ARCH ENEMY
ALISSA IS A BADASS
Once a teenaged fan of Arch Enemy, Alissa White-Gluz became their formidable frontwoman. Now, she wants to lead the band into stadiums worldwide
WORDS: MATT MILLS • PICTURES: DEREK BREMNER
Alissa’s first band was a Nirvana tribute act. We imagine it involved less screaming…
By the age of three, Alissa White-Gluz was already a performer. If you had gone to her house in Montreal, Canada, you would have found her playing in the basement with her big sister, Jasamine. There, they would set up a video camera, strut around wearing cut-up pillow cases and pretend to be in a fashion show. Sometimes, Alissa would sit at the family’s drum kit and Jasamine would grab the guitar, and they would jam as well as could be expected from three- and six-year-olds. It was a creative childhood that shaped the trajectory of Alissa’s life.
Thirty-three years on, and Alissa is a thoroughly modern rock star. Since 2014, she’s been the lead singer of melodeath force Arch Enemy, replacing the band’s now-manager, Angela Gossow. She’s an outspoken vegan, she’s shared bills with Slipknot and Judas Priest, and she comes across as a warrior with an ear-popping roar, her blue hair a defining feature of an on-point look. But beyond that, how much do we really know about Alissa?
Today Hammer rocks up to north London’s Holborn Studios, where she’s just finished the photoshoot you see on these pages. She’s swapped the studded sleeveless vest for a more functional black jacket by the time we get there, although the skull-and-crossbones zip still hints at her status as one of heavy metal’s leading fashionistas. As a frontperson, her look’s obviously significant – but, when Hammer asks about the most important things in life, she looks to the big picture.