Drummer Daniel Erlandsson and extreme metal icons, Arch Enemy, will unleash their 9th studio album 'War Eternal' worldwide via Century Media Records (Trooper Entertainment in Japan) on June 9th in Europe and June 10th in North America. The artwork for the album was created by Costin Chioreanu, who previously worked with Michael Amott on Spiritual Beggars' re-issue of their self-titled debut.
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Chief song-writer, guitarist and band leader Michael Amott comments: "I was looking for a hand-drawn feel with a unique atmosphere, something that would complement the music that we've been working so hard on these last couple of years. In the end my choice fell upon Romanian artist Chioreanu Costin, who's work I've admired for some time. Costin really grasped my vision for the artwork and layout, he's delivered some of the coolest artwork elements we've ever had with Arch Enemy!"
Arch Enemy's upcoming album, War Eternal, was recorded in various studios during winter 2013/2014 and produced by the band themselves with Jens Bogren (Opeth, Paradise Lost, Kreator) mixing and mastering the album at Fascination Street Studio.
War Eternal track-listing (standard edition)
1. Tempore Nihil Sanat (Prelude in F minor)
2. Never Forgive, Never Forget
3. War Eternal
4. As The Pages Burn
5. No More Regrets
6. You Will Know My Name
7. Graveyard Of Dreams
8. Stolen Life
9. Time Is Black
10. On And On
11. Avalanche
12. Down To Nothing
13. Not Long For This World
Arch Enemy will start their War Eternal world tour in May with an extensive run through Europe. A US tour is planned for fall 2014. Let the eternal war begin!
Arch Enemy Live:
23.05.2014 Turbohalle, Bucharest, Romania
24.05.2014 Metal Summer Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
25.05.2014 Mixtape 5, Sofia, Bulgaria
27.05.2014 Majestic Music Club, Bratislava, Slovakia
29.05.2014 Rock and Roll Arena, Romagnano Sesia (Novara), Italy
30.05.2014 New Age Club, Roncade, Italy
02.06.2014 L'Etage, Rennes, France
03.06.2014 Le 106, Rouen, France
04.06.2014 La Laiterie, Strasbourg, France
05.06.2014 Rosenhof, Osnabrück, Germany
07.06.2014 Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, Sweden
09.06.2014 Studio USF, Bergen, Norway
10.06.2014 John Dee, Oslo, Norway
11.06.2014 Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
13.06.2014 Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany
14.06.2014 Conrad Sohm, Dornbirn, Austria
15.06.2014 Nova Rock – Nickelsdorf, Austria
27.06.2014 Rock am Härtsfeldsee, Dischingen, Germany
09.07.2014 RockMaraton, Pecs, Hungary
11.07.2014 Rock Harz Open Air, Ballenstedt, Germany
12.07.2014 Masters Of Rock, Vizovice, Czech Republic
13.07.2014 Seven Festival, Wegorzewo, Poland
19.07.2014 Dong Open Air, Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany
02.08.2014 Wacken Open Air, Wacken, Germany
07.08.2014 Getaway Rock, Gävle, Sweden
08.08.2014 Leyendas Del Rock, Alicante, Spain
09.08.2014 Alcatraz Metal Festival, Kortrijk, Belgium
14.08.2014 Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl, Germany
17.08.2014 Alt-Fest, Kettering, UK
22.09.2014 Re:Republic, Minsk, Belarus
23.09.2014 Yunost', Kiev, Ukraine
25.09.2014 Arena Hall, Krasnodar, Russia
27.09.2014 Glav Club, Moscow, Russia
28.09.2014 Zal Ozhidaniya, Saint Petersburg, Russia
30.09.2014 Otdykh Club, Novosibirsk, Russia
01.10.2014 Angar Club, Omsk, Russia
03.10.2014 Tele Club, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Arch Enemy Online:
Official Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InRMwptcgAo
Some Questions For Daniel:
SDM: Do you remember the exact gear you were using during this tracking?
Daniel: I used a Pearl Reference kit with (2) 22” kicks and 10", 12", 13", 16", and 18” toms. I had a 20” gong tom to my left. Various snares were used, including a Pearl Daniel Erlandsson signature snare drum and some other vintage snare drums. For cymbals I used all Sabian in various sizes and models. I used Remo heads on all drums – on the batter sides – clear Vintage Emperors on the toms, clear Powerstroke 4 on the kicks, and coated Ambassador X on snare drums.
SDM: How long did tracking take and how was it tracked? Mics, triggers, both to tape or all digital?
Daniel: Tracking took about 4 days in total, and everything was recorded digitally into Pro Tools. All drums were tracked acoustically. Triggers and mics were used on the kicks to record that signal too for later use. We got an amazing room sound, and it was a pure pleasure to play the drums in that room. It really made the kit come alive, which I think you can hear. In order to get a flow in the takes, I wanted to play through every song from start to finish, rather than doing it part by part. I would play each song a number of times, and then we’d scan through the takes and find the best performance.
SDM: Has anything changed in your setup since this tracking?
Daniel: Not really. But I keep adding or changing the setup continuously. Usually just small changes but they keep it interesting.
SDM: Your thoughts on sound replacement software? Wish it never existed?
Daniel: As I’ve done a bit of producing and mixing myself, I can easily see the benefits from doing it. If you are going to mix an album – and then when you get the drum tracks, you realize they were poorly recorded or just don't sound very good – you have the chance of saving the production by switching out the tones. With the budgets getting smaller for many bands, it’s sometimes difficult to rent a proper studio to track drums. Nowadays, thanks to sound replacing being so easy, you can get away with recording in your basement… I think that helps aspiring bands a lot!
It also allows producers to get the drums more prominent in their mixes, while still having a massive wall of guitar there… Sometimes though, it’s clearly overused! I always have the ambition of getting the drums to sound as good as possible while tracking. Then whatever happens during the mix is up to the producer.
SDM: What's your favorite old-school raw drum sound? Which band and album or albums?
Daniel: Rush’s ‘2112’ or ‘Hemispheres’ are both great! That’s from a time when recording demanded serious skill from both musicians and producers. It still does today obviously – but today we have more advanced technology to help us in the process.
SDM: One piece of advice to younger kids about to record an album?
Daniel: Recording is not always easy, mostly because the energy is totally different from playing live or rehearsing. Just make sure you are well prepared before entering the studio. Practice and record your songs alone as well as with your band, until you feel comfortable playing them. That will make your recording session much more enjoyable!
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