Kiko Loureiro accuses Arch Enemy of copyright infringement – Arch Enemy fire back: “So 3 notes are the same?”
Former Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro has traded blows with Arch Enemy, accusing the Swedish death metal outfit of plagiarising his 2024 track Talking Dreams with their new song, To The Last Breath.
In a post on Instagram on 26 March, the Brazilian guitarist shared a clip of his song side by side with Arch Enemy’s new single, pointing out a similar chord progression alongside the caption: “Just helping promote Arch Enemy’s new song… you’re welcome.”
But Arch Enemy have fired back, dismissing Loureiro’s insinuation of copyright infringement. In a video of their own posted to Instagram last week, the band shared an in-the-studio snippet of a demo version of To The Last Breath from 2022, two years before Loureiro released Talking Dreams.
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“In light of a recent copyright infringement accusation against Arch Enemy made by Brazilian YouTuber/guitarist Kiko Loureiro and his lawyer, we feel it best to present clear evidence proving this to be a false claim,” the band write in the post’s accompanying caption.
“In this video you can see and hear the early demos in 2022 which led to becoming To The Last Breath.”
“Anyone familiar with our creative process knows that we document extensively,” the statement continues. “Demos, drafts, and iterations are part of how we build our sound, and in this case, that documentation unquestionably establishes the timeline.
A statement directly from Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott adds: “Hey Kiko, sorry to disappoint you and your lawyer, but as you can see and hear, I had the melody back in 2022 already, two years before you released your song. Any similarities are purely coincidental.
“Enjoy the video and good luck with your music, I will continue to not listen to it!”
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At the time of writing, Kiko has not responded to Arch Enemy or Michael Amott, though former Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow – and the band’s current manager has chimed in on Kiko’s post, defending her former bandmates.
“Never heard Kiko’s song before tbh,” she says. “So 3 notes are the same? Well, I guess that happens quite often in music. I have heard a lot of Arch Enemy notes in other songs but would never accuse the other band of plagiarism… More the contrary, I would probably feel honoured to inspire others.
“So sad to read a post like this from a guitar player we all respected. What is this good for? If you really feel you’ve got a case, get in touch and discuss professionally, not make such a post.”
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With millions of songs in existence and only a limited number of chord progressions and notes to choose from, it’s natural that songs often share similarities with one another. However, as is the case between Arch Enemy and Kiko Loureiro, this can lead to disputes which often wade into legal territory.
One of the most publicised such cases in recent memory concerned Ed Sheeran, who was accused of plagiarising Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On with his 2014 megahit, Thinking Out Loud.
The case was ultimately dismissed, after Sheeran used a guitar in court to prove how common the chord progression of Thinking Out Loud is across music. However before the ruling, he had threatened to quit music if found to have plagiarised Marvin Gaye’s classic.
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,” he said.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
