Angela Nathalie Gossow (born 5 November 1974) is a German vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the Swedish

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...

band

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...

. Her other previous bands include Asmodina and Mistress.

Early life

Angela Gossow was born to

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

parents in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany, and had three siblings. She was 17 when her parents divorced. Further financial troubles came in when their business went bankrupt. Being

anorexic Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

and

bulimic Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...

further added to her woes. It was at this time that she decided to move out of home and join the metal band Asmodina. After graduation she joined an advertising company as a trainee, specializing in marketing. She simultaneously began studying economics. In 1997, the band Asmodina split and Gossow formed another band: Mistress.

Musical career

Gossow is one of the first among a small number of women to front as a

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

vocalist. She has a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

vocal range, with a

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

. She uses false cord screams. Her main influences are Jeff Walker of

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

, David Vincent of

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considered ...

Chuck Billy Charles Billy (born June 23, 1962) is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist for thrash metal band Testament. Career Testament Billy joined Legacy in 1986, replacing vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza who would later join Exod ...

of Testament,

John Tardy Obituary is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida in 1984. They were a fundamental act in the development of death metal music, and are one of the most successful death metal bands of all time. To date, Obituary has released ten ...

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

Chuck Schuldiner Charles Schuldiner (born May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American musician. He founded the death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter and only consistent member until his death in ...

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has relea ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest.

Arch Enemy

Gossow joined Arch Enemy in November 2000, after the removal of lead singer

Johan Liiva Johan Patrik Mattias Liiva (born 18 November 1970) is a Swedish extreme metal vocalist, most widely recognized as the founding vocalist of melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, as well as a former member of Carnage, Furbowl and NonExist. He is ...

. She had previously interviewed guitarist

Michael Amott Michael Amott (born 28 July 1969) is a Swedish guitarist, founding member of the metal bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars and Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott. Amott was ranked No ...

for a German

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer maga ...

. While interviewing Amott, Gossow gave him a demo that she described as a "poor quality" video of a performance at a club. After

firing Dismissal (also called firing) is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related ...

Liiva in 2000, the band called in Gossow for an audition. Amott later said that "she wiped the floor with all the other contenders." She then proceeded to record ''

Wages of Sin ''Wages of Sin'' is the fourth studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It is the first Arch Enemy album to feature the vocals of Angela Gossow. It is also the first album they use Standard-C tuning, which they still use ...

'' with Arch Enemy. Via Funchal - Angela Gossow 3

On the eve of a 2002 tour, Gossow was diagnosed with nodules, which almost stopped her from growling. However, after some vocal therapy, she was able to recover her voice and she proceeded to begin taking piano and screaming lessons from renowned coach Melissa Cross. She continues to work in close conjunction with her. On 17 March 2014, it was announced that Gossow was stepping down as Arch Enemy vocalist to pursue other interests and spend more time with her family. Gossow recommended

Alissa White-Gluz Alissa White-Gluz (; born 31 July 1985) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and former lead vocalist and founding member of the Canadian metalcore band the Agonist. Her vocal ...

from Canadian metal band

The Agonist The Agonist is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The current line up consists of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead voca ...

as her replacement, and will remain business manager for the band.

Other work

In addition to managing Arch Enemy, Gossow also manages the bands

Spiritual Beggars Spiritual Beggars is a stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass (band), Carcass and Carnage (band), Carnage. The band is heavily influenced by 1970s hard rock and incorporates ele ...

Amaranthe Amaranthe is a Swedish metal band originally known as Avalanche. The band is notable for their blend of various metal genres and having three lead vocalists. History Formed by Olof Mörck (Dragonland, Nightrage) and Joacim "Jake E" Lundb ...

and Obscura. She performed guest vocals on Amaranthe's 2020 single, "Do or Die", and was featured in the song's music video, making it Gossow's first musical performance in 8 years. Gossow provides the voice for the recurring character Lavona Succuboso in the animated television show ''

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American adult animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006, followed by a musical one-hour special, '' Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', on October 27, 2 ...

''. According to an interview with Musiikki TV at the Frostbite Festival 2009, Gossow did guest vocals on the

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...

album ''

Demonized Demonization or demonisation is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally by the monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of indivi ...

'', on the song "Black at Heart". Gossow features on Melissa Cross's 2nd DVD release The Zen of Screaming 2 released by Melissa Cross. Apart from being on the cover pages of many leading magazines, she was also voted the "best singer" and "shining star" at the ''

Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo. The magazine's c ...

