Arch Enemy To Play Gigantour 2006

Band Photo: Megadeth (?)

MTV.com talked to Arch Enemy's Michael Amott about touring (Ozzfest and their current Jagermeister tour and more) and the shooting of their latest video, upcoming DVD and more. During the conversation Amott revealed that Arch Enemy will be on this year's Gigantour (2006):

"We know we're on ... the main stage, and I know it runs from late August to October," he said, adding that the only other band he knows will be on the bill is Megadeth — sort of a given, since Dave Mustaine organizes the festival. "We're excited about coming back to the U.S. once again. We're happy we can get work, you know? It's going to be a good tour for us. We did Ozzfest last year and we made a lot of new fans and sold a lot of records. It's great to come out on another big package tour, and I think there's probably a more traditional metal audience out there who could pick up on what we do as well through Gigantour."

Arch Enemy recently shot a video for "My Apocalypse" in Sweden with director Roger Johansson (In Flames), and it will debut on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" this month. It's a performance video "with wind blowing, and we have great hair, and you can kind of see through our bodies, so you can see our skeletons — in red," Amott explained. "When [Johansson] told me, I said, 'That sounds pretty metal.' "

Before Arch Enemy do Gigantour, they'll issue a DVD called "Live Apocalypse" on August 8. The package will feature the band's final live set with Amott's brother, Christopher, which was shot in London in late 2004, before the second guitarist and founding member left. Fans can also expect band interviews, a segment in which Arch Enemy discuss and exhibit the equipment they use when they perform live, and the usual bloopers-on-a-tour-bus clips. "I'm super proud of it," he said of the two-disc set.

"We didn't want to focus too heavy on [behind-the-scenes footage]," he added. "Those things are kind of boring. I mean, how many times can you watch a drunk musician? But the interviews with the band are very good. A lot of people may never really get to know us. They only know us by picture, and they don't get to see you talk or know what kind of person you are — that you have a sense of humor, that you're not only just an iconic metal god."

He also said Arch Enemy have been working on material while on the road, which they've never done before. He says they'd like to start recording the follow-up to Doomsday Machine early next year.

"It's very different for us this time, because we never write on the road at all," he said. "This year, we've been writing a lot on the road. We're just making these little demos, really. But they're not proper songs — just riffs sort of thrown together. We've never been this far ahead of the game before, as far as material [goes], because usually we're scrambling for songs once we hit the studio. This time, we'll be very well prepared."

Read the full article at MTV.com.

Source: MTV.com