Keep Your Shorts On
Getting personal with Arch Enemy frontwoman Angela Gossow.
By Erik Fong

Yes, death metal is finally sexy. And to think, all it took was a good-looking girl.

To reduce Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow to mere physical attributes isn't fair to the talent of the band, blah blah blah, et cetera et cetera, ad nauseam. So maybe it's the group's tasteful balance between lightning-fast technical proficiency and adventures in wanking. Or maybe it's the rejuvenated spirit that came with Angela's entrance into the fold. Either way, Arch Enemy – founded by former Carcass guitarist Mike Amott – has earned its spot at the forefront of the death and black metal movement that's still gaining steam in America. The band's latest album, Anthems of Rebellion, became Century Media's fastest-selling debut, and once Arch Enemy wraps up its dates opening for Slayer, the members will head to Japan for a tour with Iron Maiden, followed by headlining tours both in Europe and America.

Calling from within the cozy confines of a Hampton Inn "somewhere between the place we played last night and the place we're playing tomorrow," Angela was tired but handled our pestering quite nicely. We subjected her to our typical Freudian childhood analysis, as well as sewing, porn, Denny's and Dreaming Under the Influence. And if you're one of those guys who threw your oh-so-erotic shorts at Angela during the last Arch Enemy show, read on to see just how effective your technique is.



You had to cancel many of your European tour dates with Nevermore due to a bug-infested bus. How did that happen?
It was infested with bugs from the beginning of the tour. But we didn't know what the problem was – we just kept getting sick and got bites all over our bodies. We thought it was mosquitoes, but it was a bit too cold for them. So after about two weeks, we started looking for bugs because our drummer had gotten really bad eczema all over his body. We lifted up mattresses and couldn't find anything, and then we ripped off the carpets in the bunk – they were breeding under the carpet. We still don't know what kind of bugs they were, but they were biting us and we got an allergic reaction from them. This guy came and basically put a bit of poison on the bus to kill the bugs overnight. There were hundreds of them living in the ventilation systems and under the carpets. So we came on the bus the next morning and they were everywhere – in our suitcases, in our clothes, everywhere. We couldn't live on that bus, we couldn't get a new one, and we didn't even know what clothes we could put on because they were all filled with bugs. We basically just freaked out, jumped off the bus and got off the tour. I had to wash everything – I threw away the bag that I had taken, as well as some of my clothes, but I washed all of my other clothes in hot water just to kill everything.

You're currently on a bug-less tour opening for Slayer and Hatebreed. Tell me a good tour story.
Hatebreed's sound guy gets really drunk every night and gets completely naked, except for a Slayer thong. He jumps around the buses – not just the Hatebreed bus, but he's always on our bus as well. Naked. He does this every night. I'm not sure if that's funny – I haven't made up my mind yet. [laughs] The guys in Slayer are all grown up, they're not party animals. They've got their wives on the road so they take it pretty easy. We do as well. But Tom's always stoned. I'm very surprised that he can actually remember all of his lyrics. If I were as stoned as he always is, I'd have enough trouble remembering my name.

Are you stoned right now?
No, I'm not stoned right now. Well, maybe I'm still stoned, I don't know. [laughs] I dream a lot of bullshit, especially when I'm stoned. When I'm in America, I dream about getting lost in Walmarts. In my last dream I bought a lot of crap that I didn't need, like those Christmas bulbs – you can't use them in Europe because the power supplies are different. And when we travel, I have a lot of dreams about accidents, because the bus is always moving and it makes a lot of noise and I get nervous. And I get really paranoid when I'm stoned.

The metal scene has a much larger presence in Europe than in America – at least that's how it looks in the industry charts. Why is it that metal never lost popularity in Europe, whereas there was a huge shift to the underground here in the States?
In Europe, metal doesn't get any promotion in the media. We don't have any radio or television shows that promote metal, but it's still on the charts. There are a lot more true metal fans who stick to their guns. In America, the variety is so huge and there are so many new bands popping up every day, and there's so much promotional power pushing these nu-metal bands that get signed to huge labels, so [for instance], people will go and buy the new Spineshank album instead of the new Judas Priest album. But it's different in Europe. The diehard Judas Priest fans are going to go out and buy every fucking album that Judas Priest puts out. They just don't give a shit. The advertising power isn't that big in Europe, so people stick to the metal bands that they know instead of trying new bands. Also, I don't think that file sharing is as big over there. It's way more extreme in America since everyone can get such cheap Internet connections, but it's still expensive in Europe. People download things all day in America, but that's not happening in Europe.

What was your initial attraction to metal?
I think it was a lot of frustrations during puberty. I had a radio and found a metal station one day, and it pretty much mirrored my state of mind back then – loud, aggressive and really angry. We didn’t have a TV, and I didn't have any role models. I was trapped in a little village and I had a weird background.

Why was your background weird?
My mom was into some kind of church of really extreme Christianity, and I wasn't allowed to do anything. All of my friends were possessed by Satan and I wasn't allowed to go out. I was always stuck at home, and my parents were always working so I was responsible for my three siblings – I was 13 years old. I was trapped in this village, with no buses or connections to other towns. I was really depressed – the only thing that I had was metal.

What does your mom think about you being in a band now?
She's changed. She got out of the church, whatever it was – it was more like some sort of degenerative Christian thing. Like the Davidians or something. Really weird. But she got divorced, finally, and started to live her own life. She's very supportive.

Rumor has it that you can sew.
Most pieces of clothes that I buy don't fit very well. They're either too big or too long, since I'm pretty small, so I pretty much have to fix everything. I think every woman should know how to sew. I don't have my own collection of clothes or anything – I don't have the time. But I did all of my curtains at home.

What's the last good book that you read?
Porno by Irvine Welsh. It's pretty hard to read because Welsh writes in U.K. slang, so sometimes I can't figure out what he means. But it's pretty disgusting – it's about the porn industry. Welsh did Trainspotting; he's always dwelling on human vices like drugs, disgusting sex, run-down human beings… he's basically describing life in the British slums. It's basically about human waste.

Sounds like a nice Christmas stocking stuffer. What's the worst meal you've ever eaten while on tour?
Denny's. It's lard, it really is. It's the worst food I've ever eaten in my life. When there's nothing else, I'll eat it, but I'd rather eat a big bag of crisps than Denny's. Horrible.

That's too bad. Denny's is the standard for touring bands.
Only because it's open 24 hours. Not because the food is good. [laughs]

What's the worst pickup line you've ever heard?
The worst was in Best Buy on Halloween – I don't remember where we played, but the only shop around was Best Buy. An employee walked up next to me and said, "What are you doing for Halloween? Do you have any plans?" And he didn't have a clue about heavy metal or Slayer, so he said, "Oh, yeah, Slayer, I think I've heard of them. So what are you doing after the show?" Then he asked, "Why do you need all this stuff? Why do you need two of these?" I said, "They're for me and my boyfriend." Then he just walked away. But, when people ask what I'm doing later, what do they expect me to say? Am I supposed to spend the day with them?

What's one of the more intriguing gifts that a fan has ever given you?
I find it intriguing when fans give me very personal letters, or personal pictures of them half-naked on their couch or on their bed. Some people will take pictures of their kitchen and bathroom and present their whole lives to me. – "This is me and my car, this is me on my bed" – that to me is just too much. I get embarrassed when people get too personal. I've had men throw their underwear at me… I don't pick them up.