| Written by Alex Stojanovic ARCH ENEMY IS: Lauren Hart - Vocals Michael Amott - Guitars Joey Concepcion - Guitars Sharlee D'Angelo - Bass Daniel Erlandsson - Drums Release Date: February 19, 2026 Label: Century Media Records For just over a decade, Arch Enemy have seen an incredibly successful, yet somewhat divisive era while Alissa White-Gluz was fronting the band. Her presence in the band helped bring Arch Enemy to a much younger crowd given her history with The Agonist, while many old school fans felt she brought a much more Hot Topic vibe (in other words, emo). |  |
In 2025, the band released their latest album Blood Dynasty, which would end up being the last album to feature Alissa, when she announced her departure back in November. Her departure immediately got old school fans "begging" like impatient children for Angela Gossow to come back, but she immediately shut everyone down by denying her return. This was followed by the reveal of none other than Lauren Hart, who many of you know from Once Human, taking over frontwoman duties.
Of course with a band like Arch Enemy, they can't just announce a new lead singer without a musical sample, so they offered their first taste of music with Lauren with the new track "To The Last Breath". With this track, the first thing that's noticable is that the more classic vibe has returned, and Lauren's vocals resurrect the raspy Carcass vocal styling that Angela was known for, while also containing a bit of that low-end girth that Alissa was known for, and she also manages to subtly sneak in some cleans towards the end. Combined with the more traditional melodeath style riffing, this is a song that would be right at home on Wages Of Sin or Doomsday Machine. My only gripe with this track was the use of the word "rise", and the way it's used in the chorus with the lines: "It's time to rise". It has turned into one of the most burned out words in lyrical history, and has also become cheesy.
When Alissa first started slowly introducing clean vocals into Arch Enemy, it was a breath of fresh air to be honest. The growls and gutterals will always be their signature vocal style, but anytime a band that is known for always having growls and gutterals starts utilizing cleans, it's always nice for a change. I definitely hope that the band continue to incorporate more cleans into their songs because when combined with the melodic riffs and harmonies, it's magic. With all that being said, even though there's a new voice, the Arch Enemy of old has definitely returned.
Of course with a band like Arch Enemy, they can't just announce a new lead singer without a musical sample, so they offered their first taste of music with Lauren with the new track "To The Last Breath". With this track, the first thing that's noticable is that the more classic vibe has returned, and Lauren's vocals resurrect the raspy Carcass vocal styling that Angela was known for, while also containing a bit of that low-end girth that Alissa was known for, and she also manages to subtly sneak in some cleans towards the end. Combined with the more traditional melodeath style riffing, this is a song that would be right at home on Wages Of Sin or Doomsday Machine. My only gripe with this track was the use of the word "rise", and the way it's used in the chorus with the lines: "It's time to rise". It has turned into one of the most burned out words in lyrical history, and has also become cheesy.
When Alissa first started slowly introducing clean vocals into Arch Enemy, it was a breath of fresh air to be honest. The growls and gutterals will always be their signature vocal style, but anytime a band that is known for always having growls and gutterals starts utilizing cleans, it's always nice for a change. I definitely hope that the band continue to incorporate more cleans into their songs because when combined with the melodic riffs and harmonies, it's magic. With all that being said, even though there's a new voice, the Arch Enemy of old has definitely returned.
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