Interviews : Arch Enemy (Michael Amott) – 28/09/09

Since first stepping onto the scene in the mid 90’s Arch Enemy have continued to have a strong presence within the heavy metal community. Their latest release The Root of All Evil has just recently hit CD stores and features re-recorded tracks from the first three Arch Enemy albums. As the band gear up to begin rehearsals for their Australian tour in November, Michael Amott took some time out to talk to Metal Obsession about the new album, upcoming tour and the perils of growing old.

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Metal Obsession: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, how are you?

Michael Amott: I am good thanks, how are you?

MO: Very well thanks, so the latest release from Arch Enemy The Root of All Evil comprises re-recorded versions of tracks from the first three Arch Enemy albums, what was the main motivation for re-recording these tracks?

MA: Well the main motivation was…I mean the idea came to us maybe 3 or 4 years ago now, basically people started writing us you know fans, requesting and saying you know it would be cool to hear Angela sing some of the older stuff, things like that, but we didn’t really have time to do it at that time. We were basically writing what was to be our next brand new studio album Rise of the Tyrant which we did in 2007 but then we put that out and started touring like crazy all around the world again, but then things slowed down a bit at the beginning of this year and we had a little break over Christmas and New Year and January was off and February was off as well so we kind of thought this might be a good time. I mean it’s kind of a simple project for us to go in and redo some of these songs, not like when you make a whole new album and cut out a much bigger piece of time and focus on that but this is something we thought we could put out in 2009 and make a special release for the fans.

MO: As only certain tracks were re-recorded did you have some sort of a selection process or set criteria for which tracks to include on the new album?

MA: Yeah cause obviously we were making one album out of three albums and I would say we basically just picked stuff that we thought would be fun to play live again, you know we were kind of selfish though cause we didn’t really have a ‘fans can vote’ online, we just kind of went ahead and did it (laughs) and did what we wanted to do.

MO: Since forming the band in the mid 90’s, how do you feel on a personal level about Arch Enemy’s evolution into the band we know today? Have you reached the goals you set out to achieve?

MA: We have just really been taking it step by step and never really had a big plan or anything just kind of want everything to be…try to push things to the next level at the time and we just kind of ended up where we are today. We have been very lucky but we worked hard as well but it’s also a certain amount of luck I guess but people have reacted to the band and followed the band and its nothing we take for granted, it’s very awesome.

MO: The Root of All Evil is available on various mediums however the limited edition CD has several added extras such as extended booklet, alternate cover art, exclusive embroidered patch etc, is this a way of trying to up the ante with the tangible musical experience to keep fans purchasing the physical product and to shy away from illegal downloading?

MA: Obviously those ideas we kind of you know get involved to a certain point but usually these kinds of ideas come from the record label and they say ‘we would like to do something like this’ but I think anything that rewards the first day first week buyers is great and that should be encouraged you know, it’s like a special gift for the fans, the diehards.

MO: What is your stance concerning the issue of illegal downloads in the music industry?

MA: Well I don’t know, it’s not really anything that you can stop so there’s no point in getting too worked up about it. I mean basically we put in a shit load of work and everybody in the team puts in a lot of work and then you basically have these people that are just going to take it for free and that’s just the way it is now (laughs).

MO: I suppose it’s a bit of a catch 22 that you want your music to get out to as many people as possible but at the end of the day this is still you job and you need to be able to make money from it at some point.

MA: Yeah, but then in a way most of, well actually 75% of our business comes from playing live so it hasn’t affected us that much. But obviously it’s a shame because we are seeing less and less record companies that are taking any chances. As far as new music goes I wouldn’t want to be a new band coming out now, I think labels seem to be looking for safe bets and you know if your band sounds exactly like another band that’s accessible they might sign you but if you sound 100% original they probably won’t be as eager. Business is really bad for them as well so it’s a bit sad you know that it’s the end of an era to be getting something new as well.

MO: November will see Arch Enemy return to Australia for a headlining tour with supports Suffocation and Winds of Plague, what are some of the aspects you like most about touring Australia?

MA: Well we have a lot of good memories from Australia, the first tour we did in Australia we actually played our own shows as the headline act and that was back in 2005. We didn’t know what to expect really, we thought we would have to build it up from the ground you know like we have done in America and Europe, like basically play to 150 people and take it up there but it turned out we had quite a sizeable and really rabid fan base there who knew the material very well and knew everything about the band so that was kind of a surprise, we didn’t really know as we hadn’t really done any research and all that so that was a really pleasant surprise and cool. We just really enjoyed that trip and it was a real highlight of that year. We basically came back the following year with Megadeth for the Gigantour and we only played for 35-40 minutes I think and we basically played to a whole bunch of people who didn’t know about us. Then we came back the following year again with Machine Head but again we were one of the support acts so it was  a shorter set, so this will be the first time we have headlined since 2005 so we are looking forward to that cause we haven’t done that in a while, it’s going to be fun to play a bunch of stuff from The Root of All Evil of course and we are also going to dig a bit deeper into the last studio album we did Rise of the Tyrant and all the stuff in between as well, so it’s going to be a very different set list to what we did in 2005 and we are looking forward to it.

