Swedish Arch Enemy fight for gender equality in heavy metal

Arch Enemy

With Exodus, Arsis, and Mutiny Within
Wednesday February 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Edmonton Events Centre (8882-170 St.)
$35 at Ticketmaster

Canadians have officially earned the title of being the ultimate metalheads — at least, that’s what Sharlee D’Angelo, the bass guitarist for Arch Enemy, has noticed while embarking on the Tyrants of Evil tour.

“The Canadian dates have been the highlights of the tour so far. Americans should watch out, because the Canadians are whooping their ass,” D'Angelo shares.

Even with all their brutality, defiance, and long hair, the members of Arch Enemy aren't impervious to the chaotic nature of touring, and the new routine they must adapt to for weeks or months on end.

“The normal routines that you take for granted like warm showers, clean toilets, a decent cup of coffee are sometimes hard to come by, but are important in maintaining a sense of normality,” D'Angelo laughs.

Conversely, the reception from their dedicated and ever-changing fanbase allows D'Angelo to remain optimistic about the future of metal.

“We have a new front row of metal fans every time we play a show. There’s a whole new generation which is awesome to see; metal has a real future.”

Since their inauguration in 1995, this female-fronted, carcass-infested, dismembered melodic death metal band has been receiving a lot of attention. The band, comprised of Angela Gossow, Sharlee D’Angelo, Daniel Erlandsson, and founders Michael and Christopher Arnott, is considered an anomaly in the Swedish metal scene.

“The rest of the band comes from a small town, and so we were not part of the popular Gothenburg and Stockholm scenes. We were isolated, but that is what made our sound unique compared to other Swedish death metal bands,” D'Angelo explains.

The invention of the iPod and docking stations have become vital metal resources for shaping the band’s sound as well, especially during the idle hours between gigs spent on a tour bus.

“Anything that we’re listening to right now influences Arch Enemy. We listen to what is on people’s iPods, or what we come across on tour. There are 9 iPod’s on the bus, and when someone thinks of something to play, then it’s a full-on war with musical ideas,” chuckles D'Angelo.

With their newly released compilation album Root of All Evil, Arch Enemy sought to satisfy their diverse demographic by re-recording songs from their past albums to include the female hostility and aggression of new frontwoman Gossow.

“We got a lot of requests from audiences to play stuff off of the first three albums. And when I mean people, I’m referring to that one guy with a beard in the back clapping over and over, wanting to hear the old stuff," he jokes. "People wanted to hear the old material with Angela singing and we thought that was a cool idea. This album is for the fans. Even Johan, Arch Enemy’s previous singer, really enjoys the album.”

Sharlee was also involved in another female-fronted metal band previous to his membership in Arch Enemy, and comments on the fact that the metal scene has become more welcoming to female audiences.

“Metal is a lot more open these days than it use to be. When we released the Wages of Sin album, it created quite a stir in the media. Nobody has seen anybody sing like Angela before. It’s been a male-dominated scene for way too long, so it’s great to see more women coming to shows.”

He comically follows his statement by insisting that Arch Enemy’s nondiscriminatory attitude extends even farther than just to women.

“We want to get everybody to get involved in the music. Boys, girls, dogs, goats — it doesn’t matter, we don’t discriminate.”