Uruguay's RISE! Metal E-zine recently caught up with ARCH ENEMY vocalist Angela Gossow recently. It is available here. The english translation is below.

Interviewer: Jorge Patacas

Q: Talking about Rise of the Tyrant, it's an album with excellent riffs and guitar solos, but above all, it's an album which reinforces one more time that characteristic the band has of perfectly mixing brutality with melody, how do you feel about the result of this album?

Gossow: "It's a hundred percent Arch Enemy. Its technical, melodic, fast and melancholic. It has many elements of rock and metal in it – its def. intense!"

Q: Concerning the lyrics, which topics or concepts inspire you to write this time?

Gossow: "I like lyrics dealing with rebellion, fighting for (personal) freedom and human stories/tragedies in general. The lyrics on Rise Of The Tyrant are more personal and deal with war, oppression, rise against the system, loss, depression and how to find ways out."

Q: With this album you have entered into different charts around the world, reaching very good positions, but how important is that for you? Do you give much importance to those charts or to the press reviews?

Gossow: "No. The media is such a roller coaster ride. One day they love you, the next day they turn their back on you. We care about our fans and their feedback. We are a very interactive band, staying in touch with people online and when we are out on tour. In the end of the day, music is subjective and not everybody will like every album as much as the previous one - but as long as excited kids come to our shows, we know we are doing good."

Q: Taking a look at the past, how did you discover metal and how old were you?

Gossow: "I was too old to live and too young to die, haha.. I was in the worst phase of everybody's life: the teenage years. 15 years old. I was stressed by peers and family and angry and confused – love and hate was only a split second apart from each other. And metal felt soothing for me. It let me express all this chaos inside and still to this day it makes me feel strong and full of live."

Q: What do you remember from the ASMODINA and MISTRESS times? What style did you focus on? Do you still in contact with the members of that bands?

Gossow: "It was a totally different story to Arch Enemy. We were deeply rooted in the underground scene, trading gigs with other bands, played for free or for a case of beer. There was lots of jealousy and catfights between bands I remember. We all took it so terribly serious. Very competitive for no reason really. Today, we are pros. Its very relaxing to be in Arch Enemy, all our big egos died with our first bands I guess. I am grown up enough to enjoy it as it is: a wild and crazy ride. I know we are very blessed and lucky to be able to do this to such an extend – and I very much enjoy it!

To answer the second part of your question: I am in loose contact to some of the previous band members. Mike (Asmodina & Mistress guitar) is running the Asmodina/Mistress Myspace page - we worked on that together.

Q: When you joined Arch Enemy you left Germany and moved to Sweden, what kind of things did you leave behind?

Gossow: "My life that I once had. Job, friends and my family. Today its easy to visit as flights are so cheap but a few years ago it was a bit of a hassle really."

Q: Did you feel under pressure or nervous on the first shows with Arch Enemy knowing the fact that you were replacing the band's first singer?

Gossow: "I most certainly felt pressure and yes I was nervous. It wasn't that I tried to fill Johan's shoes – I wanted to establish myself as a full-on member. I wanted to be a lot better than ANYBODY out there, haha. I have come a long way since then and today I am very confident I kick a lot of asses out there!"

Q: Arch Enemy's fans love that perfect mixture between aggression and melody, something that personally love it too, however, some wonder how would Angela Gossow be were she singing with clean vocals, have you ever considered that? Or do you think that in such a way it wouldn't be the same, and that great mixture of aggression and melody that's so characteristic of the band would be lost?

Gossow: "I am really not a big fan of clean vocals. I like the aggressive Dio or Halford type of voice, but the girls out there usually sound quite cute. And a cute voice and metal doesn't go well in my head. If I could belt it out like Veronica Freeeman or Kate French, I would do it. But I sound pretty when I sing clean. And Arch Enemy is not about sweet vocals. Its about throat cutting screams, hehe."

Q: Concerning the tours, what do you like and what do you dislike of them?

Gossow: "I like the shows. Its so much fun and excitement. I don't like the lack of comfort. I am a very cozy person; love it warm and clean and spacious. You don't get that on a tour bus or in a scruffy backstage room. But I know I have these comforts at home, so I can live with all these many compromises for quite a long time. Up to 4 months at a time.. We have toured that long at one go actually."

Q: Is there some place that you didn't play yet and would you like to play?

Gossow: Oh yes. The Middle East. Africa. Lots of Asian countries. Lots of European countries actually. We haven't really done anything in Eastern Europe yet. We just played two shows in Russia and it was fantastic! So we def. want to come back and do more!"

Q: Last question, do you have any favorite female metal singer?

Gossow: "I think Veronica Freeman and Kate French got that traditional power metal voice down pretty fucking good. There are a few ladies who sound good on record, but have not quite convinced me live yet. It takes a lot more than a good voice to be a charismatic lead singer. When it comes to combining clean with death vox, Alissa from THE AGONIST is the best I have heard so far. I think she will go places, if her band and the label will let her."