MO: How did the decision come about to tour along with Suffocation and Winds of Plague?

MA: That was suggested from the booking agency that’s doing the tour.

MO: They were just looking to tour Australia around the same time as well?

MA: Yeah exactly, and they just decided to put everything together and I guess Suffocation were looking to come out and do some of their own shows, but I guess it was decided it would be a good idea if they teamed up with us and then Winds of Plague came aboard. So I think what we got together is a really exciting package, I think it’s going to be very hot and sweaty in the clubs and venues and its going to be a great night. You’ve obviously got really extreme stuff like Suffocation and then Arch Enemy, we obviously grew up with different stuff and you know we got our own thing going on so it’s going to be a very cool show and we are very excited about it actually, especially to have a strong band like Suffocation open up for us so we have to bring it a bit more.

MO: Well Suffocation have already done a headlining tour down here so it will probably attract a broad range of metal fans and get a strong turn-out.

MA: Yeah I think it’s going to be a heavy metal extravaganza, so it should be good.

MO: When the latest tour comes to an end will it be straight back to writing new material and recording a new album or time to take a break? Do you already have some ideas in the works?

MA: Ah, we don’t take breaks (laughs).

MO: Yeah, you guys always seem to be touring.

MA: Yeah we don’t do those breaks things, we have heard about them and heard that they can be done but we haven’t tried them.  We are actually going to keep touring and do Europe after this with a couple of bands opening up like Abigail Williams and Destruction and then we have got Christmas and New Year off and then we go back out, I think we are going out to the US in mid January. It just keeps on going, I can’t really remember the core right now (laughs), I mean we are writing new material in between here and there as well and I have already got the skeleton for 4 maybe 5 new songs so you know the writing never stops, just bits and pieces here and there. We usually just put our ideas straight onto the laptop, a few riffs and whatever and a beat and stuff then you just kind of save that and you know dig all that stuff out later. Even though we do stuff like demos using technology we like to do it more organically and just get together in a room and play together and see what comes up and we combine that with the ideas we have sort of been recording on the road as well. We will be at it next year, we will get together.

MO: As well as playing guitar for Arch Enemy you are also a member of Carcass who toured Australia last year, how is it juggling your time between two highly successful metal bands?

MA: It’s worked out, scheduling wise it’s worked out really good but I have been really busy (laughs). It’s just been a lot of work but it’s been fun as well. Last year was a lot of fun, we planned that far in advance as well and we worked out Arch Enemy’s schedule and then fit it around but now it’s back to Arch Enemy mode and the Carcass thing is less and less now because obviously it was a reunion and we played a lot of shows all over the world. There are a few places left to go but it’s not as much as it was in 2008, that was a very busy year.

MO: Both yourself and Angela have leant your voices to the Adult Swim animation series Metalocalypse, what was that experience like and was there any improvisation?

MA: That’s done in Los Angeles so basically we were out there and both times we have done it has been while we have been in Hollywood playing shows. They would just come and pick me up and drive me to the studio and they are really nice people and great creative minds and there was a fare amount of improv going on. They have a script but then I would read the parts and get into the character and they would tell me what they want and we would try a few different voices and then it’s like being in a studio but a bit different (laughs). Basically they just start throwing stuff in that they wanted me to say, like crazy stuff in Swedish or whatever, just stuff they can use here and there, random stuff. I guess how they piece it all together makes sense out of it.

MO: If you had to choose a member of Dethklok that you most identify with which would it be? Nathan – aggressive and brutal, Pickles – alcoholic and drug addict experiencing severe hair loss, Skwisgaar – guitar extraordinaire and ladies man, Toki –Sensitive and childlike or Murderface – self conscious and ugly as fuck?

MA: (Squeals and laughs) Oh my god (pauses) I think I probably have traits of all of them (laughs).

MO: Come on you would have to pick Skwisgaar.

MA: Yeah I would love to be him but I think I am too old now, but um I don’t know…. a little bit of him maybe and I think I’ve got a bit of Murderface in me (laughs).

MO: In regards to a common phrase that is associated with Arch Enemy…Pure Fucking Metal. What exactly constitutes Pure Fucking Metal to you?

MA: (laughs) Well I don’t know that we came up with that but we started printing it on our T-shirts because we didn’t really see ourselves as Death Metal or Melodic Death Metal, we just think we are straight up metal. We are huge fans of stuff like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth, old Metallica and Slayer of course, and then also I come from a different Death Metal background and we are bringing that and Angela does as well, so it’s just a mixture of all of the Classic Metal and more extreme types of metal. I guess what we wanted to say with that slogan was just that we are just full on metal.

MO: So just regardless of all the genres it’s just metal and that’s what it’s all about.

MA: Exactly, yes.

MO: Are there any new and emerging acts in the metal scene at the moment that you have taken a particular interest in?

