Arch Enemy had begun rather modestly in 1995, put together by guitarist Michael Amott after leaving previous band, the indomitable just after their album. The Swede already had the more stoner-oriented Spiritual Beggars on the boil, but wanted a more deathly style band as well. With their ranks bolstered by Amott’s younger brother Christopher on guitar, ex-Carnage vocalist Johan Liiva and former Eucharist drummer Daniel Erlandsson, Arch Enemy released their debut album, , in 1996 on the Wrong Again label.
At this point, the band were very much the guitarist’s solo vision – he wrote all the songs and even played bass on that record. Two years later, with bassist Martin Bengtsson in place and drummer Peter Wildoer replacing Erlandsson, they signed to Century Media, and put out the Stigmata album. By 1999, former bassist Sharlee D’Angelo had come in, with Erlandsson returning behind the kit, for the acclaimed album.
However, Amott was far from convinced that he had the ultimate Arch Enemy line-up in place. Intent on achieving a more balanced amalgam of death metal fire and melodic creativity, Liiva was seen as the weak link in the group, and summarily dismissed. A new era was about to dawn.
“In a way, Johan did it to himself,” says Amott. “He really wasn’t into touring a great deal, and we knew that to take things to another level, we needed to do a lot more live work. Up until then, all we’d done is play in Japan, and a few other places.
Nothing major. A lot o.