Former Arch Enemy singer Alissa White-Gluz recently opened up about her three active music projects. She discussed what makes each one unique in an interview conducted at last weekend’s Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, by Paolo Phoenix of Magenta TV.
White-Gluz addressed her solo work, her all-women group Blue Medusa, and her new role as the singer of DragonForce. She explained the distinct creative energy each project brings to her life.
“Yeah, so I think for a lot of artists, we have a creative force in us that we need to get out, and it’s fun to do it across multiple things,” she said. “And so for solo project-wise, I’m just me. So everything I’m doing, I guess, is just something that I feel like is fun for me to do or fulfilling artistically, and that’s why I do all sorts of collaborations.”
When it came to her priorities, White-Gluz was clear about where her deepest focus lies.
“And then Blue Medusa is my main passion and my main focus,” she continued. “That’s where I’m putting all of my energy and all of my attention into every detail, and it’s really the band that I’ve just always wanted to have. And then getting to sing with DragonForce, who are just amazing legends and super-nice people, super-great musicians, great songs, that’s obviously an honor also, and I’m very happy to be doing that. But my main passion and the bulk of my focus is on Blue Medusa.”
She went on to elaborate on what sets Blue Medusa apart from her other work, and what draws her to performing with DragonForce.
“Blue Medusa is really — it’s me,” she said. “That is the music I love. That is who I am. That’s what I wanna be doing. That’s how I wanna sound. It’s what I wanna say. And DragonForce is so high energy, and that’s super important to me as a performer. I like to perform really high-energy music. And energy could be the mood, the tempo, the pitch — it could be all sorts of different things. And so DragonForce’s energy on stage is so high that it’s so much fun to perform with them.”
White-Gluz also highlighted a surprising vocal connection she discovered with DragonForce’s material.
“And, actually, almost by coincidence, their songs are written really in a very comfortable range for me, really in my Goldilocks zone, so it’s a lot of fun to sing their songs,” she explained. “And I feel like I’m able to express a side of my voice that I’ve been wanting to express for a while. For example, I’m a huge fan of musical theater, and so when I’m singing with DragonForce, I almost feel like I’m flexing my musical theater voice a little bit, because it’s obviously very epic, and it’s very challenging vocally, just in the pace and getting the breathing, but it’s something that I really want to improve at, and I want to be able to practice. And now I have a reason to.”
White-Gluz is currently juggling all three projects simultaneously, with Blue Medusa remaining her primary creative outlet. Her busy 2026 schedule is the direct result of a major career shift that began in late 2025, setting in motion a rapid series of new beginnings across the metal world.
White-Gluz departed Arch Enemy in November 2025 after more than a decade as the band’s frontwoman. She left the group to focus on her solo career. The band has since moved forward with Lauren Hart, formerly of Once Human, who made her debut with the group in Beijing, China, on March 27, 2026. Hart has since joined the band for their summer 2026 European tour.
Blue Medusa was formally introduced in March 2026 as an all-female metal project. The band released its debut single, “Checkmate,” and features a live lineup that includes Alyssa Day, Dani Sophia, Alicia Vigil, and Delaney Jaster. White-Gluz has described the project as a lifelong dream, citing childhood inspirations such as Jem and the Holograms as early influences on her desire to front an all-woman band.
White-Gluz officially joined DragonForce on May 6, 2026, becoming the band’s first-ever female co-vocalist alongside Marc Hudson in a dual-vocal setup. The arrangement has already proven to be a significant draw on the festival circuit. Both DragonForce and Blue Medusa have been announced for Wacken Open Air 2027, underscoring the momentum White-Gluz has built across her multiple projects in a remarkably short period of time.
Her solo album, titled Alissa, is also in progress under a deal with Napalm Records — a contract she originally signed back in 2016. The first single from the record, “The Room Where She Died,” was released on the same day her departure from Arch Enemy was announced in November 2025. This timing signaled that her next chapter had been carefully planned well in advance.
Source: Paolo Phoenix
