Your debut album, "Black
Earth", was only released in Europe. Are there any plans to have reissued
for the United States at all?
Michael: No, not at this
point...although it would be great to make it available in the US. We'll
see what happens....
Are there any plans for a tour
anytime soon? Possibly here in the U.S.?
Michael: Yes, we are going to
be touring for our new "Burning Bridges" album. We start in
Japan in early September and then we do a 6 week tour of Europe, and there is
talk of doing a US tour. That would definitely be killer!
"Stigmata" was you
debut album for Century Media Records. Are you pleased with the reaction you
got from the album?
Michael: It was OK. The
overall reaction in magazines was good, but we didn't have the possibility to go
on tour to promote it.....this time it's a different story!
Are you in the currently in
the studio? Are there plans for a new release any time soon?
Michael: The new Arch Enemy
album, "Burning Bridges", is out on the 13th of July stateside. It
has been out in Japan since 21st of may and in Europe since the 21st of June.
Fredrik Nordstrom of At The
Gates/Hammerfall fame was the producer for your first two albums. Do you plan
to record with him again?
Michael: Yes, we did the new
album at his studio as well. We have a good working relationship...he gets us
the sound that we want.
If you had to describe Arch
Enemy to people, what would you say?
Michael: That's a hard one. I
mean, I guess you could call it melodic death/power metal, but does that really
tell the whole story?
Has there been any talk about
a reunion with your previous bands(Carcass, Carnage, Eucharist, Spiritual
Beggars)?
No, not at all…but Spiritual
Beggars is still going. [Their] new album is being recorded this summer.
What do you think about the
current state of metal today? Is the scene different compared between the US
and Europe?
Michael: All I know is that
that metal music is coming back big time, worldwide!
What recent albums have you
been listening to lately?
Michael: Lately I've been
listening a lot to Symphony X's "Twilight In Olympus"...a wonderful
album....also Nevermore's latest opus "Dreaming Neon Black" has been
a frequent visitor in my CD player.
Do you have any closing
comments?
Michael: Thanks for the interview,
and for supporting Arch Enemy!