Johan Liiva, former frontman of Arch Enemy, was recently interviewed by Brave Words and Blood Knuckles

Arch Enemy has been receiving a lot of positive attention for their new CD Wages Of Sin and their new vocalist Angela Gossow. Let us not forget that before the beautiful blonde frontwoman, there was a fellow by the name of Johan Liiva who sang on three incredible albums: Black Earth, Stigmata and Burning Bridges. Since his dismissal from Arch Enemy, Johan has gone on to form Nonexist with guitarist Johan Reinholdz and drummer Matte Modin. The band has just issued their debut album, Deus Deceptor on New Hawen Records.

In an interview with BW&BK, Johan details the events surrounding his termination from Arch Enemy. "To be as honest as possible, it was pretty simple. We started rehearsing in fall of 2000 for the Wages Of Sin album. A few days after my first rehearsal, I was supposed to get a tape with the songs to start writing lyrics. Instead I got a letter from Mike Amott saying, 'We have decided to try out a new singer. We wish you the best. Good luck.' I didn't understand anything. It was unexpected. Anyway, I tried to get in touch with Michael. I called him and finally he picked up the phone. There were a lot of explanations but none of them really made sense to me. I still don't really know what happened. I don't think it was personal but you never know. It gets so strange when you talk to someone you had a friendship with; it's like breaking up. They wanted to get rid of me and as they said themselves, 'go to a higher level.’ What could I do? I didn't even try to defend myself. Michael said it wasn't just him, it was everybody in the band who wanted this."

Being ousted from Arch Enemy was a devastating blow for Liiva. "When I was fired from Arch Enemy, I felt that my vocals were impersonal." Penning lyrics did not come easily. "At first I had zero inspiration. I didn't know anything. I tried to force myself to write something. As time went by, thoughts were spinning around in my head. A lot of shit had been going on in the last year. It all came out on paper. The Nonexist album reflects a lot of disappointment and also predictions of separation. It's kind of dark but it's straight from the heart."

Was there any pressure surrounding the first post-Arch Enemy release? "No. At that point I didn't know what to do really. This offer with Nonexist - I call it an offer because I didn't have any plans - just came to me more or less. If that wouldn't have happened, I would probably have quit music. I found out that I shouldn't give up so easily. It's not the end of the world just because you're put out. There was quite a lot of success with Arch Enemy. A lot of touring, good record sales, mostly good reviews. So why should I stop here? You always learn something in life."

Johan has heard the new Arch Enemy, Wages Of Sin, with Angela, and had the following comments. "The first time I heard it I was really impressed. I could really get into it. I like the songwriting. I understand every millimeter of their composing. But the vocals of course are really heavy shit, very brutal stuff. Then I listened to it a few more times and I think the vocals are a bit too monotonous. The music is melodic and heavy and really powerful but I think the vocals don't do it justice. The vocals take it down a bit. That's my opinion. I just say what I think. I have nothing personal against anyone. I think I would have made a really good contribution to that album because we don't sing in the same way."

Source: BW&BK