ARCH ENEMY vocalist Angela Gossow has checked in from the Black Tyranny Tour, also featuring MACHINE HEAD and SANCTITY:

"This tour rocks!

The last couple of shows have been a blast! We finally got all our crew together and the chemistry in the band is great. Its pure joy being on stage and ripping it up. We are this tight unit again. And it feels good! I almost forgot how much fun it is – that's what happens when you sit on your ass for too long. You almost get afraid of playing live again. And it takes a couple of shows to get back into shape. 6 months at home living the quiet live – the most exciting thing was doing yoga class ;-) And then you try to transform into this metal monster. Well, I can honestly say: The moon is full, we got sharp fangs again. We are out for blood.

I love watching Machine Head. Its different from what we do. They are this brutal, angry stomping force of violent grooves. Real sweet people backstage. On stage they are the kind of guys I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Rob Flynn got all this crazy energy, night after night. Reminds me of the good old days with Max in SEPULTURA and Phil in PANTERA. And these guys work out during the day. Got the Bowflex system out on the road – very pro (ok, I am impressed). I stick to working out with my own body weight. I find it translates to my vocal chords when I lift heavy weights. And I end up with these butter-soft knees that make it hard to walk on stage. Ok. Now I wonder what all this headbanging does to my throat (I know what it does to my neck).

Today, my good friend June came out. She actually heard my call and brought me great supplements from her own range. I have been using her stuff for a while now (she sends it out to Sweden). I love her Revitalize, Joint Doctor, L-Glutamine, ZMA and the Complete Vitamin Complex. If you are interested, check out her range at www.flexstar.net

Its going to be a tough one to stay well for 3,5 months with all this flying. I usually end up sitting next to a person who is seemingly suffering from TBC. Cough, harrghh, chrrr, sneeze, cough, chrrrchrhargh. I keep popping airborne lozenges and throwing horns to ward off all this evil. In my case, Satan comes in the shape and form of a cold virus. Bugger off, Satan.

Right now everything is going great. The crew people from all the bands are working closely together and making sure we are all on schedule, looking and sounding good. It's unfair. They do all the work backstage – then we get up there for an hour and get all the glory. Well, actually, they walk away with some money in their pockets. I guess they prefer this to the whole glory bullshit. Smart!

Oh. They stopped us at the Texas border the other day. We were out there in pyjamas (which are obviously black and got huge pentagrams printed on.. not) at 8 in the morning. Brutal. Five cops watching us. One on the bus with dog, going through our stuff. They tore it all apart. You should have seen their disappointed faces. PRICELESS. They did not find one crump of weed in there. NOTHING. 'What kind of rock band are you, not smoking weed, eh?' – Well, we are Swedish. We drink. At least some of us. I don't. Hard liquor perforates your liver, but it's legal. Tobacco turns your lung into black charcoal, yet it's legal. Marijuana has none of these lethal effects and actually got some health benefits (I have asthma and sometimes suffer from anxiety attacks. I know what good it does) and it's ILLEGAL. Blows my mind. Every time. Either you legalize it all or you ban the cigs and the high voltage drinks altogether. Right now, it's pretty unfair. Ok, I am going to get flamed for my opinion now.

Just a little side note: I don't drink, I don't smoke, I work out, I eat healthy, and I am not a pothead. I certainly don't think drugs are 'cool'. The word drug indicates you got to be careful with it and handle it responsibly. Nothing against a good glass of red wine. But you have to down two bottles, you got a problem. Most prescription drugs have a scary long list of side effects. Stomach pain and bleeding. Headaches. High blood pressure. Depression. Dizziness. It goes on and on. I rather take some medical grade marihuana than Xanax or Valium when I panic or suffer from insomnia. That's for sure. I prefer the natural stuff. The side effects are: You get the munchies. And a little funny in your head. You might laugh for no reason. And then you suddenly fall asleep. So better don't drive or try to work when consuming this remedy. And stay away from the cookie jar. That one never works for me. I swear, the cookie jar sneaks up on me from behind. Every time. Or it's at least a chocolate bar materializing in front of me - out of NOWHERE.

And I love metal. With all my heart. I actually find it soothing. My preferred lullaby for tonight: A melange of EXHORDER – Slaughter In The Vatican, MALEVOLENT CREATION – The Ten Commandments and ATHEIST – Piece Of Time.

To some of you: Sweet dreams. To all the others: Have a great day! (If you don't, listen to some metal – or even better, go to a metal show tonight). Support your favourite bands, none of us are selling CDs anymore.. not really. You know why.. damnit."

Angela

Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:

September

15 - New Orleans, LA at House Of Blues
17 - Lake Buena Vista, FL at House Of Blues
18 - Atlanta, GA at Masquerade
19 - Jacksonville, NC at Hooligans
21 - Worcester, MA at Palladium
22 - New York, NY at Nokia Theatre
23 - Baltimore, MD at Sonar
24 - Norfolk, VA at Norva
26 - Philly, PA at Trocadero
27 - Buffalo, NY at Evolution
28 - Toronto, ON at Opera House
29 - Montreal, QC at Medley

October

1 - Cleveland, OH at House Of Blues
2 - Chicago, IL at House Of Blues
3 - Minneapolis, MN at First Ave.
5 - Detroit, MI at Harpos
6 - Grand Rapids, MI at Orbit Room
7 - St. Louis, MO at Pops
9 - Englewood, CO at Gothic Theatre
10 - Albequerque, NM at Sunshine Theatre
12 - San Francisco, CA at The Warfield
13 - Hollywood, CA at Avalon