ARCH ENEMY Frontwoman Answers Fans' Questions

ARCH ENEMY frontwoman Angela Gossow has posted the following message on her MySpace page:

"I was browsing through my 672 unread messages the other day and picked out some questions. While trying to ignore the recurring 'server is busy' failure message I get ALL THE TIME on MySpace. I read all your messages, but I am way behind. I have to add about a 100 pages of friends per day. Pretty time-consuming. Anyway, I will compile questions and post my answers here from time to time."

Angela's latest batch of fan questions and her answers follow:

Q: You are the only woman that I know of that has that powerful and emotional voice. Have you always been into singing? Oh and one question. Some friends and me have a bet. Some of us bet that you are a model, and some of us say you aren't. Can you set the record str8 for us?

Angela: "I have been into music, playing instruments and singing from an early age on, but not in a serious 'we have a child and must develop its talents' kind of way. I just played around with different instruments, was briefly in a choir (and hated to be in the 'lower voices' — I wanted to sing those wailing high bits too) and later on discovered I have no real musical talents — so I joined a metal band ;-) I recently started to play piano.

"Model. Sure. With my 1.60m [height] I can still go on public busses for the 'kids' fare. Models have to be tall, painfully thin, on coke and chain-smoking. OK, this is a stereotype. But still I am not interested."

Q: Can you speak German?

Angela: "I am from Germany. So yes, of course, I do speak German. I also speak English, Swedish and a little French. I do understand Dutch, Italian and Spanish. At least in written language."

Q: I was wondering if you will be doing any meet-n-greets at the show. It would be an honor for me and my cousin to get an ARCH ENEMY CD signed and CARCASS "Heartwork". Any chance? Thanks for your time.

Angela: "If you want to get your stuff signed at a show, just 'meet-n-greet' us at the venue/tour bus. But not before 6pm please. Musicians sleep at least to 4 in the afternoon."

Q: Hey how do you keep in such good shape, what exercises do you do.

Angela: "To stay slim, I eat small portions, mainly fruits and vegetables. No fried, sugary and refined foods at all. I am vegetarian, but I eat no cheese and don't drink milk. I substitute with rice milk. To stay flexible and strong, I walk a lot and do yoga daily. I have come off the weight-lifting; it made me look too bulky. I have broad shoulders and naturally strong arms and legs and putting on a lot of muscles turns me into She-hulk."

Q: Are you chatting on MSN messenger AOL, etc.

Angela: "No. Never. I hate it. It devours all your time you should have been spending with your friends 'in flesh and blood' instead."

Q: I forgot to ask about the ring on your hand in the "Metal: A Headbangers Journey" DVD. Just decoration or is there a love in your life?

Angela: "Oh, there is plenty of love in my life, hehe… I am definitely not available anymore."

Q: Dear Angela, you have inspired me as a chick of heavy metal that women can rock the stage just as hard as the men of the metal scene. I feel a lot more confident singing now that I know that there are others who can sing like me. If you have any advice for me in performing I would be very grateful.

Angela: "Don't think or try to act it up. Feel the music. I don't wear any earplugs, because I need the sheer force coming from the speakers to really get going. It is a bad advice though, haha. I am on the edge of developing tinnitus. But for me, metal needs to be loud.

Q: I noticed when you guys played the first song "Enemy Within" there was large glass cup on an amplifier, along with some water bottles and during the solo, you taking a sip from the glass, which contained some kind of white liquid and I was trying to figure out the identity of this drink, which has failed, unfortunately.

Angela: "I guess it was Throat Coat or green tea, with honey and rice milk. I use it in very dry venues or when we get lots of smoke on stage. The tea, rice milk and honey protect my vocal chords from drying out."

Q: I think I am starting to lose mine from screaming too much when I play gigs with my band. Just wondering if you can give me any tips to help stop me losing my voice

Angela: "You will always lose your voice if you scream uncontrolled, especially when you can't hear yourself loud enough. You should make sure to have enough vocals on your monitors. You should also know some basic singing and breathing techniques.

Q: Hello Angela. It would be great to be able to talk to u about how u got the idea for your song nemesis I just fell in love with the lyrics and how this is the only song I have ever got goosebumps too!

Angela: "Thank you. A lot of people think it is 'cheesy,' which is kinda true but I love the idea of the metal scene being one unity. I draw some inspiration from OVERKILL's song 'In Union We Stand'. I actually do regard the people in front of the stage being my brothers and sisters. I live on the road; the metal community is my family."