ANGELA GOSSOW Explains How LAUREN HART Became The New Singer Of ARCH ENEMY

ARCH ENEMY's legendary former vocalist and current manager Angela Gossow and the band's new voice Lauren Hart joined Tori Kravitz for a new episode of Knotfest's "She's With The Band" podcast. During the chat, which can be seen in its entirety below, Angela discussed Lauren's introduction to the band, the two women touched on their similarities, their vision of touring and they talked about the future of ARCH ENEMY and hinted at a future album.

Regarding how Lauren came to join ARCH ENEMY as the replacement for Alissa White-Gluz, Angela said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I know Lauren since she kind of popped up with [her previous band] ONCE HUMAN, the first and the second record they released. And I noticed her because there were a lot of comparisons between me and her, actually, vocally. And also she's a very energetic person on stage. And she did an interview where she said that [ARCH ENEMY's 2001 album] 'Wages Of Sin' basically inspired her to do these kind of harsh vocals. So this obviously popped up in my feed as well, and I thought that's very interesting and cool to see."

Angela continued: "I always find it interesting when people say, 'You are my influence', but they sound completely different. I mean, they go some place else with that influence. I guess what we all do, but it's just interesting to follow. And there weren't so many females around in metal, so I kind of followed each and every one of them. And, yeah, I think we started talking a while back just casually back and forth because ONCE HUMAN wasn't happening, and Lauren was just looking for something else to do, and I really liked some of her covers she was doing. So I just told her one day, 'I think you should be in some sort of hybrid between ARCH ENEMY, DIMMU BORGIR and MACHINE HEAD,' vocally speaking. And she said, 'Yeah, if ever anything comes up, if you could...' Because I was thinking about approaching musicians, basically, from a management point of view, put something together, a new group of people, because you don't just apply for positions that are already taken. Most bands do have their singers, and singers do become iconic after a while. You don't just replace the singer in a band. So I had the idea of actually doing that with her or for her, and I was just asking around and thinking about who I could ask. That's a while back. And then we obviously... Well, I think it was pretty shocking when I one day asked... I just asked her if she could do an ARCH ENEMY cover, just to test it out, test the waters. She didn't even know what was that about."

Gossow added: "I guess it was kind of like my moment in metal, when ARCH ENEMY asked me [to join the band]. I recorded a track as well from 'Wages Of Sin', 'Enemy Within', and then after that they asked me if I'd like to continue with the rest of the album. So that was a bit of a surprise to me as well. I thought 'I'm just auditioning a track in the studio,' which was already a big thing for me. I'd never been to a studio, let alone with [Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström]. I mean, he was such a legend at that time. He'd just done the DIMMU BORGIR album. And, yeah, he was the guy in metal in Gothenburg."

Circling back to Lauren's ARCH ENEMY audition, Angela said: "She did really well. She had her worries and fears, but she did it. And I figure if somebody just goes and does it, they got quite some balls. That's what you need. Plus, yeah, I knew that she had experience of touring. You can't just go and ask… I mean, off the bat, I would have maybe known three people I would have asked at the time, because it had to be so quick. It happened so quickly, so we were just kind of without a singer in December [of 2025] and we're, like, 'Fuck, we just wanna continue touring and we wanna continue the band.' So she had to be really fast… She had to go through the motions quickly."

Reflecting on what was going through her mind when she was asked to join ARCH ENEMY, Lauren said: "Yeah, it was a huge turning point in my life. I'm super grateful. I couldn't be happier. I was just so happy that Angela was even communicating with me at that time. I'm, like, 'Oh my God, this is great.' I mean, she doesn't fuck around, you know? So whatever it was for, I was 100% all in. I was in there right away recording. And, yeah, I did think at first it was for a side project, 'cause she was very interested in my DIMMU BORGIR cover. Whatever it was, I knew it was gonna be amazing. And, of course, I picked [ARCH ENEMY's] 'Ravenous' because that's my absolute favorite. That's the song that got me screaming back when I was 15, 16 or whatever it was. And it's funny because even though Angela and ARCH ENEMY has been the reason I started, I never thought I could cover those songs. I never wanted to touch them. I thought they were untouchable — god status. But then when I finally did that song, it just felt so... I can't even explain it. It just felt like it was already this part of me. It's been with me since I was a kid, and whenever it came out, it was so raw and real, and I was going through shit, and it just... Even Angela said, 'When you scream, it's very therapeutic.' And that's very true. So, yeah, I couldn't be happier. It all went really well."

This past July, Lauren spoke about the experience of playing her first show with ARCH ENEMY, which took place on March 27, 2026 in Beijing, China. She told Germany's Metal Hammer magazine: "It was a dream come true for me and the start of a new future. And it somehow connected with the child in me that loved ARCH ENEMY from 'Wages Of Sin' [album]. And it was just all that going on in my mind and yet none of it as well because I was so in the moment. And it was so overwhelming, and the crowd response was amazing. I was on another planet. I was so happy."

Regarding how she has been received by the ARCH ENEMY fans so far, Lauren said: "I received a lot of love from everyone, and I was really taken aback by that. I think in my mind I thought it would take a while to really... I thought I'd have to really work and earn that, as it's really difficult when changes are made. But I feel like the reception immediately right away was so positive and everyone was so welcoming and wam in the audience. And I was very happy — very happy, and a little surprised, actually. It was instantly amazing."

Asked if she remembers the first time she heard ARCH ENEMY's music, Lauren said: "It was when 'Wages Of Sin' came out. I was hanging around my usual group of friends who were showing me metal and all that, and they were all guitar players. And when they put on the CD, I'm, like, 'God, he sounds... That singer, he sounds great.' [And they told me], 'That's not a guy. That's a girl.' … I had no idea women could scream — no idea at that time. And they had a band at the time, and they were just jamming their stuff, and I would beg them to let me try. And that's eventually how I started screaming."

After 13 years as ARCH ENEMY's vocalist, German-born Angela Gossow shocked the heavy metal world in 2014 with the sudden announcement of her retirement from the band. While she is no longer performing with them, she has remained closely involved with ARCH ENEMY as their business manager.

When Gossow officially announced her departure from ARCH ENEMY in 2014, she said that she was "passing the torch to the super talented Alissa White-Gluz, whom I've known as a dear friend and a superb vocalist for many years."

ARCH ENEMY recorded three albums with vocalist Johan Liiva — "Black Earth" (1996),"Stigmata" (1998) and "Burning Bridges" (1999) — before Liiva was replaced by Gossow.

Gossow appeared on all ARCH ENEMY albums from 2001's "Wages Of Sin" through 2011's "Khaos Legions".

ARCH ENEMY released four studio albums with White-Gluz on vocals: "War Eternal" (2014),"Will To Power" (2017),"Deceivers" (2022) and "Blood Dynasty" (2025).

ARCH ENEMY 2026 is:

Lauren Hart - Vocals
Michael Amott - Guitars
Joey Concepcion - Guitars
Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass
Daniel Erlandsson - Drums