Alissa White-Gluz
Alissa White-Gluz (/əˈliːsə ˈɡlʌz/;[2]) (born 31 July 1985) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy,[3] and former lead vocalist and founding member of the Canadian metalcore band the Agonist.[4] Her vocal style includes both growling and clean vocals (singing).[5] Although primarily associated with melodic death metal and metalcore, she has appeared as a guest vocalist for power metal, symphonic metal and deathcore bands, notably Kamelot, Delain and Carnifex and has performed live with Nightwish and Tarja Turunen.
Alissa White-Gluz | |
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White-Gluz at Wacken Open Air in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Born | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | 31 July 1985
Genres | Melodic death metal, metalcore, power metal, symphonic metal, deathcore |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter[1] |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | Napalm, Century Media, Act, Spiritual Beast |
Associated acts | Arch Enemy, the Agonist |
Early life
White-Gluz was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as the second of three children.[6][7] Her grandparents were prisoners in concentration camps during World War II and managed to escape. Their experiences in the camps would go on to inspire the Arch Enemy song, "First Day in Hell".[8] She is the younger sister of Jasamine White-Gluz who leads the Montreal-based shoegaze band No Joy.[9]
Career
The Agonist (2004–2014)
In 2004, White-Gluz formed the Agonist (then known as "Tempest") with fellow band members Danny Marino and Chris Kells in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[10] She released three albums with them as their lead vocalist.[11] White-Gluz left the Agonist in the spring of 2014 after she was offered the role as vocalist for Arch Enemy.[12]
Arch Enemy (2014–present)
On 17 March 2014, Arch Enemy announced via press release that Alissa would be replacing their former vocalist Angela Gossow.[13] With Arch Enemy, she has released two studio albums (War Eternal and Will to Power) and two live albums (As the Stages Burn! and Live Power).
Solo career
White-Gluz signed a deal with Napalm Records in 2016, with an intention to release a solo album entitled Alissa.[14] In a 2017 interview with Duke TV, she announced that her album would feature collaborations with Kamelot members, and said that the sound of the album would be "pretty different" from that of Arch Enemy.[15]
Guest vocal work
White-Gluz has recorded guest vocals for Blackguard's 2008 EP Another Round,[16] as well as for Slaves on Dope's 2012 album Over the Influence.[17]
White-Gluz has worked with Kamelot on a number of occasions. In September and October 2012, she was a guest vocalist for Kamelot when they were the supporting act for Nightwish's North American tour.[18] In February 2015, Kamelot announced that she would contribute guest vocals to their Haven album.[19]
At the Denver show on 28 September 2012, White-Gluz and Elize Ryd performed the Nightwish lead vocals live on stage with minimal preparation after Anette Olzon was taken ill.[20][21] White-Gluz, Ryd and Tommy Karevik later joined Nightwish (now fronted by Floor Jansen) on stage again to sing the final song of the tour, "Last Ride of the Day", in Orlando on 14 October 2012.[22] Arch Enemy, with White-Gluz as lead vocalist, joined Nightwish as a supporting act on their 2015 European tour.[23]
In February 2014, the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain announced that White-Gluz would be contributing guest vocals to their fourth studio album The Human Contradiction.[24] White-Gluz made a second guest appearance with Delain in 2016 on "Hands of Gold", the opening track of their fifth studio album Moonbathers.[25]
In 2017, White-Gluz recorded guest vocals for Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein's band, DOYLE. She appears on the band's second album, DOYLE II, on the track "Kiss Me As We Die", providing background vocals. White-Gluz and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein have been in a relationship since 2014.
In 2018, White-Gluz recorded guest vocals for Angra's album Omni, which was released in February 2018. She appears on the third track "Black Widow's Web" alongside Brazilian singer Sandy.[26] She also contributed to Dee Snider's album For The Love of Metal on the track Dead Hearts Love Thy Enemy[27] and Kane Robert's/Alice Cooper's Beginning of the End.[28] She provided guest vocals for Soilwork on the song "Stålfågel", which is part of their eleventh studio album Verkligheten. The album was released on 11 January 2019.[29]
White-Gluz recorded guests vocals for the American deathcore act, Carnifex on the song "No Light Shall Save Us", which is on the band's seventh studio album, World War X, which was released on 2 August 2019 through Nuclear Blast Records.[30]
In 2019, White-Gluz appeared on the album Anesthetic by Mark Morton (Lamb of God) as a guest vocalist on the song "The Truth Is Dead" along with Randy Blythe (Lamb of God). The song was also released as a single in 2018.[31]
Other media
White-Gluz is appearing in visual companion content to American Murder Song as Pretty Lavinia.[32] Her character was first revealed at Steampunk World's Fair and has since been released on American Murder Song's YouTube channel.
