] on 18.03.2014 at 12:48

Sharlee would like a word with you...

Written by Angelic Storm on 18.03.2014 at 13:33

I really don't know what to make of this news. The fact that Michael felt he had to go for another female vocalist makes me think that he just sees it as a gimmick to sell more albums, rather than it being for the actual good of the band musically. Say what you want about Angela, but her vocals on the first couple of AE albums especially, were amazing, and this new girl has a lot to live up to in that regard. In all honesty, I wish that if Angela had to leave, that Johan Liiva would have been brought back, though that was always extremely unlikely to happen. The band have been deteriorating in quality lately, and I'm just hoping that this turn of events isn't the final nail in their coffin, but I'm definitely sceptical for the moment that they can turn things around.

I haven't heard The Agonist, so I have no idea whether Alissa is a worthy replacement or not, but I am worried for the band's future more than ever now. As for "hotness" within the band, Michael and Sharlee definitely take that honour! lol

Written by zturgeon on 18.03.2014 at 05:42

At least she's hot!

Written by Coconut Racecar on 18.03.2014 at 17:20

This spells nothing but bad news for me... The Agonist is a great band, but I prefer The Agonist as The Agonist and not in Arch Enemy. I get the feeling we'll be hearing some clean vocals on the next Arch Enemy album and although I have no problems with clean vocals I would definitely have a problem with them in Arch Enemy, so... Hopefully Alissa stays true to Arch Enemy form and doesn't muck things up.

Written by Sean 79 on 18.03.2014 at 14:50
Agreed. I'd go as far as saying they've reduced Angela's role in the the band to a gimmick. When she joined first that was people's perception, till they heard her on Wages.... and realised she was the real deal. I don't know The Agonist, I just had a quick look to see what this chick sounds like, and sure she can scream ok but I'm sure they could of found someone closer to home with her abilities. It all reeks of fear of not making as much money if brought in a male singer.
As for all the hotness comments FUCK OFF!!!!!

Written by Angelic Storm on 19.03.2014 at 00:18

I do feel as if a male replacement was never even a consideration for Michael, because he seems to be more interested in the band's image and commercial popularity than the actual music at this point.

Written by [user id=4365] on 18.03.2014 at 12:34

Doesn't this imply that you now find the entire band hot? (nothing wrong with that though, though I always found Michael Amott kinda funny looking)

Written by Ruchesko on 19.03.2014 at 00:56

but after 14 years of success as a female-fronted melodeath act, why mess with the formula.

Written by Ruchesko on 19.03.2014 at 00:56
I'm not sure image and commercial appeal is really a factor at this point. I mean sure, when Angie was hired in late 2000, female frontwomen were very much the fashion, so your gimmick argument has some basis, but after 14 years of success as a female-fronted melodeath act, why mess with the formula.

Written by EnigmaLake on 18.03.2014 at 23:37

Written by Coconut Racecar on 18.03.2014 at 17:20

This spells nothing but bad news for me... The Agonist is a great band, but I prefer The Agonist as The Agonist and not in Arch Enemy. I get the feeling we'll be hearing some clean vocals on the next Arch Enemy album and although I have no problems with clean vocals I would definitely have a problem with them in Arch Enemy, so... Hopefully Alissa stays true to Arch Enemy form and doesn't muck things up.

Clean vocals have been in Arch Enemy

Written by Angelic Storm on 19.03.2014 at 03:18

Written by Ruchesko on 19.03.2014 at 00:56
I'm not sure image and commercial appeal is really a factor at this point. I mean sure, when Angie was hired in late 2000, female frontwomen were very much the fashion, so your gimmick argument has some basis, but after 14 years of success as a female-fronted melodeath act, why mess with the formula.

It's not like Arch Enemy are like Nightwish, where the core sound of the band was built around female specific vocals. Angela, particularly on her earlier recordings with AE really sounded no different to a male melodeath vocalist. In fact, a lot of people who heard Wages without knowing the vocalist was female, assumed that the vocalist was male. lol Not to mention the fact that the original vocalist of the band was male. So it is totally an image thing, especially now. Getting a male vocalist would not really change the sound of the band in any meaningful, or significant way, so it would only change "the formula" in a purely cosmetic sense. So the only "need" to have a female vocalist in AE is for image and commercial appeal.

Written by M C Vice on 19.03.2014 at 08:53
Maybe Alyssa is the same size as Gossow, so they can reuse her stage clothes?
Or maybe it's as simple as when Gossow said she was leaving, the band asked one of their friends if they wanted to replace her. Since the announcements were so close together (same day, wasn't it?) I suspect it was all planed out before either band announced it.

Written by Angelic Storm on 19.03.2014 at 09:32

No matter how the change actually came about, I still think it is very likely the case that Michael wouldn't have even considered the possibility of recruiting a male vocalist at this point in the band's career. I could be wrong about that, but I doubt it. I think he is very concerned with the band's image, and how they come across to mainstream audiences. It's not the fact that the band recruited another female vocalist on it's own, which makes this a very contrived move of course, but the fact that Michael most likely now sees having a female frontperson as the only option for the band, which makes it contrived.

Written by Ruchesko on 19.03.2014 at 11:23

You seem to be taking real issue with this. Yes, hiring Alyssa makes very good commercial sense for AE: she's recognisable to non-death fans like myself thanks to her guest-spots with Kamelot & Delain (that one Nightwish gig with Elize probably didn't hurt either) and it helps maintain Arch Enemy's distinct status as a female-fronted death metal act. But given how crowded and competitive the metal market is, especially the death scene, can you blame a band for wanting to hang on to as many trademarks as they can?

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.03.2014 at 14:53

Good riddance to the overhyped overrated shemale marketing trick. But am sure the music still won't take a turn for the better. They haven't been able to write a decent tune for ages now.

Written by deadone on 19.03.2014 at 13:27


And Sinister had a female vocalists at roughly the same time AE did it. And they were a "proper" death metal band.