European Tour 2021 - Get your tickets now!
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If you thought we forgot about our upcoming tour with Behemoth, Carcass & Unto Others - you're wrong ? Get your tickets now ▶️ www.archenemy.net/tour! See you there! ??
#AE25 - "Anthems Of Rebellion" merch bundle out now!
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In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we’re bringing you strictly limited merch bundles for every studio album we've ever released. Who’s here for “Anthems Of Rebellion”? Hands up!
Get your bundle now: http://bit.ly/AE25Years!
Enjoy part 5 of “Arch Enemy 25th anniversary - random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott”!
"During the “Wages of Sin” campaign, things had really become quite busy and the wheels were rolling faster and faster in the Arch Enemy world. Tour offers and opportunities kept coming in all the time and we just went with the flow and worked as hard as we could. It was an exciting time and we learnt a lot and we were becoming a much better live band for sure!
I remember we played the last show on the “Wages of Sin” world tour on a Friday and started pre-production for “Anthems of Rebellion” on the following Monday with producer Andy Sneap. Looking back on it now, that was just crazy schedule… This was the first album we did not record in Sweden. Due to all the touring, we didn’t have a proper overview of the material we had written at sound checks and hotel rooms etc, so Andy flew over to Sweden for a few days of preproduction before we headed over to his studio in Derbyshire U.K.
It was really useful to get Andy’s input and we got a lot of work done before we relocated to the U.K. and began tracking the album.
Listening back to the album today I can hear that we were influenced by the large amounts of touring we had done leading up to it, the songs were written for the live stage. The arrangements are definitely more streamlined and have a “don’t bore us - get to the chorus” attitude. Chris brought in a skeleton idea for the music that became “We Will Rise” which we fleshed out together in the rehearsal room and I wrote the lyrics for it. Daniel started contributing some riffs as well, so the album was a collaborative effort. We also had Chris do some singing on the record, like on the intro of “We Will Rise”, the chorus of “End of the Line,” as well as trading vocal lines Angela on the verses of “Dehumanization”. We were trying new things in the production aspect, some of it worked well and some things maybe not so much, but you learn by doing and I don’t regret any of it.
We had gotten the offer to tour with SLAYER in the States and this was one of the reasons why we were hurrying up to get a new record out in time for that. We shot a video in Sweden for “We Will Rise” and at the time the video got a nice push in North America from the TV shows Headbangers Ball and Uranium, which I think, alongside the long SLAYER tour, helped make “Anthems of Rebellion” give our label Century Media their highest first-week Soundscan sales in the United States.
In retrospect, “AOR” is maybe not my favourite ARCH ENEMY album, but I certainly have fond memories of this era of the band and I know that it was the record where a lot of fans discovered us. Songs like “We Will Rise” and “Dead Eyes See No Future” remain in rotation in our live show to this day - and that says it all really!"
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#AE25 - Wages Of Sin merch bundle out now!
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In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we’re bringing you strictly limited merch bundles for every studio album we've ever released. Get your “Wages Of Sin” (2001/2002) bundle now: http://bit.ly/AE25Years!
Enjoy part 4 of “Arch Enemy 25th anniversary - random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott”!
"We started putting songs together for the “Wages of Sin” album around the tours we did on the “Burning Bridges” cycle. That’s how we do it in ARCH ENEMY, the writing process and collecting of ideas never really stops - it’s a continuous thing. Around this time it had become increasingly clear that Johan was not able to make touring around the world with ARCH ENEMY a priority in his life. Johan will be the first one to admit that he prefers to do music as hobby, fitting it in around his day job. That’s totally fine, music IS a fantastic hobby for a lot of bands and people… But the rest of us were eager to explore how far we could really take the band - we enjoyed the touring lifestyle and spreading our music as much as possible. And to be honest, we didn’t have a whole lot else going on in our lives – this is what we wanted to do, all the time. Parting ways is never easy and it was sad to see Johan go, possibly more for myself than anyone else, him being one of my oldest and dearest friends, (something that remains true to this day). But I knew in my heart that the decision was for the best - for everyone involved - in the long run.