In addition to her music career, White-Gluz also had a voice acting stint where she voiced the Swarm Hunters in Gears 5.[33]
Discography
The Agonist
- 2007 – Once Only Imagined
- 2009 – Lullabies for the Dormant Mind
- 2011 – The Escape (EP)
- 2012 – Prisoners
Arch Enemy
- 2014 – War Eternal
- 2017 – As the Stages Burn!
- 2017 – Will to Power
- 2019 – Covered In Blood
Guest appearances
- Never More Than Less – on track "So Beautiful" – Album Relentless (2008, Le Collectif Artcore)
- (the) Plasmarifle – on track "From The Trail of Ashes ..." – Album While You Were Sleeping The World Changed in an Instant (October 2008 Siege of Amida Records)
- Blackguard – on track "The Sword" – Album Profugus Mortis (April 2009 Sumerian Records)
- Kamelot – on track "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)" – Album Silverthorn (October 2012 SPV/Steamhammer, King)
- Delain – on track "The Tragedy Of The Commons" – Album The Human Contradiction (April 2014 Napalm Records)
- Kamelot – on tracks "Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)" and "Revolution" – Album Haven (February 2015 Napalm Records)
- Metal Allegiance – guest vocals on "We Rock" – Album Metal Allegiance (2015, Nuclear Blast)
- Karmaflow – as the Muse in "The Muse and the Conductor" (2015)
- Caliban – on track "The Ocean's Heart" – Album Gravity (March 2016, Century Media)
- And Then She Came – on track "Five Billion Lies" – Album And Then She Came (June 2016 DME Music Napalm Records)
- Tarja Turunen – on track "Demons in You" – Album The Shadow Self (August 2016, earMUSIC)
- Delain – guest vocals on "Hands of Gold" – Album Moonbathers (August 2016 Napalm Records)
- Metal Allegiance – guest vocals on "Life in the Fast Lane" – Album Fallen Heroes (2016, Nuclear Blast)
- Evesdroppers – guest vocals on "God's Ocean" – Album Empty Vessel, (2016, Casual Madness)
- American Murder Song – as Pretty Lavinia (2016)
- Aurelio Voltaire – on track "Leaves In The Stream" – Album Heart-Shaped Wound, (2017)
- Angra – on track "Black Widow's Web" – Album ØMNI (2018)
- Dee Snider – on track "Dead Hearts (Love Thy Enemy)" – Album For the Love of Metal (2018, Napalm Records)
- Soilwork – on track "Stålfågel" – Album Verkligheten (2019, Nuclear Blast)
- Mark Morton – on track "The Truth Is Dead" (w/ Randy Blythe of Lamb of God) – Album Anesthetic (2019, Spinefarm)[34]
- Carnifex – on track "No Light Shall Save Us" – Album World War X (2019, Nuclear Blast)
- Kane Roberts – on track "Beginning of the End" – Album The New Normal, (2019, Frontiers Records)
- Babymetal – on track "Distortion" – Album Metal Galaxy (2019)
- Kamelot – on live album "I Am the Empire – Live from the 013" (2020, Napalm Records)
Personal life
White-Gluz has been in a relationship with Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein since 2014, the guitarist of American horror punk band Misfits.[35]
She was raised in a family of vegetarians, and has been a vegan since 1998.[36][37] She follows a straight-edge lifestyle.[38][39] She identifies as an atheist and considers herself opposed to religion, though she noted that "it doesn’t mean [she hates] religious people or [is] opposed to them".[40]
Interests
White-Gluz is a fan of classical music as well as rock music. She enjoys 1990s grunge music such as Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden. "I know a lot of people hate it but I love the simplicity, the stripped-down, honest songs and the mistakes. On Nirvana’s live album for example I love hearing the fuck-ups, out-of-tune guitars and the cracks in the voice", White-Gluz said in an interview with Metal Hammer.[41]
Activism
In a 2018 interview with Metal Hammer, White-Gluz said she had been "vegan for about 18 years", but that she had engaged in animal rights activism since childhood.[40] She received a Libby award from PETA for her work in an international campaign advocating against the hunting of Canadian seals.[42][43]
References
- "Interview with Alissa White-Gluz of The Agonist – August 14th, 2011". Lithium Magazine. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011.
- "Alissa White-Gluz: Vlog #1: New Music and Guest Vocals". 20 January 2014.
- "Arch Enemy Parts Ways With Vocalist Angela Gossow, Recruits The Agonist's Alissa White-Gluz". Blabbermouth. 17 March 2014.
- "Century Media Records – The Agonist". centurymedia.com.
