Michael Amott

WHAT PERSPECTIVE DID ALISSA BRING TO THESE NEW SONGS?

“As on War Eternal, Alissa and I shared the lyric-writing duties on Will To Power. We write in quite different styles, which is cool, I think! I tend to write the ‘empowerment anthems’ and Alissa’s approach is very personal and self-reflecting. She’s brought a lot to the band on many levels and I value her work with us greatly.”

ARE YOU WORRIED HOW FANS WILL REACT TO CLEAN SINGING AND THE BAND’S FIRST BALLAD ON THIS RECORD?

“Not at all. Some people with a very narrow interest in music will of course not like it, but I think it’s important to not only challenge oneself as a songwriter, but also your audience. Besides, it’s one song on an otherwise, vocalwise, very heavy album. We’ve earned the right to stretch just a little bit on our 10th studio album! Some of the best metal bands in the world have ballads, and now Arch Enemy have one!”

WILL TO POWER HAS PROBABLY THE MOST VISCERAL COVER ARCH ENEMY HAVE DONE. WHAT DOES THE IMAGE REPRESENT FOR YOU?

“I love the art that Alex reisfar created for us! The composition of sinewy flesh, circular to represent continuation, with a focal point of a human skull. The flesh sort of falling off into the circular pattern, and in that pattern, the ouroboros weaving in and out of the mouths and through the throats of the severed heads of a wolf, a goat and a vampire bat. To me, it represents predatory selfdetermination, the parasitic will to power of our species.

But art is a highly subjective thing and I might change my mind about it tomorrow!”