Breaking: Angela Gossow leaves Arch Enemy!

It is with a heavy, confused and frankly pissed-off heart that I have to tell you all that Angela Gossow (the women whom my pen name is derived) has stepped down as lead singer of Arch Enemy as of Monday afternoon. Now, this definitely comes as a shock, as this was announced just days after they confirmed a spot on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise in early 2015.

I understand that people change, different paths are taken and for the sake of the music it’s better for certain members to leave in order to keep the integrity of the band. However, Angela is not leaving the group entirely. She has announced that she is taking over as manager of the band, which poses some interesting questions.

• When did she start taking over managerial duties for the band? There have been rumors circulating that Arch Enemy is working on booking a North American tour slated for sometime in the fall, so was she the one who formulated the idea knowing full well she was leaving the band?
• Is the bands sound and content going to suffer as a result?

Angela Gossow certainly doesn’t seem like the type of women that would find a half-asses replacement; after all, the new leader singer, Alissa White-Gluz (now ex-leader signer of The Agonist) has a fair amount of respect. The Agonist has had a pretty steady career over the years, but nothing near that of Arch Enemy. Alissa has the pipes to belt out the fiercest of Arch Enemy songs, but with the new music, will she also be adding in the clean singing she has been known for with The Agonist? If that’s the case, I’m not entirely sure how that’s going to be received by fans, let along the die-hards.

Regardless, this is quite an unexpected announcement and her talents will certainly be missed by the metal community. I just realized I’m talking as if she died…my bad. Anyway, I’m SURE many more details will slowly make their way out to the public, and when that happens, I’ll be on that shit like white on rice. In the meantime, check out the videos below and formulate your own opinion of the the two women. I’ve included a video of Arch Enemy live in 2008, The Agonist’s official video for ‘Panophobia’, and a user-made video which compares both lead singers vocal styles back-to-back (because clearly this is some serious shit, you guys).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91SqLKGIN-A

So what do you guys think? Is Alissa going to be a fine replacement and even take the band to a new level, or is this going to crash and burn quicker than the Hindenburg? 

-AG (no, definitely not giving up the pen name)