Michael Amott is a busy guy who loves to play guitar and tour the world. He is in the midst of releasing the latest Arch Enemy record, War Eternal (Century Media), which he will be supporting at least for the next two years.
But aside from this, he keeps busy doing music with his other band Spiritual Beggars, which he had been doing for a while and did some touring with as well over the past year.
“We put out a new record last year. I toured in Europe with that band. We went to Japan a couple of times.”
“I’m always doing stuff. I like to stay busy. I do have a lot of music. I don’t have anything else going on in my life. It’s all about music. I don’t have any career or job. I don’t have any hobbies. I play music. It’s just me and my guitar.”
His playing style has become influential upon countless musicians within the modern heavy metal genre, with his melodic overtones within an aggressive sound that he played in Carcass, Arch Enemy and Spiritual Beggars.
Over the past 15 years, he has encountered countless fans that pay homage to him and his music that has inspired their own respective music, as well as a legion of fans who simply love his music alone.
“It’s a huge compliment. I really appreciate that and I hope that every time somebody comes up and tells me that, I have time to talk to them. I love talking to other musicians, of course, and to inspire some of them out there. It’s a huge honor.”
“I have my favorites that have inspired me and I’ve met a few of them. I’ve hung out with Dave Mustaine, Kerry King…these guys inspired me and also some of the older style players like Michael Schenker, Leslie West, Uli Jon Roth and Frank Marino. I’ve met all of these guys and told them how much they’ve inspired me and asked them a bunch of questions about how they do stuff, like why did you do this, what did you use there, what pedal was that, what kind of bridge was that. They were really friendly and cool to me, so I try to give back as much as I can. I just see it as a mutual respect. The guitar is a really difficult instrument to play and I respect everyone and treat everyone as an equal.”
As told to REI NISHIMOTO