The story about how we found our singer Angela Gossow has been told many times - it’s so well documented that there’s maybe no real need to repeat it once again here? However I can say that this was a pretty radical choice of singer at the time…it was practically unheard of back then to have a female singer growling and screaming, at least coupled with the notoriety, musicianship and songwriting skills found in a band like ARCH ENEMY. After the initial rehearsals with her we felt that this was an exciting direction musically, Angela had a really killer voice and undoubtedly a striking look to match it - but little did we know how much of an icon and influence Angela would become in the Metal scene. I’m glad we didn’t know actually, it might’ve added a little too much pressure to the whole thing. Instead we just enjoyed putting the music and lyrics together, crafting the songs for what would become “Wages of Sin”.
In December 2000 this new ARCH ENEMY lineup entered Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden once again. The studio had now moved to a new and much bigger location. Fredrik Nordström had also switched over from analogue 2” tape to Protools at this time, so this was our first all digital recording. Per Wiberg came down from Stockholm and added various keyboards, including the now iconic piano intro to opening track “Enemy Within” and the Mellotron on “Snowbound”. We had decided that we wanted to mix the album in U.K. with Andy Sneap, and I remember Fredrik being a little sceptical about that, as well as not being too keen on our decision to hire a new singer. A lot of things were changing at this time in ARCH ENEMY and I don’t blame him for wondering what the hell we were doing!
The recording process must’ve run smoothly though as I don’t recall any problems or issues. We knew we had a strong collection of songs going in, but as we kept adding instruments and parts to the album we began to sense the power of the album that we were creating. This feeling increased tenfold during the mix with Andy at his old Backstage Studios facility in Derby, U.K., Andy had an incredible talent for making everything super clear and punchy and hearing ARCH ENEMY in this way was super exciting. We had kept identity of Angela under wraps but once we completed the album, we had to start thinking about how to approach announcing the news to the world. We decided to make some samples of the new music available online, without revealing the identity of our new vocalist…obviously this started a huge guessing game amongst the fans about who it was. A lot of interesting names came up, however nobody even guessed it was a female singer. This was quite a source of amusement for us at the time…
Eventually we delivered the album to our Japanese record label. A release date and promotional tour was booked and put together. Upon its release, “Wages of Sin’ immediately outsold our previous records in Japan, they accepted the singer change and loved the album. The Japanese fans had supported us since day one in a big way, so this was a huge relief for us.
But we had run into some other problems… Our management company at the time had a big disagreement with our record company Century Media, leading to a delay of the European and U.S. release by almost a full year! Consequently, we were just sitting around at home waiting around for things to get resolved while there were many thousands of “Wages of Sin” CD copies imported and sold out of Asia to the rest of the world during those 12 months. We were frustrated and definitely believed this would hurt the release outside of the Japanese market - but if it did, we never noticed. Once the album received a worldwide release in March 2002, it was like an explosion of enthusiasm and activity unlike anything we had previously experienced with the band. “Wages of Sin” catapulted us into a whole other level, and it was amazing to be a part of it. We started touring like maniacs around the world and I think we almost forgot what our homes looked like - be careful what you wish for, right?
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#AE25 - Burning Bridges bundle out now!
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In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we’re bringing you strictly limited merch bundles for every studio album we've ever released. Give it up for “Burning Bridges” (1999)! Head over to http://bit.ly/AE25Years to get your copy of the bundle!
Arch Enemy 25th anniversary random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott, part 3/10:
"BURNING BRIDGES (1999)
I have very fond memories of writing and rehearsing for the “BURNING BRIDGES” album. Daniel was back on drums and we’d recruited a friend of mine, Sharlee D’Angelo, on bass. We had some really great songs coming together, tracks like “The Immortal”, “Silverwing”, “Seed of Hate” showed us stretching out and getting into some new areas musically. Per Wiberg (SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, ex-OPETH etc) came to the studio and played the Mellotron keys on the album’s last song, the ultra-heavy Doom Metal title track. It was enjoyable to experiment a little bit and play around within what we now were beginning to define as the musical style of ARCH ENEMY.
