ARCH ENEMY's DANIEL ERLANDSSON Says Response To New Singer LAUREN HART 'Has Been Overwhelming', Believes ALISSA WHITE GLUZ's Exit Came 'Naturally'

In a new interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda, ARCH ENEMY drummer Daniel Erlandsson was asked about the fan reaction to the band's latest addition, singer Lauren Hart (ex-ONCE HUMAN),who recently replaced Alissa White-Gluz. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the response has been overwhelming. I could not expect that it would go that well, actually. It seems like the fans, they see something in Lauren that they really like, and it kind of connects a little bit to [former ARCH ENEMY singer] Angela [Gossow]. Her style is kind of similar to that of an Angela. The response has been overwhelmingly good. And now we're playing the first few shows [with Lauren] as well, and you can tell that the vibe inside of the room or the atmosphere inside of the room is electric. And it's really cool. It's almost like we're starting a new era of the band now, which is kind of funny because we've been playing for — what is it? — 30 years or something."

Asked if he sees Lauren's addition to ARCH ENEMY as "a fresh start for the band" or "as a continuation of what has been done in recent years with Alissa", Daniel said: "I think that we're looking forward now into the future. And we are imagining what kind of songs we can have, and the next album and so on. I think we're looking forward, if anything, and everybody's very excited about it. And since the interest in this has been so good, I think we're looking forward to touring a lot, first of all and just showing that we are a strong live band still, and if not even better. So that's the priority right now."

As for what caused Alissa's departure from ARCH ENEMY, Daniel said: "The story that was official was that, like she said, she left to do her solo stuff. Now I think she has started her own band instead. We had a long, lasting relationship together, and I guess you could say that it came to an end naturally. It was good and it worked out really well — until it didn't anymore. That's all I can say about that. Some fans take that [the hard way] — it's kind of a difficult thing to accept. I know what it's like when your favorite singer quits, but there's no reason that you can't like both sides. You can still be a fan of ARCH ENEMY and Alissa, if that's the case. So I think it's all gonna work out for the best for everyone."

Asked if he expected Alissa's departure prior to it happening or if he was "taken by surprise" by her exit from ARCH ENEMY, Daniel said: "It's kind of difficult to say, because I think it was something that you could feel it was leading up to a point. Everything was leading up to a point, and once it finally happened, it was not a surprise."

On the topic of ARCH ENEMY's working relationship with Lauren, Daniel said: "Right now she's joining her favorite band. She told us that [ARCH ENEMY's 2001 LP] 'Wages Of Sin' was a very important album for her, and that's the album that made her want to become a vocalist. And we were lucky that she was not in a band… She still had a band called ONCE HUMAN, but as it turns out, they hadn't been very active for a number of years, and she was just ready to join when we got in touch with her.

"We as a band have been going for a long time, and we toured the world many times, but now when she's coming in, she's doing these shows with us, and you kind of get to see the whole experience through her eyes, if that makes sense," Daniel explained. "Everything is a little bit new and fresh, and it brings a certain freshness and positivity to the band as well."

As for whether are there any plans for more new ARCH ENEMY music or a new album with Lauren in the near future, following the release of the "To The Last Breath" single in February, Daniel said: "Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like I said, everything happened really fast when she joined. We were lucky to be able to squeeze out 'To The Last Breath', that song. And now we have these tours in front of us. But the priority is gonna be working on more music and release an album definitely at some point, hopefully even next year."

Erlandsson also addressed fan speculation that Angela was returning to ARCH ENEMY and Gossow's own social media post in which she admitted she had considered rejoining the band before deciding against it.

"I can totally relate to the fans, 'cause in that whole process online, a lot of fans believed that she was actually coming back," Daniel said. "And I can relate to that because I'm a fan of other bands as well, and you wanna see your heroes back in the bands. But the thing is that she got really tired of touring and she decided to do what she likes even more, and that's being a manager. And that's still the case. I don't think she would actually enjoy the touring life anymore. And as us bandmembers, we already know this, we know that she wouldn't be happy touring. So it's kind of strange to imagine that fans imagine that she's coming back when we know that it wouldn't work. But I agree — it would be super cool to see her back on the stage… It kind of blew up on social media when fans were suspecting that she might be coming back and she received an incredible amount of love from fans all over around the world. And that's why I think she actually seriously considered it."

ARCH ENEMY kicked off its seven-date Chinese tour on March 27 at Dongsan Live in Beijing. The concert marked the band's first live performance with Hart.

ARCH ENEMY recently announced an intimate European club show run dubbed "Back To The Root Of All Evil" in the summer of 2026.

Speculation about Angela's possible return was sparked by a teaser video shared by ARCH ENEMY and Gossow in which a mysterious figure could be seen holding up a torch, captioned with a cryptic "2026" Everything else has been wiped off each of their accounts.

After a second teaser video was shared, Angela, who has been managing ARCH ENEMY for more than a decade, took to her social media to write: "It's not ME! But thank you for all the love! I am really excited to be involved in this new chapter as the manager. This is gonna CRUSH!"

After 13 years as ARCH ENEMY's vocalist, German-born 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

Photo credit: Patric Ullaeus