ARCH ENEMY’s MICHAEL AMOTT Pays Tribute To SLAYER’s ‘Hell Awaits’ For 35th Anniversary

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ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott has paid tribute to SLAYER's classic second album, "Hell Awaits", which celebrated its 35th anniversary this past week. On Friday (March 27), Amott took to his Instagram to share a photo of him holding a vinyl copy of "Hell Awaits", and he included the following message: "What a band, SLAYYEERRRR!!! Read somewhere that SLAYER's 'Hell Awaits' record turns 35 years old today! I think it's pretty cool that I still have my vinyl copy I bought when it came out. I remember clearly dropping the needle on this for the first time at my parents house and the intro sounded so evil and menacing...I was extremely impressed. Fast forward a whole bunch of years to 2003 and my band ARCH ENEMY is on tour with SLAYER with this original classic lineup — and they’re playing 'At Dawn They Sleep', 'Necrophiliac' and 'Hell Awaits' every night! Also, Kerry King showed me how to play the riffs in the title track correctly. Sometimes Metal dreams do come true, kids! #SLAYER #HELLAWAITS" Back in 2011, Amott told the Sonisphere web site that SLAYER was the "Big Four" band that has meant the most to him musically. "I grew listening to all four of these bands" — referring to SLAYER, METALLICA, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — "and I enjoyed all their early albums a lot and they helped shape me into the musician I am today," he said. "However, SLAYER is the band that has consistently been playing extreme metal and have kept the spirit of thrash alive." In the fall of 2018, Amott revealed that he had commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to ARCH ENEMY's "Will To Power" album. Released in 2017, that disc marked the second ARCH ENEMY album since the departure of longtime singer Angela Gossow and addition of Alissa White-Gluz. It was also the first ARCH ENEMY disc to feature former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis, who joined the band in late 2014. "Will To Power" was released via Century Media Records. Co-produced by Amott and drummer Daniel Erlandsson, the disc was mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator and friend Jens Bogren (OPETH, AT THE GATES, DIMMU BORGIR). The LP's cover artwork was designed by Alex Reisfar.