Arch Enemy are back with Blood Dynasty, their fourth studio album with Alissa White-Gluz at the helm, but we might not be here without the success of the band’s War Eternal album issued a decade ago.Guitarist Michael Amott recalled to Full Metal Jackie on her weekend radio show it being a “turbulent” time in the band, but a necessary step in keeping the group moving forward.”War Eternal was definitely a beginning of a new era in several ways. I think we tried something songwriting wise that we hadn’t done before. Of course, with the addition of a new singer and everything, it was just like a very turbulent time as well,” says Amott.He recalls, “I remember the turbulence and just the feeling of like, ‘Oh, I wonder if people gonna like this.’ It’d been pretty smooth sailing for a few years, 10 plus years with Angela [Gossow] fronting the band and then with her out and with Alissa in, it was just like nobody knew yet. We were just writing that in secrecy in Sweden. It was super exciting. I was very confident actually about the music. I felt great about the music, but I was not so confident about how people would receive it.”But Amott says the band toured heavily and put in the work that set the stage for the rest of their career. He looks upon the time fondly, calling it “one of our best albums I think in honest conversion.”Likewise, Arch Enemy are back with another banger for 2025 with Blood Dynasty. The guitarist gets into his routine of creating new music, how he addresses pressure and self-doubt and what the addition of guitarist Joey Concepcion has meant to the band and their working relationship.Amott also shares his affinity for discovering and tapping into up-and-coming metal bands, though he admits that when it comes time to write, he often shuts out outside impressions. And as the band sets out on tour this year, Amott serves up the new song he’s most excited to share in the live setting.Check out more of the chat below.It’s Full Metal Jackie and I’m excited to welcome back to the show, the one and only Michael Amott of Arch Enemy. The band is back with their latest album Blood Dynasty which continues to see them pushing boundaries well into a long-running career. Michael, each album presents its own set of challenges. What was your approach and what were you looking for in bringing something different to the table with Blood Dynasty?I think personally we don’t really put that kind of pressure on ourselves. In the initial stages it’s just writing, writing, writing and we have this rule where we basically say yes to every idea and then see where that takes us. And then at some point, you’ve amassed quite a bit of material and you take a step back and look at what have we got here and what would make a cohesive selection of songs or what can we fine tune and you know, stuff like that.I think that’s how we keep it fresh anyway. It’s just being very open to the creation with creating the new music and not really setting any boundaries or setting. We don’t have a manifest or something that we follow.Arch Enemy, “Paper Tiger”Michael, one of the standout tracks on the new album is “Dream Stealer,” a song that delves into the ideas of self doubt.You’ve enjoyed a successful run over the years with Arch Enemy being one of the more respected bands in metal. But at this stage in your career, are there still moments of self doubt or have you ever helped one of your peers through a rough period of believing in themselves?I think we all doubt ourselves at some point, right? I mean there’s so much. I think it’s one of those things. That’s a deep topic actually. I’m trying to think about how to approach this, but I’m not really a kind of person that gets down or depressed too much or have self doubt. But I think everybody struggles with that at some point. I think if you don’t, you’re not human.Arch Enemy, “Dream Stealer”Michael, as an artist, inspiration can strike from any place. While we may assume you hear a fair share of metal, are there any outside inspirations? When you want to get into that creative headspace, where does it start for you?To be honest, I don’t listen to a lot of music in those times when I’m creating new music, when I’m in that phase of writing, which I am kind of every day, actually. So I don’t really listen to a lot of music during the day. I never have background music on.I’m just kind of listening to what’s going on inside my head. Those crazy voices? No, but just listening out for melodies or ideas or little lyric ideas that will come to me when I’m not listening to music. If you’re constantly bombarding yourself with impressions, I think it’s difficult to come up with something.So I just play a lot of guitar. I wake up, I have coffee, I play guitar every day for a couple of hours. And so it really starts there. And then, of course I still listen to music. I listen to a lot of music, but that’s more in the