MA: New bands that are coming out? I don’t know, I mean obviously I’ve been around for a while now and you kind of see things come and go, things go round in cycles and a lot of its really a combination of one thing with another thing and they call that something new. It’s just like a lot of new bands they call metal bands…it’s a different scene and they don’t look like metal bands, they just don’t bring the full…I mean you know Arch Enemy is just very traditional (laughs) it’s kind of like we are old school.

MO: I suppose when you have been into metal for a long time you sort of have those traditional views of how it should be so you see a new band and they have short hair or something in that vein and it makes you want to say ‘that’s totally not metal’.

MA: (laughs) Yeah, but it’s not all about the hair of course, but you know (laughs) I don’t know sometimes I think for me it’s more different, when you are a certain age you connect with music and there’s that window when you’re young, when you connect with music you connect emotions with music and think ‘this kind of music makes me feel that way’ and it’s just you connect with music on a very epic scale. I had those years where that becomes almost like your foundation for your musical life be it as a fan or as a musician and I think I’ve had that window look (laughs) for me it’s like you know Slayer or Megadeth, Metallica….. bands like that, that’s kind of the foundation and a lot of the newer stuff I am kind of like ‘oh that’s cool’ and I like some bands that I hear of course but it doesn’t really make that huge emotional impact on me.

MO: I suppose the more original the sound the more likely it is to take your interest opposed to just the same generic recycled music you have heard a million times before.

MA: Yeah and not only that but the better you become as a musician the more it ruins you as a music listener as well, cause when I used to hear records and I had no idea how they created that sound it just made such a huge impact on me, just like listening to superheros play music. But now I know the tricks of the trade I can recreate that kind of sound myself so I know exactly what’s going on so it doesn’t have the same magic to it you know. But I try to keep an open mind, you know I’ve got friends that are in bands and I like their music a lot and I think now it’s more like if I know the people who send me their new stuff and I listen to it, like the Nevermore guys or you know the Megadeth guys, I listen to their stuff and I like it. There is so much music coming out now that it’s almost like a million bands, it’s just quite overwhelming. It seems like it’s a shame because bands have a much shorter shelf life now, so you hear a band and you have a band out on tour and you think like ‘wow these guys are pretty good’ but then next year it’s like ‘oh they’re gone, they had their Myspace hype and they are gone’ (laughs) and they didn’t really get to do anything you know.  They had a Myspace hype then that was it (laughs). It makes it harder to have a career.

MO: What about Australian metal? Have you had any time when touring down under to check out any of the local talent?

MA: Yeah I mean I know those guys from a band called Psycroptic, they seem to be quite active and they are out there you know working it. A lot of bands in Australia you only seem to hear about in Australia it seems odd, I guess it’s because of geographically its quite remote (laughs) but it’s awesome. We love coming down there, you know the fans are great and I have seen some opening bands as well that we had in the past and I thought ‘these guys are really professional and really good’ but then they don’t seem to get the opportunities that maybe we have, we are just lucky though (laughs). We are just lucky up here, I guess it’s more that the record labels see all the festivals and everything and its more on our door step. It’s much harder down there and I appreciate that, but I mean you got to keep the dream alive you know.

MO: That’s true, a very good message to send to the people.

MA: Yes (laughs). A band like Psycroptic, you know can break out but they’re from New Zealand aren’t they?

MO: No, they are from Tasmania.

MA: Oh Tasmania, well when I am down in Australia, if I lived there in a beautiful place like that I wouldn’t really feel like doing anything (laughs).

MO: That’s easy to say when you don’t live here.

MA: Really? Yeah (laughs) that’s true.

MO: Well that just about wraps up the interview, any last comments for the Australian Arch Enemy fans?

MA: Not other than we are really excited about coming back and playing the shows in November and we are very excited about that and looking forward to it. So we start rehearsals today so we will be well prepared (laughs).

MO: Thanks for taking the time to do the interview.

MA: No problem, take care.

Band: Arch Enemy
Date: 28/09/2009
Origin: Sweden
http://archenemy.net/
www.myspace.com/archenemy

Interviewer: Holly McBride
Interviewee: Michael Amott (Guitars)

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ARCH ENEMY AUSTRALIAN TOUR w/  Suffocation and Winds Of Plague

Nov 1st – Capitol, Perth*, 18+
www.moshtix.com

Nov 3rd – Fowlers Live, Adelaide*, Lic/ AA
www.moshtix.com, www.venuetix.com.au

Nov 5th – The Forum, Melbourne, 18+
www.ticketek.com.au

Nov 6th – The Roundhouse, Sydney, Lic/ AA
www.ticketek.com.au

Nov 7th – The Hifi, Brisbane, 18+
www.hifi.com.au/brisbane

*Arch Enemy and Suffocation Only

www.archenemy.net
www.suffocation.us
www.myspace.com/windsofplague
www.myspace.com/soundworks_touring
www.centurymedia.com
www.nuclearblast.de
www.riotact.com.au