We returned for a third time to Gothenburg to work in Studio Fredman with producer/mixer Fredrik Nordström, a natural choice as our previous trips to his studio had yielded pleasing results. Fredrik also contributed keyboards as usual, adding his personal touch to the sound beyond his obvious talents as a studio engineer. Having Sharlee onboard also turned out to be pivotal to the shaping the bands sound with his powerful tone and colourful bass lines. Chris and I were taking the guitars further than ever before, we were all highly motivated and inspired. Exciting times. We spent two intense weeks recording and mixing “BURNING BRIDGES”. I vaguely remember drinking ridiculous amounts of beer in the local bowling alley at night to celebrate what we had created in the studio, followed by a lot of coffee in the mornings to get our heads back straight. Wash, rinse, repeat, ha! Although, I have to say we were very focused on the task at hand and we somehow got it all done in those 14 days in the studio.
This turned out to be the last album with Johan Liiva on vocals, and maybe ironically this is my favourite “Johan album”, he really delivered a stellar vocal performance on this one. After the release of the album we quickly went on tour in Europe as the opening act on a package with IN FLAMES, CHILDREN OF BODOM and DARK TRANQUILITY. Amazing package, hell of a great time. R.I.P. Alexi Laiho!
That year we went back to Japan for the third year in a row... A very successful headline tour with Swedish band WITCHERY as the opening act. I can not emphasise enough how important the Japanese fan base was to the band, they kept us alive at the time. The intensity and rawness of that tour is perfectly captured on the “BURNING JAPAN LIVE 1999” album, released in Japan early 2000.
In January 2000 we went to USA for the first time, as the opening act for dark progressive Metal band NEVERMORE (featuring future ARCH ENEMY guitarist Jeff Loomis). That run was really memorable for many reasons, sharing a bus with NEVERMORE was...well, very interesting shall we say? But what a great band they were. R.I.P. Warrel Dane.
These were the last shows with Johan on vocals. Much has been said about that sudden change of singers in ARCH ENEMY back then and I’ll talk about in the next instalment...
To summarise, this was a fun and carefree record to make and the last of its style and vibe for ARCH ENEMY. The 90’s had drawn to a close and things were about to become very interesting for us..."
Upload your photos on Instagram or Twitter & share your personal #ArchEnemy memories by using #AE25 and get the chance to have your post featured on our anniversary page!
#AE25 - "Stigmata" Bundle out now!
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In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we’re bringing you strictly limited merch bundles for every studio album we've ever released. Now it’s time for “Stigmata” (1998)! Head over to http://bit.ly/AE25Years to get your copy of the bundle!
Upload your photos on #Instagram or #Twitter & share your personal #ArchEnemy memories by using #AE25 and get the chance to have your post featured on our #anniversary page!
Check out part 2 of “Random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott” ?
"Arch Enemy 25th anniversary random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott, part 2/10: Going into the second album was a very different experience to the first one. Our drummer Daniel had mysteriously disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Enter Peter Wildoer, another great Swedish musican, with Peter behind the kit we proceeded with the (limited) touring on the debut album (three shows in Japan 1997 and a dozen or so dates in Europe). We had also recruited bass player Martin Bengtsson for the live shows.
Upon returning back home from Japan and Europe, we almost immediately threw ourselves into rehearsals with Peter on drums to work up material for a new record. The writing was a little more thought out this time and not quite as spontaneous or wild as before, that’s just the frame of mind we were in at the time. We came up with some cool tunes though, a slightly more technical approach in the riffs and drums, certainly a lot more guitar solos and the songs were getting loooonger!
At this time we also found a new label home with Century Media Records for the world outside of Japan (where we continued to work with the same label that had kicked ass with our debut over there).
We returned to Studio Fredman in Gothenburg and recorded/mixed the “Stigmata” album in 12 days. Unfortunately, Johan Liiva got really sick and it affected his vocal performance...although he pushed through like a champ and got it done, in hindsight we should’ve waited for him to get better. You live and learn from these experiences.
