“Just stop talking about it,” exclaims Angela Gossow of the extreme metal group Arch Enemy. “When you read a review and it says, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s a chick singer.’ That’s just like, ‘Okay, here we go again.’ I wish they’d write on the quality of the vocals and the quality of the band performing.”

She looks forward to the day when the mainstream media focuses on musicianship first, “because so many metal bands have female musicians nowadays, if you look at the big picture.”

She calls the reviews “repetitive,” whether the “chick” in the band is playing drums, guitar, keys, or Gossow’s instrument of choice, her voice.

Even here in Alberta, where such liberal ideas as having a girl in the band are a little slower to catch on than in the rest of the world, those barriers are being crushed. In the extreme vocal category alone, Calgarian Thérèse Lanz of Exit Strategy and Amanda Kiernan of Edmonton’s Order of Chaos have been shattering stereotypes, not to mention all the up-and-comers.

True, when Gossow joined Arch Enemy in 2000, a female-fronted extreme metal band was a rarity. So much so, that Gossow has influenced a number of women to channel their inner death growl and project it from stages across the globe.

But a decade has gone by since she seemlessly replaced Johan Liiva as the Swedish melodic death metal band’s vocalist, as well as five studio albums, including last year’s The Root of All Evil [Century Media, 2009], a re-recorded collection of songs from the groups first three albums, three EPs and one live album. That’s got to earn a girl some respect.

And it has.

“I think what happened is, when I joined Arch Enemy, it opened up a lot of minds about having a female musician in the band. It’s very accepted nowadays,” she says, although she agrees the gender question isn’t completely gone, but “is slowly but surely dying in the metal scene.”

Gossow is an inspiration to many aspiring female musicians, especially within the heavy metal genre, and she says she “just kind of rolls with it.

“There are a lot of female extreme singers these days,” she notes. “This wasn’t possible 10 years ago. Not that easily. They probably would never have been in these bands with all these dudes.

“And everybody is all cool about it because it is an advantage to have a woman in the band,” Gossow grins.

But when it comes to being a role model, she’s just happy to help if she can, and it’s not just women who are looking for her opinion.

She maintains vocal advice and FAQ sections on her own official website, and does what she can in the tips and pointers department.

Gossow in action with bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, left, at the MacEwan Ballrom in Calgary, Alta. April 15, 2006.

“And for men and girls alike. It’s just anybody who has maybe joined a band and wants to know what am I doing wrong, and they may want to check the FAQ section before I try to help because it’s always difficult to actually analyze somebody from really far away that you’ve never seen, but, yeah, usually it’s about pitch or how to do better screaming,” nods Gossow, who still takes lessons and warms up vocally for at least 15 minutes before each show.

Add to that Arch Enemy’s relentless tour schedule, not to mention writing on the road anytime the creative moments strike – why does she make the time?

“When I first joined a band, I wish I would have been able to ask somebody, but in 1991 there wasn’t really a lot of extreme bands,” she acknowledges.

“I just figure I’m going to give out as much as I can so these kids have somebody to turn to, because I think music should be fun. You shouldn’t have to worry all the time. It’s quite easy to enjoy it if you know what you’re doing. I just want people to enjoy music because – call me crazy, but I feel that creativity is dying off in this world. I’d rather have somebody play in a real band than Guitar Hero, and when I can encourage them, that’s cool.”

For some real inspiration, Gossow and the rest of Arch Enemy will be tearing things up across Canada in their first journey across North America in over two years.

“We are not going to play the whole The Root of All Evil because we haven’t been to Canada and the U.S. for way too long. We’re just going to mix it up with all our favourite songs. We’ll look at our last Canadian dates and take out a bunch of old songs and add a bunch of new songs so we don’t repeat it.”

Arch Enemy recorded The Root of All Evil over a four week break between tours last year, and it was more a change of scenery from their work than an actual break.

“That’s why did that project, because we didn’t have to write it first and then we didn’t have to go through the whole self-loathing and hatred of being a musician in the studio and thinking all the new music you’ve just written really sucks,” she laughs. “That’s what you do every time, it’s just, you know, purgatory fire. But we didn’t have to because we had the songs, we just had to record them.”

After they wrap things up in North America, they have a few other commitments, including a tour of France, but will then be settling in to record their next studio album, this time with all new tunes.

“Rise of the Tyrant came out at the end of 2007, but we wanted to do The Root of All Evil because we had that idea for a really long time and we don’t ever want to rush anything. Once you get into that 1.5 year release cycle, you put that pressure on yourself and that doesn’t necessarily mean that the best music is going to come out in the end, because if you actually want to tour the album properly, you will be on tour most of that time or even longer. We really want to get off the road to write a record and put it together and not do it in between like many bands do because we feel that the quality of the music is the most important thing about Arch Enemy.”

Hard work. Relentless touring. Recording when the time is right. As difficult as that can get, it’s the passion for music that keeps Gossow and her band mates going down the road.

“That’s why I started. That hasn’t changed. If you want to play music and you can actually combine that with earning enough money to make a living, I think that’s the best thing that can happen to you, if that’s your dream, and I don’t think you’re ever going to let it go if you don’t really have to.”

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss the comforts of home.

“You’re asking a woman, here,” she laughs. “I like comfortable. I like pyjamas in the evening. I like shuffling around with a hot chocolate and watching my favourite movies. You can do that on a tour bus, but you have to do it with 12 other people and the chocolate is cold. And it’s not as clean. But I don’t think much about it (when I’m on the road). I’m going to be going home at some point, so it’s not comfort that I’m lacking from, it’s just not as cozy.”

Besides, at least on this tour, Gossow, who also acts as Arch Enemy’s tour manager and booked the other bands for the concert, has one of her favourite groups to serenade her live every evening.

“I love Exodus. Tempo of the Damned [Nuclear Blast, 2004] is my favourite. It’s very aggressive and great before a show. And we’ve going to have Exodus live all the time now, so I can listen to them right before I get on stage!”