'' magazine awards in 2002. Since 2008 she has been the manager for

. Gossow recently expressed interest in starting a new

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

project in 2018 after Arch Enemy's touring cycle for

Will to Power The will to power (german: der Wille zur Macht) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans. However, the concept was never systemati ...

, stating "Yes, I want to make a new extreme metal project, but this will happen after Arch Enemy and work with Alissa hite-Gluzwill be concluded and the whole world will sail in calmer waters. I suppose this will be in 2018, when we concluded the first series of tours and all the rest. I will do so when the time comes."

Personal life and beliefs

Angela Gossow has been outspoken with her views, generally reflecting them in the lyrics of her songs. She is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and politically considers herself a liberal-

green anarchist Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in ''An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchist ...

, but votes "to make sure the right-wing doesn't get her vote." Gossow is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

for health, ethical and environmental reasons. She vapes

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

and credits it for a significant improvement in her

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

, and has supported its legalisation. Gossow is a teetotaler and non-smoker.

Discography

Angela Gossow-Arch Enemy Untouchables Hard Rock Club Jevnaker

With Asmodina

*''Your Hidden Fear'' (Demo, 1991) *''The Story of the True Human Personality'' (Demo, 1994) *''Promo 1996'' (Demo, 1996) *''Inferno'' (1997)

With Mistress

*''Mistress'' (Demo, 1998) *''Worship the Temptress'' (Demo, 1999) *''Party in Hell'' (Demo, 2000)

With Arch Enemy

*''

'' (2001) *'' Burning Angel'' (2002, EP) *''

Anthems of Rebellion ''Anthems of Rebellion'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. This was the first Arch Enemy album to feature clean vocals. The clean vocals were sung by Christopher Amott on "End of the Line" and "Dehumanizati ...

'' (2003) *''

Dead Eyes See No Future ''Dead Eyes See No Future'' is the second EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. It was released on 2 November 2004 through Century Media Records. The title track is taken from Arch Enemy's ''Anthems of Rebellion'' album. "Burning ...

'' (2004, EP) *'' Doomsday Machine'' (2005) *''

Live Apocalypse ''Live Apocalypse'' is a double DVD by Arch Enemy, released in 2006. It's the band's first DVD release and contains a full concert and several extras. It was released on 24 July in Europe, 26 July in Japan, and 8 August in the US. The London For ...

'' (2006, 2-disc DVD) *'' Revolution Begins'' (2007, EP) *'' Rise of the Tyrant'' (2007) *'' Tyrants of the Rising Sun'' (2008) *''

The Root of All Evil Root of all evil or Root of evil may refer to: Music * ''The Root of All Evil'' (album), a 2009 album by Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy * ''The Root of All Evil'' (EP), Japanese work by all-female tribute band Iron Maidens * "The Root of Al ...

'' (2009) *'' Khaos Legions'' (2011)

Guest appearances

* Annihilator – '' Couple Suicide'' (2007) *

– '' Black at Heart'' (2007) *

Amaseffer Amaseffer was an Israeli progressive metal band which was formed in 2004 in Tel Aviv by drummer and percussionist Erez Yohanan, and guitarist Yuval Kramer. A year later, a second guitarist Hanan Avramovich joined and completed the line-up. Th ...

– ''Midian'' (2008) *

Doro Doro may refer to: * Doro (musician), rock singer, former vocalist of the German heavy metal band Warlock ** ''Doro'' (album), a 1990 album by Doro * AKA (rapper) (born 1988), South African hip hop recording artist * Dorothy Bush Koch, often call ...

– ''Celebrate (The Night of the Warlock)'' (2008) *

– ''Celebrate '' (2009) *

Kalisia Kalisia was a French progressive metal band founded in 1994. In 2009 the band released their first full-length album, ''Cybion'', originally planned for 2003, mainly consisting of a one-hour song. It features guest appearances by Angela Gossow, Pa ...

– ''Cybion'' (2009) *Never – ''Questions Within'', ''Painted Black'' (Back to the Front album, 2009 Spiritual Beast) *Rise – ''Pentagramnation'' (2009) *

– '' Do or Die'' (2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gossow, Angela 1974 births Arch Enemy members Death metal musicians English-language singers from Germany Women heavy metal singers German anarchists German atheists German cannabis activists German expatriates in Sweden German women singer-songwriters German heavy metal singers Women in metal German mezzo-sopranos German music managers German women journalists German women writers Living people Musicians from Cologne 20th-century German women singers 21st-century German women singers