We sent the album off to the Japanese label and awaited their response. They got back to me with a request for us to deliver two faster songs, in the style of the debut album. That was a little unexpected and stressful I remember, but I accepted the challenge and quickly put together “Beast of Man” and “Diva Satanica” with the guys. Daniel had appeared on the scene again with a reformed version his original band EUCHARIST, whom we actually did some shows together with in Europe and we had reconnected with him, which in the end led to Daniel rejoining ARCH ENEMY in time to record those two additional songs with us. Daniel has obviously occupied the drum throne in this band ever since.
Another issue was the album cover we had created for “Stigmata” together with Swedish designer Segerfalk X (who also designed the now very familiar circular ARCH ENEMY symbol at this time!). Japan and USA were fine with the artwork we had submitted, but the European Century Media office wanted another cover and commissioned a piece from Belgian artist Kris Werwimp. That’s why there are different sleeves for this album in Japan/USA/Europe. Also the selection of tracks and order etc differed between the various markets - also later reissues had yet another different sleeve - all quite confusing!
When “Stigmata” came out we went back to Japan and headlined shows there for the first time which was really great. We also played the German Wacken festival that summer and a few other things, but not a whole lot of touring really.
Having a real worldwide proper release for the first time through Century Media made a big difference and we did a fair bit of press for the album. I talked to media all around the world and I recall that some (especially American) journalists didn’t really understand what we were trying to do, especially concerning all the guitar solos we had in the music. I guess that’s how it goes when you’re kind of creating something that is not currently in vogue. Everyone kind of caught up later anyway, so it’s all good!
Historically, I always maintained that “Stigmata” was of my least favourite ARCH ENEMY albums (probably to do with that my personal life was a complete shambles at the time) but in recent years I’ve come around, and I believe that there are some really great standout tracks and interesting musical moments on the record. We jumped in to the next album pretty quick after this and the following album and chapter of the band was about to unfold only one short year after “Stigmata” came out..."
25 Years Of (Pure F*cking) Metal Insanity!
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In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we’re bringing you strictly limited merch bundles for every studio album we've ever released. Head over to http://bit.ly/AE25Years to get your copy of the "Black Earth" bundle!
And welcome to our new series called "Arch Enemy 25th anniversary - random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott" ?
"Arch Enemy 25th anniversary random fun facts & memories with Michael Amott, part 1/10: The first song I wrote for the band was “Bury Me An Angel” and I knew I needed a killer drummer for this project but didn’t have anyone specific in mind. Luckily I was introduced to Daniel Erlandsson through a mutual business partner in 1995. We rehearsed only three times, just the two of us, as a guitar/drum duo. As soon as we started playing together I had a strong feeling this was going to be something quite special, Daniel was a 19 year old drum phenomenon - everything we played sounded absolutely killer!
I reconnected with Johan Liiva from my old days with CARNAGE for the vocal position and drafted my younger brother Chris to share the lead guitar duties with me. When entering Studio Fredman in early 1996, we worked super fast and I had everything mapped out in my head. Producer/mixer Fredrik Nordström was a fantastic engineer and a real character on top of that, we ended up doing a lot of recordings together after this. I also played the bass guitar on the album, with the intention to have Johan (Liiva, vocals) pull double duties if live shows would come up. That’s why Johan is sneakily credited as playing bass on the record.
Things worked out differently and we ended up recruiting a bass player later so that Johan could focus on his vocals live. The recording and mix was done during 9 very intense days on analog 2” tape. Not a computer in sight. I’ve seen people listing an Arch Enemy demo tape in our discography, but in truth there never was a demo and our first recorded effort was “Black Earth”, our debut album. There was very little money around and I’d sleep on friends couches or on the studio floor.