evening time for me.Michael, a band is always a work in progress. Your playing on the new album feels a bit more chaotic and more free. I know. Joey Concepcion came into the band in 2023. Has the arrival of someone new to play off of altered what you do in any way or given you more space to explore?Not really yet. But he’s a great player and I’ve enjoyed playing with him immensely on the road. He’s a fantastic player and a very chill person and we get along great. We’ve had a lot of fun playing backstage. We do our warm ups together and we play.We’re just jamming and that’s been a lot of fun. There’s a good connection there so maybe in the future we’ll do some more collaborations or something. But I think on the album he really played amazing lead guitar work and I’m very happy about that. And he’s doing great at the shows also.It’s Full Metal Jackie with Michael Amott of Arch Enemy. This album that we’re talking about, Blood Dynasty, finds Arch Enemy hitting the road with a pretty solid group of openers with Fit for An Autopsy, Baest and Thrown Into Exile providing support.Obviously many things have changed since Arch Enemy first started out, but I was curious how you view those currently coming up through the metal ranks and where the music is going these days. Are you inspired by any of these newer bands?For sure. It’s always fun to see new bands come out with their take on this genre. I especially like to seek out smaller new bands, be it on Bandcamp or going to small shows.I just love that energy. I’m a little bit like a vampire in that sense. I need fresh blood.READ MORE: The Best Metal Song of Each Year Since 1970Michael, this past year marked the 10 year anniversary of War Eternal and obviously that was a big, big change in the band. With Alissa [White-Gluz] coming in on vocals to take over, you hit the ground running. The fans embraced it and knowing that everything was all on the line, you delivered an album that ranks amongst your best. Now a full decade removed from that record. What are your reflections on that time period and how has that inspired how you’ve approached music moving forward?Forward, I think you’re right. The War Eternal was definitely a beginning of a new era in several ways. I think we tried something songwriting wise that we hadn’t done before. Of course, with the addition of a new singer and everything, it was just like a very turbulent time as well.I remember the turbulence and just the feeling of like, “Oh, I wonder if people gonna like this.” It’d been pretty smooth sailing for a few years, 10 plus years with Angela [Gossow] fronting the band and then with her out and with Alissa in, it was just like nobody knew yet. We were just writing that in secrecy in Sweden.It was super exciting. I was very confident actually about the music. I felt great about the music, but I was not so confident about how people would receive it.But it’s just one of those things that we tried a few different things and it just worked out. We did the work. I remember we did close to or more than 300 concerts for that album all over the world.So we put in the work. We hit the road hard as well. And we had to prove ourselves on the live stage as well. But the album I think is stands out as one of our best albums I think in honest conversion.Michael, with the record set to dominate your 2025, have you given thought to what songs you’d like to see make that jump to the concert stage? Do you have any favorites to play off the new record?Well because we were releasing the singles so far ahead, we did it. We were touring last fall into the winter and we were trying some songs out live then. We did “Dream Stealer” all across Europe and Mexico and we did also “Liars and Thieves,” the closing track. Both those went down phenomenally.It’s unbelievable really how great people receive new material. With Arch Enemy, it’s something I’ve never really been able to figure out, why we get away with playing a lot of new stuff.But what I’d like to play, yeah, I’d love to play the new single “Paper Tiger.” It’s just such a blast. It’s just pure heavy metal with like a modern approach. I think it’s that’s such a fun song to play on guitar. So I hope we get to play that one live. And there’s another song, a song called “A Million Suns” that would be interesting to play live. It’s got a very new sort of atmosphere for us.Thanks to Arch Enemy’s Michael Amott for the interview. The Blood Dynasty album is available now. You can keep up with the band through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram and Spotify accounts. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.Arch Enemy’s Michael Amott – My 5 Favorite Albums When I Was a TeenagerArch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott looks back at his childhood and names his five favorite albums when he was a teenager.Gallery Credit: Michael Amott (Arch Enemy)
