Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott addressed the band’s new singer Lauren Hart, who replaced Alissa White-Gluz earlier this year. He also discussed whether former vocalist Angela Gossow might return to take over from Hart, in a conversation shared by EMP Backstage Club Area.
Amott explained how quickly Hart’s addition to the band came together, describing the whirlwind process from her initial audition recordings to recording new material together.
“Everything happened really quickly. It was really fast. We had festivals confirmed. We thought maybe we’d get a singer just for the summer and see how things go. But then we started talking to Lauren. We knew of her before,” Amott said. “And, basically, she sent some recordings of her singing Arch Enemy stuff, and it sounded amazing immediately, and we were, like, ‘Yeah, okay.’ And then we actually went into the studio and cut a new song, which is ‘To The Last Breath’, which has been out for a few months. So everything was super fast, which kind of made us … It was cool. It made us feel happy, but also a little bit nervous: ‘What are we doing? We’re moving too fast into a new relationship.’ But it worked out so far.”
Amott then turned to the persistent rumors surrounding Angela Gossow, who had previously been speculated to return to the band before Hart’s arrival.
“I understand that’s fan mentality. These rumors start because they already knew her from the past. But no, it wasn’t really an option. No,” Amott continued.
Arch Enemy’s collaboration with Lauren Hart appears to be moving forward, with the band already having released new music featuring their latest singer.
The speed of Hart’s integration into Arch Enemy becomes even more notable when looking at her background and how the actual recording process unfolded behind the scenes.
Hart was no unknown quantity in the extreme metal scene before stepping into Arch Enemy’s spotlight. She had already built a name for herself as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the American melodic death metal band Once Human. This gave her a proven track record fronting a heavy band before she ever joined Arch Enemy’s ranks. That experience helps explain why her audition recordings impressed Amott and the rest of the band so immediately.
The transition moved so fast that Hart recorded her vocals for “To The Last Breath” remotely, laying down the track before she and Amott had even met in person. That detail underscores just how compressed the timeline truly was. The band moved from initial contact to a finished, released song in a matter of months rather than the usual drawn-out audition process.
Hart’s connection to Arch Enemy’s legacy runs deeper than a simple professional opportunity. She revealed that discovering Angela Gossow’s vocal work on “Wages of Sin” as a teenager was a formative moment that reshaped her understanding of what was possible in metal.
“I didn’t even know women could sing like that,” Hart said, describing the moment she first heard Gossow’s growls and realized the kind of vocalist she wanted to become.
That personal history adds an unexpected layer to the current lineup change. Hart grew up idolizing the very singer whose potential return has fueled ongoing fan speculation. It also suggests something deeper: even as Amott shuts down rumors of a Gossow comeback, Arch Enemy’s current chapter still carries a direct thread back to the band’s earlier era.