- "Arch Enemy's Alissa White Gluz: 'If There's an Opportunity to Use Clean Vocals We'll Probably Do It'". Loudwire. 23 January 2016.
- bravewords.com. "The Agonist Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz – 'People Have To Start Thinking With Their Brains And Their Hearts Instead Of Their Social Conditioning'". bravewords.com. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- Kusano, Rodney (12 May 2019). "MOMS THAT ROCK: An Interview with Judith White-Gluz Mother of Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy)". OUTBURN ONLINE.
- "See Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz Detail Intense Personal Story Behind 'First Day in Hell'". Revolver. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- "Alissa White-Gluz - Official Page". facebook.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- "Interview with Alissa White-Gluz of The Agonist". Lithium Magazine. 14 August 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011.
- Hartmann, Graham. "The Agonist Fire Back at Alissa White-Gluz in New Statement". Loudwire. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- Childers, Chad. "Alissa White-Gluz Felt 'Worst Betrayal' From Split With The Agonist". Loudwire. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "Angela Gossow Leaves Arch Enemy, New Vocalist Announced". Metal Hammer. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
- "ARCH ENEMY Frontwoman ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ Signs Solo Deal With NAPALM RECORDS". 7 September 2016.
- "ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ's Solo Debut Will Feature Collaborations With KAMELOT, ARCH ENEMY Members". Blabbermouth. 27 August 2017.
- "BLACKGUARD Frontman Explains Name Change". Blabbermouth. 26 November 2008.
- "THE AGONIST Frontwoman To Guest On New SLAVES ON DOPE Album". Blabbermouth. 6 September 2009.
- "ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ TALKS WORKING WITH KAMELOT – "ELIZE RYD AND TOMMY KAREVIK ARE BY FAR THE MOST TALENTED SINGERS I'VE EVER HEARD"". BraveWords. 3 January 2014.
- "Kamelot Announce Release Date For New Album "Haven". Artwork And Track Listing Revealed!". 23 February 2015.
- "NIGHTWISH In Denver: A Night Without ANETTE OLZON". Blabbermouth. 29 September 2012.
- "Nightwish – The Denver Debacle". Youtube. 3 March 2016.
- "Nightwish with Kamelot – Last Ride Of The Day – House of Blues Orlando 2012 (with Floor Jansen)". Youtube. 15 October 2012.
- "NIGHTWISH To Tour Europe With AMORPHIS, ARCH ENEMY". Blabbermouth. 4 March 2015.
- "Delain Taps Alissa White-Gluz For New Album The Human Contradiction". Metal Underground. 1 February 2014.
- "DELAIN To Release 'Moonbathers' Album In August". Blabbermouth.net. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- "Angra "Black Widow's Web" feat. Alissa White-Gluz & Sandy – Official Music Video". Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- Songfacts. "Dead Hearts (Love Thy Enemy) by Dee Snider – Songfacts". songfacts.com. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Kane Roberts – Beginning Of The End feat. Alice Cooper & Alissa White-Gluz: A Video Breakdown". 4 February 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Verkligheten by Soilwork". iTunes. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- DiVita, Joe. "Carnifex Announce Album, Debut New Song Feat. Alissa White-Gluz". Loudwire. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- "Anesthetic Wikipedia Page".
- "Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz Plays America's First Female Serial Killer For American Murder Song". Blabbermouth.net. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- "Behind The Voice Actors – Alissa White-Gluz". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
Green check mark indicates roles that have been verified by BTVA through closing credits screenshots.
- "LAMB OF GOD Guitarist's 'Anesthetic' Solo Album To Feature Guest Appearances By LINKIN PARK, PAPA ROACH Members". Blabbermouth. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- "DOYLE: I've Been Vegan For Six Years Now. My Girlfriend ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ Got Me Into It". Metal Addicts. 13 January 2019.
- "The Agonist's Alissa White-Gluz on Being Vegan and Her Work With peta2". Noise Creep. 3 October 2011.
- "Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz Discusses Animal Rights, Being Vegan In New Video Interview". Blabbermouth. 24 June 2014.
- "Interview Time with Alissa White Gluz". Metal Horizons.
- "The Agonist's Alissa White-Gluz Stays Healthy On The Road". Noise Creep. 20 August 2009.
- Rees, Adam (31 July 2018). "Arch Enemy: Alissa White-Gluz's Guide To Life". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- July 2018, Adam Rees31. "Arch Enemy: Alissa White-Gluz's Guide To Life". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "The Agonist Frontwoman Snags PETA2 Award". Blabbermouth. 30 January 2012.
- "The Agonist's Alissa White-Gluz Stars in PETA Ad Denouncing Seal Slaughter". Noise Creep. 28 March 2011.