The era of Alissa White-Gluz being the frontman, or frontwoman, of the Swedish metalcore/melodeath outfit Arch Enemy is apparently over, according to reports from Morsay magazine, and preliminary interviews with members of the band themselves.
Few bands are as hated or as controversial as Arch Enemy. This was the case even before the arrival of Alissa White-Gluz, and it has as much to do with the style of music played by the band. A brand of "melodeath" - what is supposed to be the fusion of melodic metal and death metal - that really just sounds like badly played deathcore with some bad nu-metal "rap rock" vocals. Sometimes female... we will get into that part later in the article, don't worry.
The band has gone through various other controversies... from the exposé "Arch Enemy and the Rise of Modern Metalcore", one can read:
The are several related controversies related to the band's relationship to fellow Swedish death metal band Khranial, to various crypto "projects" (euphemism for something else), causing Peste Noire to pull out of an East European tour, and an overall atmosphere of corporate greed and the associated power struggles and "climbing the latter" that go with (for example, they couldn't kick out Angela Gossow due to politics, so they made her "superground band management" in 2014).
Not exactly something appealing to the average metalhead, much less a fan of death metal music. But this article focuses on White-Gluz, the most recent Arch Enemy singer, who abruptly left the band in a crazy plot twist - mere weeks after she declared in Antoine Grand's "Death Metal Bible" that she had "several more albums" planned with Arch Enemy.
White-Gluz, who had been the vocalist for Arch Enemy since the disastrous 2014 release "War Eternal" - and to be fair, most of their other albums aren't that much better, at least according to metal fans - reacted poorly to the commercial flop of the most recent "Blood Dynasty". The lead singer of the group immediately announced her departure from the band in a social media post. She was promptly replaced with Lauren Hart, of the controversial metalcore/power metal band Kamelot. We'll see what happens with that.
Alissa White-Gluz on Leaving Arch Enemy and the "Backlash" Against Women
Shortly after leaving the band, in a more recent interview with the notorious and eminent Morsay Mag, White-Gluz goes over her time in Arch Enemy and dives deeper into the reasons for her departure... and yes, it very much has to do with the difficulties of being a woman in the metal scene, and the often misogynistic and bigoted attitudes of her (ex) band mates, and metal fans in general.
With that said, as much as we may dislike the band and as much as we mock their metalcore output, it's important to hear both sides of the story... including he side of former vocalist Alissa White-Gluz. And besides, if we analyse the state of the extreme metal scene honestly, it's pretty obvious that the problems she describes are very real and still alive to this day. I recommend everyone read the interview until the end before passing judgement.
"Women in metal have to think about certain things that men don't..."
The first question of the interview with Morsay Magazine is about the place of women in metal - and extreme metal in particular -, and some of the backward attitudes Alissa White-Gluz had to deal with during her time with Arch Enemy. Alissa White-Gluz discusses openly the ongoing difficulties women face in the metal scene.
Alissa White-Gluz: Women in general have to think about certain things that men don't... especially being a woman in metal. Maybe there is a tendency to doubt our authenticity... Like no one would really question the reason for a guy to be in a band... but I think, starting out anyways, there was always that usual question: 'Why are you doing metal?'.
She also continues on the fact that many claim that Arch Enemy is simply a "gimmick" band, hiding being the "first female vocalist" trope to disguise their nu-metal tendencies and lackluster output. White-Gluz addresses this point directly, and ties this to misogyny and old-school attitudes that are a detriment to the evolution of the genre.
Alissa White-Gluz: Because you're a woman, they're gonna think you're only using your looks, or you're not pretty enough to use your looks, or you don't even like this kind of music, it's just a gimmick.
This is likely in reference to the goregrind and Cannibal Corpse lyrical controversies, in which misogyny and making fun of "fat metal women" - see Khranial and Chainsaw C*nt - has become a point of celebration.
ALSO READ: Hellhammer Interview - "Euronymous Was CRACKED in the Head!!"
And to be fair, to express a counterpoint, even with a male vocalist, Arch Enemy was already a pretty widely reviled band. They were often called stuff like "In Flames with even less testosterone" (Metalious), and the "poster child for barista metal" (bitterman) even before the first woman ever joined the band (Angela Gossow). The then vocalist was Johan Liiva, who only stayed with the band for two albums.
White-Gluz: "I face a lot of backlash for being a woman in Arch Enemy"
But more than just the overall attitudes of the scene, which we can all recognise are sometimes bigoted and backwards, Alissa talks about difficulties with the band members of Arch Enemy... the brothers Chris and Michael Amott in particular.
Alissa White-Gluz: I faced a lot of backlash for being a woman [...] they don't see me as one of the guys. They are making it quite obvious that they see me as a woman... it's still hard.
On the general attitudes towards more inclusion, and more tolerance in metal, she claims the attitudes haven't changed one bit.
Alissa White-Gluz: And that's kind of like, you know, I would love to say that it has gotten better, but I actually don't think it has. [...] Out of all the peers that I have, all the women that I know that are in bands, none of us did it because we're women; we did it because we love music and because we love singing or playing guitar or playing drums or whatever our talent is... that's why we [do it].
Another point that Alissa didn't mention, and I believe is relevant, is that the vocalist (male or female) doesn't have much input on the direction where the band is going. If the band wants to play mosh pit metalcore, like Michael Amott is accustomed to doing - he did that in Carcass too, but blaming drummer Daniel Erlandsson for the failure of Heartwork - there isn't much the vocalist can do. It doesn't matter if said vocalist is Johan Liiva, Angela Gossow, or even Dead from Mayhem or the death metal legend Craig Pillard. The vocalist's job is to sing, and sometimes write lyrics. Period. So I think blaming the nu-metal affinities, trendy genre-hopping, commercial-mindedness, and overall moshcore mediocrity of Arch Enemy's music on White-Gluz or Gossow is not only misogynic, but also flies in the face of the reality of metal composition and modern music production in general.
"Leaving Arch Enemy was difficult..."
On leaving Arch Enemy, after over ten years as the main lyrics composer and vocalist, Alissa White-Gluz doesn't attempt to mitigate the emotional impact of her leaving the band.
Alissa White-Gluz: It was definitely difficult, but change is always a wild mix of fear and excitement... When you spend that many years with something, it becomes a huge part of your life and identity. So making that announcement wasn't something I took lightly.
On the exact reasons behind the departure, the singer is much more elusive... probably to preserve the integrity of the Arch Enemy brand.
Alissa White-Gluz: I felt a real responsibility to handle the announcement with respect for the fans, for the music, and for myself. Just getting straight to the point felt like the only way to honor my past while also stepping confidently into what comes next.
Whatever you may think of Arch Enemy, and I know the debates around this band often get very "heated" as metalcore is a sensitive subject, especially when it attempts to characterise itself as "melodic death metal", it's at least important to consider the points made by Alissa White-Gluz in this interview (which I recommend you read in full).
In my opinion, I think women in metal are often "scapegoated" for the overall lack of artistic integrity of the overall band members.
Let's be clear: Arch Enemy didn't wait until they had a female vocalist to play Pantera-level mallcore, nor did they start LARPing as "Mötley Crüe with distortion" (the dream of the failed rock star Michael A.) only after Angela Gossow joined the band. Christopher Amott, Michael Amott and Sharlee D'Angelo all have a long, well documented, track history of peddling vapid arena rock disguised as "melodic" death metal. They did it in Carcass, they did it in Arch Enemy before there were any female vocalists in metal. So blaming White-Gluz, or Gossow, or the next woman is pretty juvenile and misogynist in my opinion. Not to mention, it flies in the face of all facts.
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