The members of Arch Enemy were previously in bands such as Carcass, Mercyful Fate,Carnage, Spiritual Beggars, Eucharist and Armageddon which means Arch Enemy is considered to be a metal super group. The idea originates with Carcass guitarist Michael Amott and Johan Liiva. The band has gone from strength to strength over its career and has released ten studio albums to date, the first 'Black Earth' was released in December 1996.
The early albums only achieved commercial success in Japan, yet the fifth album 'Anthems of Rebellion' charted across Europe whilst the sixth 'Doomsday Machine' appeared on the US Billboard. They toured extensively worldwide to support each of their releases, with a large amount of tours in Asia due to the early success they enjoyed there. They filmed a live DVD 'Tyrants of The Sun' in Tokyo and headlined the Melon AX Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
Their highest charting US album is 2014's 'War Eternal' which reached #44 on the Billboard charts. It also appeared on numerous charts across Europe as well as being their eighth chart appearance in Japan. Lead vocalist Angela Gossom left the band in March 2014 and took over the role as manager instead. Long term guitarist Nick Cordle also left the band in 2014 during the North American tour which was in support of the release of 'War Eternal'.
There's nothing like an Arch Enemy concert. I was worried that Alissa wouldn't be able to fill the shoes of Angela (who could?), but she was incredible. There's an energy that Alissa has that I haven't heard from the band in a long time.
Arch Enemy has always been one of my favorite death metal bands to see live. A lot of them just can't put on the kind of performance that lives up to the albums. Arch Enemy has no problem doing that at all. It's a shame that Angela left the band, she's been one of my favorite vocalists in the metal scene, but Alissa definitely puts on a show. Hearing her sing "We Will Rise" was incredible, and the stuff from the new album was great too. War Eternal doesn't disappoint, and the band does it justice live. Nick does a killer job.
I'm going to be honest - I was really worried when I heard that Angela and Christopher had left the band. I hadn't heard about Chris leaving until I found out about Angela, and I was freaked out. The new album was great though, and then this concert? Amazing. I shouldn't have been worried. Definitely go see them live if you get a shot. Best concert of the year, so far.