Flashback! (Patreon)

Today Arch Enemy played the House of Blues Las Vegas.

This is the exact location where I met Doyle in the spring of 2013. I remember exactly where I parked the van and trailer, where I walked to find out where to set up merch... where I met Danzig and finally where Doyle introduced himself to me (I had no idea who he was, by the way). I remember seeing him on the loading dock, shaking his hand on stage right, the fact that he gave up his dressing room so my band (an opening band he didn’t know) could have somewhere to get ready... instant great vibes from him. That tour only lasted two weeks but by the end of it we both knew we were in deep trouble! Ha!

About a month later, Michael Amott called me to join his band.

Those were two of the most “comfortable surprises” of my life: I couldn’t have predicted they would happen but it felt so right and so natural when they did- I had no doubts about any of it.

They say there is that “curse of 27” where artists tend to pass on at that age, but for me that is when I truly started living. The spring of 2013 was a life-changing, magical time for me. I faced unbelievable hardships before that and many more afterwards, but I always remember how much strength and wisdom I gain after overcoming obstacles. How the life lessons they have taught me simply can’t be understood without experience. And how magic can happen, sometimes, if you are open to it. 💙

Best

~AWG