White-Gluz was born in
Montreal,
Quebec, Canada, as the second of three children.[6][7] Her grandparents were prisoners in
concentration camps during
World War II and managed to escape. Their experiences in the camps would go on to inspire the
Arch Enemy song "First Day in Hell".[8] She is the younger sister of Jasamine White-Gluz who leads the Montreal-based band
No Joy.[9]
Career
The Agonist (2004–2014)
In 2004, White-Gluz formed
the Agonist (then known as "Tempest") with fellow band members Danny Marino and Chris Kells in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[10] She released three albums with them as their lead vocalist.[11] White-Gluz was kicked out of The Agonist in the spring of 2014 after she was offered the role as vocalist for Arch Enemy and proposed her interest in working in both bands at once.[12]
Arch Enemy (2014–present)
On 17 March 2014,
Arch Enemy announced via press release that Alissa would be replacing their former vocalist
Angela Gossow.[13] With Arch Enemy, she has released three studio albums (War Eternal, Will to Power and Deceivers) and two live albums (Tokyo Sacrifice and As The Stages Burn!)[citation needed]
Solo career
White-Gluz signed a deal with
Napalm Records in 2016 to release a solo album entitled Alissa.[14] In a 2017 interview with Duke TV, she announced that her album would feature collaborations with Kamelot members, and said that the sound of the album would be "pretty different" from that of Arch Enemy.[15]
Guest vocal work
White-Gluz has recorded guest vocals for
Blackguard's 2008 EP Another Round,[16] as well as for
Slaves on Dope's 2012 album Over the Influence.[17]
White-Gluz has worked with
Kamelot on a number of occasions. In September and October 2012, she was a guest vocalist for Kamelot when they were the supporting act for
Nightwish's North American tour.[18] In February 2015, Kamelot announced that she would contribute guest vocals to their Haven album.[19]
At the
Denver show on 28 September 2012, White-Gluz and
Elize Ryd performed the Nightwish lead vocals live on stage with minimal preparation after
Anette Olzon was taken ill.[20][21] White-Gluz, Ryd and
Tommy Karevik later joined Nightwish (now fronted by
Floor Jansen) on stage again to sing the final song of the tour, "Last Ride of the Day", in
Orlando on 14 October 2012.[22] Arch Enemy, with White-Gluz as lead vocalist, joined Nightwish as a supporting act on their 2015 European tour.[23]
In February 2014, the Dutch symphonic metal band
Delain announced that White-Gluz would be contributing guest vocals to their fourth studio album The Human Contradiction.[24] White-Gluz made a second guest appearance with Delain in 2016 on "Hands of Gold", the opening track of their fifth studio album Moonbathers.[25]
In 2017, White-Gluz recorded guest vocals for
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein's band, DOYLE. She appears on the band's second album, DOYLE II, on the track "Kiss Me As We Die", providing background vocals. White-Gluz and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein have been in a relationship since 2014.
In 2018, White-Gluz recorded guest vocals for
Angra's album Omni, which was released in February 2018. She appears on the third track "Black Widow's Web" alongside Brazilian singer
Sandy.[26] She also contributed to
Dee Snider's album For The Love of Metal on the track "Dead Hearts Love Thy Enemy"[27] and Kane Robert's/Alice Cooper's Beginning of the End.[28] She provided guest vocals for
Soilwork on the song "Stålfågel", which is part of their eleventh studio album Verkligheten. The album was released on 11 January 2019.[29]
White-Gluz recorded guest vocals for the American deathcore act,
Carnifex, on the song "No Light Shall Save Us", which is on the band's seventh studio album, World War X. It was released on 2 August 2019 through Nuclear Blast Records.[30]
In 2019, White-Gluz appeared on the album Anesthetic by
Mark Morton (
Lamb of God) as a guest vocalist on the song "The Truth Is Dead" along with
Randy Blythe (Lamb of God). The song was released as a single in 2018.
In June 2021,
Powerwolf released a remix of their track "Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend" with White-Gluz as the lead vocalist.
In 2022, she recorded guest vocals for the video game Metal: Hellsinger and published a song with
Nita Strauss called "The Wolf You Feed".
Other media
White-Gluz is appearing in visual companion content to
American Murder Song as Pretty Lavinia.[31] Her character was first revealed at
Steampunk World's Fair and has since been released on American Murder Song's YouTube channel.[citation needed]
In addition to her music career, White-Gluz also had a voice acting stint where she voiced the Swarm Hunters in Gears 5.[32]
She was raised in a family of vegetarians, and has been a
vegan since 1998.[34][35] She follows a
straight-edge lifestyle.[36][37] She identifies as an
atheist and considers herself
opposed to religion, though she noted that "it doesn't mean [she hates] religious people or [is] opposed to them".[38]
Interests
White-Gluz is a fan of classical music as well as rock music. She enjoys 1990s
grunge music such as
Nirvana,
Stone Temple Pilots, and
Soundgarden. "I know a lot of people hate it but I love the simplicity, the stripped-down, honest songs and the mistakes. On Nirvana's live album for example I love hearing the fuck-ups, out-of-tune guitars and the cracks in the voice", White-Gluz said in an interview with Metal Hammer.[39] In an interview with
Patreon, White-Gluz stated that
punk rock and
hardcore punk are linked to her
social values.[40]
Activism
In a 2018 interview with Metal Hammer, White-Gluz said she had been "vegan for about 18 years", but that she had engaged in
animal rights activism since childhood.[38] She received a Libby award from
PETA for her work in an international campaign advocating against the hunting of Canadian seals.[41][42] In 2023, she posed as a mermaid in a PETA anti-fishing ad campaign.[43] White-Gluz appears in the documentary
Punk Rock Vegan Movie by
Moby which was released in February 2023.[44][45]
Powerwolf on track "Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend"
Never More Than Less – on track "So Beautiful" – Album Relentless (2008, Le Collectif Artcore)
(the) Plasmarifle – on track "From The Trail of Ashes..." – Album While You Were Sleeping The World Changed in an Instant (October 2008 Siege of Amida Records)
^"Behind The Voice Actors – Alissa White-Gluz". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 19 September 2019. Green check mark indicates roles that have been verified by BTVA through closing credits screenshots.