We did a photo session during the mix days in the studio and this was actually the first time that the whole band was gathered, meaning that it was the first time that everyone met each other. “Hello, I’m so and so and I’m playing on this record too”. The album was picked up by a Japanese record label, which turned out to be very important for the bands career. In the rest of the world, “Black Earth” came out on a very small indie label, meaning no promotion budget and no push in the industry. We did receive some great feedback from the Metal underground, but we had yet to make a big impact. The Metal music scene in the mid 90s was different and the style we were doing, blending Death/Thrash with Hardrock/Heavy Metal harmonies and solos wasn’t the “in thing” at that time.
Getting invited to tour in Japan in 1997 as a support act for U.K. Doom Metal band CATHEDRAL changed everything for us. We discovered we had a fanbase that loved the hybrid of styles we were doing. This was the spark that was needed in order for us to carry on and make the second album..."
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OSLO DATE ADDED TO THE EU TOUR 2021!
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EUROPEAN TOUR 2021!
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We're super stoked to announce the EUROPEAN SIEGE TOUR 2021 with Behemoth, Carcass & Unto Others!
Michael Amott comments: "As we’ve been going through these troubled and challenging times lately, I think we all need something to look forward to. A reason to believe, right? Well....this is it!!"
Stay safe and see you next year!
2021-09-28 IE – Dublin, Olympia Theatre
2021-09-30 UK – Glasgow, O2 Academy Glasgow
2021-10-01 UK – Manchester, O2 Academy Manchester
2021-10-02 UK – Birmingham, O2 Academy Birmingham
2021-10-03 UK – London, O2 Academy Brixton
2021-10-05 FR – Paris, Le Zénith
2021-10-06 FR – Toulouse, Le Bikini
2021-10-08 PT – Lisbon, Sala Tejo
2021-10-09 ES – Madrid, Palacio Vistalegre
2021-10-10 ES – Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi
2021-10-12 FR – Lyon, Le Radiant
2021-10-13 IT – Milano, Alcatraz
2021-10-15 DE – Berlin, Columbiahalle
2021-10-16 CZ – Prague, Tipsport Arena
2021-10-17 PL – Katowice, MCK
2021-10-19 HU – Budapest, Barba Negra
2021-10-20 AT – Vienna, Gasometer
2021-10-22 DE – Ludwigsburg, MHP Arena
2021-10-23 NL – Den Bosch, Mainstage Brabanthallen
2021-10-24 BE – Brussels, Forest National
2021-10-26 CH – Zurich, Samsung Hall
2021-10-27 DE – Frankfurt, Jahrhunderthalle
2021-10-29 DE – Munich, Zenith
2021-10-30 DE – Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle
2021-10-31 DE – Hamburg, edel-optics.de Arena
2021-11-01 SE – Gothenburg, Partille Arena
2021-11-03 FI – Helsinki, Ice Hall
2021-11-05 SE – Stockholm, Annexet
2021-11-06 DK – Copenhagen, Forum
Black Friday SALE!
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?BLACK FRIDAY SALE ?
Happy Black Friday! Get 15% OFF all ARCH ENEMY merch at #Merchland (www.merchlandshop.com / Europe), #RebellionRepublic (https://rebellionrepublic.com / North America), #HeavyMetalMerchant (http://heavymetalmerchant.com / Australia) and #MetalKids (https://metal-kids.com / Europe) - valid Nov. 27th through Nov. 30th, 2020. PLUS, get EXCLUSIVE new merch, only available at Merchland (Europe) & Rebellion Republic (North America) and only while supplies last! Worldwide shipping! Happy shopping
Cover Contest; Final winners announced - vote now!
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We've announced the final winners for our cover contest and now it's your time to vote for your favorite entry! Head over to our INSTAGRAM page and hit the like button on the video of your choice!
THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the contest! We're blown away by your talent. ??
1st prize: 100€ or 100$ gift card for all #ArchEnemy #merch at @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
2nd prize: 50€ or 50$ gift card for all Arch Enemy merch at @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
3rd prize: 25€ or 25$ gift card for all Arch Enemy merch at @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
This contest is not affiliated with instagram.
#archenemy #covercontest #cover #archenemycover
Arch Enemy Cover Contest!
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?CONTEST TIME! ?
