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 heavines ...

band

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a Supergroup (music), supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass (band), Carcass, Armageddon (Swedish band), Armageddon, Carnage (band), Carna ...

. Her other previous bands include Asmodina and Mistress.

Early life

Angela Gossow was born to

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

parents in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, 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 (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

and

bulimic Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-induc ...

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.

Career

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 (band), Carnage, Furbowl and No ...

. 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 (band), Carnage, as well as a former member of Carcass (band), Carcass. He is the older brother of Christoph ...

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 an online only magazine was the computer ...

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

firing Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method ...

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

On the eve of a 2002 tour, Gossow was diagnosed with

nodules Nodule may refer to: *Nodule (geology), a small rock or mineral cluster *Manganese nodule, a metallic concretion found on the seafloor *Nodule (medicine), a small aggregation of cells *Root nodule Root nodules are found on the roots of plants, p ...

, 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 was a Canadian metalcore and melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The last known lineup consisted of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" J ...

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,

Amaranthe Amaranthe is a Swedish heavy metal band originally known as Avalanche. The band is notable for their blend of various metal genres and having three lead vocalists. History Formation, self-titled debut album and ''The Nexus'' (2008–2013 ...

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 Musical film, musical adult animated television series created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Adult Swim. It premiered on August 6, 2006. The television program centers on the larger-than-life melodic deat ...

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

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...

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 Tokyo, off ...

'' magazine awards in 2002. Since 2008 she has been the manager for Spiritual Beggars. Gossow 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 () 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 systematically defined in Nietzsche's ...

, 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."

Musical style and influences

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

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, 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 death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

vocalist. She has a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

vocal range, with a

death growl The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other Extreme metal, extreme Heavy metal genres, subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death gro ...

. She uses

false cord The vestibular fold (ventricular fold, superior or false vocal cord) is one of two thick folds of mucous membrane, each enclosing a narrow band of fibrous tissue, the vestibular ligament, which is attached in front to the angle of the thyroid ca ...

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, also c ...

, 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 considere ...

, Chuck Billy of

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

, John Tardy of

Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

Chuck Schuldiner Charles Michael Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American musician. He cofounded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his ...

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

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

, and

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

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, 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 products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

for health, ethical and environmental reasons. She vapes

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and credits it for a significant improvement in her

asthma Asthma is a common 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 wh ...

, and has supported its legalisation. Gossow is a

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

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

*'' Wages of Sin'' (2001) *'' Burning Angel'' (2002, EP) *'' Anthems of Rebellion'' (2003) *'' Dead Eyes See No Future'' (2004, EP) *'' Doomsday Machine'' (2005) *'' Live Apocalypse'' (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 ...

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

Guest appearances

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

– '' Black at Heart'' (2007) * Amaseffer – ''Midian'' (2008) * Doro – ''Celebrate (The Night of the Warlock)'' (2008) * Doro – ''Celebrate '' (2009) * Kalisia – ''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 German women heavy metal singers German anarchists German atheists German cannabis activists German expatriates in Sweden German women singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters German heavy metal singers German mezzo-sopranos German music managers German women journalists German journalists German women writers Living people Musicians from Cologne 20th-century German women singers 21st-century German women singers 21st-century anarchists