ARCH ENEMY Guitarist Addresses 'Sellout' Accusations

ARCH ENEMY guitarist Mike Amott recently spoke to MetalReview.com about the accusations from some of the group's "fans" that the band have "sold out" by making their sound more commercially accessible on their latest release, "Anthems of Rebellion". "We sold out after the first album according to some people!" he said. "You start a band and record that first album and that will be the best thing you ever do for some people.

"We don't really pay attention to that stuff, I don't anyway," he continued. "I've been in this business long enough to know whether I've sold out or not. 'Anthems of Rebellion' doesn't sound like EVANESCENCE or LIMP BIZKIT, I know that! It's our fifth studio album, it's got tons of screaming, downtuned guitars, guitar solos, SLAYER beats….. I don't see how that's selling out…. I love the people who write this stuff, I'm sure they don't know as much about metal as I do, so I find it funny!"

Asked about the latest sales reports for "Anthems of Rebellion", Amott said, "I hear it's doing really well. We're selling a lot on the road too, supporting SLAYER [on the recent North American tour], people can just come to our merchandise table and buy 'Anthems…' and it's doing really well, which is really encouraging. Maybe people are hearing us for the first time when they see us on this tour and thinking, 'Fuck yeah!' I think a CD is the coolest thing you can sell at a show. Obviously a T-shirt is cool to sell too, but a CD is a piece of music they can take home, you know?"

When pressed for his opinion on how much of the band's newfound success can be attributed to Angela Gossow fronting the band, Mike said, "People never talk about our drummer, he's such a good-looking young man! (Laughs) I think it's due to him really, the recent success of the band! Obviously what you're talking about helps with our media profile, but the music's got to be good too. If you just have a good-looking singer then people will buy the magazines we're in and not the albums. You know, a lot of people at the SLAYER shows that are seeing us think we have a guy singing, 'Hey what's up with your singer, he looks like a chick!' " Read the rest of the interview here.

Since its release in late August, ARCH ENEMY's "Anthems of Rebellion" has sold 25,005 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its predecessor, 2001's "Wages of Sin", has shifted 30,018 units to date.