We love watching your covers of our songs, so we wanna put a smile on your face too! Here’s your chance to WIN a gift card worth a 100 bucks for our European (@merchland_shop) or North American (@rebellionrepublic_official) merch shop, plus a card signed by all of us! Post a video of your cover of any of our songs ON INSTAGRAM and use hashtag #ArchEnemyCoverContest! Don’t forget to make it public, please!
Contest will run from Nov. 1st until Nov. 30th, 2020. Top 3 contestants will be chosen by Nov. 23rd and reposted by us. The entry with the most likes by Nov. 30th 8pm CET will win the grand prize. Winners will be contacted by us via DM, so make sure to check your privacy settings after we announced them!
1st prize: 100€ or $100 gift card for @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
2nd prize: 50€ or $50 gift card for @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
3rd prize: 25€ or $25 gift card for @merchland_shop or @rebellionrepublic_official
All prizes come with a card signed by us.
CONTEST RULES:
- Video entries are only valid when posted ON INSTAGRAM.
- Videos must be visible to the public.
- Contestants must agree to their videos being reposted by @archenemyofficial.
- Gift cards must be redeemed in one order.
- Contest is open to anyone worldwide.
Good luck and we can’t wait to see your talent!
This contest is not affiliated with instagram.
New merch: Neck Gaiter now available!
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New limited merch by EMP available now!
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Summer is here and so is our brand-new, exclusive and limited merch by EMP! Check out the link below & grab yours before it's gone ??
➡️ https://bit.ly/AEEMPEXCLUSIVE2020
"The Metal Festival" Playlist on Spotify!
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We know it sucks not being able to visit any concerts or festivals this summer and we miss being on stage too! ?
So Spotify created a special playlist called "The Metal Festival" for you to headbang to! ???? Including a live version of "War Eternal", which was recorded for our Live DVD/BluRay "As The Stages Burn!" in 2016 at Wacken Open Air, Germany. Enjoy! ?
➡️ https://bit.ly/MetalFestivalSpotify
Happy Birthday "War Eternal"!
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Happy Birthday "War Eternal"! Our ninth studio album turns 6 years old today! Give it a listen ???
Show in Mexico moved to a new date!
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Arch Enemy returns to Mexico!
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Arch Enemy Returns To Mexico June 6th! ????
Tickets & information: http://bit.ly/2RnOSyP
Arch Enemy vuelve a México y junto a Leaves' Eyes el próximo 6 de junio al Frontón México como parte de la segunda edición del International Race Sambo Combat.
Información sobre precio de boletos, aquí: http://bit.ly/2RnOSyP
Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year! 2019 has come to an end, and what an amazing year it was. We had a great time as the “Will to Power” world tour just kept on going and going! A big thank you to all the incredibly supportive fans worldwide and the phenomenal team that works with Arch Enemy. We wish you all much success and good health in 2020! Hopefully see soon!
/Arch Enemy
FOLLOW US ONLINE:
Facebook: @archenemyofficial
Twitter: @archenemymetal
Instagram: @archenemyofficial
New issue of Rock Hard Magazine out now!
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The new issue of Germany’s ROCK HARD magazine is out now! Featuring an in-depth cover story of our recent tour with Amon Amarth & Hypocrisy! ??In stores now and available online: http://bit.ly/AERH2019
(German version)
Die neue Ausgabe des Rock Hard Magazin ist heute raus! U.a. mit einer großen Titelstory über unsere letzte Tour mit Amon Amarth & Hypocrisy - schaut mal rein! ??Ab sofort beim Händler eures Vertrauens und online erhältlich: http://bit.ly/AERH2019
BLACK FRIDAY SALE!
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It's your favorite time of the year again! ? Get 15% off all Arch Enemy merch at Rebellion Republic - only valid until Dec. 2, 2019! NO CODE NEEDED. Discounts will appear in the checkout screen automatically. PLUS, if you order over $100, you'll get a free, LIMITED Arch Enemy tote bag FOR FREE (while supplies last: enter "ENEMYBAG" at the checkout)!
Head over to www.rebellionrepublic.com! Happy shopping!