[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/49210883_1962141063835390_8360718943396036608_n.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The final lineup. L-R: Simon, Danny, Vicky, Paco, Kells]]

->''Does history guide you, or do you set out to change it?''\\
-- '''"Business Suits and Combat Boots"'''

'''The Agonist''' (formerly known as The Tempest) was a Canadian MelodicDeathMetal[=/=]{{Metalcore}} band from Montreal, characterised by [[AnAesop topical lyrics]], [[EpicRiff complex guitar work]] and [[MaleBandFemaleSinger a female lead]] who can sing (well) in [[SopranoAndGravel both clean and growling vocals]].

Their lyrics often consider [[AnAesop themes]] such as [[AnimalTesting animal rights]], social injustice and other contemporary issues. This fits in with the band's name: [[MeaningfulName "agonist" means challenger]].

In March of 2014, Music/AlissaWhiteGluz announced that she had been chosen as the next frontwoman for Music/{{Arch Enemy|Band}}. She also revealed that the band - as fans knew it - was "over", and that Vicky Psarakis would be taking over as vocalist. Though the change has inevitably produced some backlash, the band have taken it in stride and produced two albums since: ''Eye of Providence'' in 2015, and ''Five'' in 2016. After bouts of touring, The Agonist went into production of their sixth album ''Orphans'', released September 20, 2019. Their final EP, ''Days Before The World Wept'', followed in 2021. These last two releases were shortlisted for the Juno heavy metal album of the year in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

The band would call it quits in May 2023, citing financial issues and creative burnout, but remain friends. Vicky is now co-fronting her other band Sicksense, while Kells is moving into video production and Danny is taking a break from band work to spend more time with his family.

[[folder:Members]]
Their final line-up is:
* Danny Marino - lead guitar (2004-2023)
* Chris Kells - bass, backing vocals (2004-2023)
* Simon [=McKay=] - drums (2007-2023)
* Pascal "Paco" Jobin - rhythm guitar (2010-2023)
* Vicky Psarakis - lead vocals (2014-2023)

Former members include:
* Derek Nadon - drums (2004-2007)
* Andrew Tapley - rhythm guitar (2008-2009)
* Chris Adolph - touring rhythm guitar (2009)
* Justin Deguire - touring rhythm guitar (2011)
* Music/AlissaWhiteGluz - lead vocals, lyrics, artwork planning (2004-2014)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Discography and videos]]

* ''Once Only Imagined'' (2007)
-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZo4bOZf3B4 "Business Suits and Combat Boots"]]
* ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind'' (2009)
-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXzIeI0mkFI "And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jud_SnKTlY "Thank You, Pain"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP0AanV5MME "Birds Elope with the Sun"]]
* ''The Escape'' EP (2011)
* ''Prisoners'' (2012)
-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdT7M4f2L9A "Panophobia"]]
* ''Disconnect Me'' EP (2014)
* ''Eye of Providence'' (2015)
-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urcLhku0I7Y "Gates of Horn and Ivory"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To3-0Q8EUrM "My Witness, Your Victim"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnsAObY7Fw0 "A Gentle Disease"]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0WEycITU9p4 "Follow the Crossed Line"]]
* ''Five'' (2016)
-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_Aank1OXI "The Moment"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lyRKTgTvw "The Chain"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgR0r94J8EM "The Hunt"]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-3af4zNjBG4 "The Raven Eyes"]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Yt3If-cDc "The Man Who Fell to Earth"]] [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WN9pwVeAFDE "Take Me to Church"]]
* ''Orphans'' (2019)
-->[[https://youtu.be/r85VW3y_T8I "In Vertigo"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENXteWtLPzU "Burn It All Down"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvxW0-0EkpQ "As One We Survive"]] [[https://youtu.be/sYjqsWsU0U4 "The Gift of Silence"]] [[https://youtu.be/mqEE-E9mN_4 "Orphans"]]
* ''Days Before the World Wept'' EP (2021)
--> [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM32rkfA2XQ "Remnants in Time"]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KspGqpshlyM "Feast on the Living"]]
[[/folder]]

----
!Thank you, tropes.

* ADayInTheLimelight: "Waiting Out the Winter" (written by Simon), "I Endeavor" (written by Paco).
* AccentOnTheWrongSyllable: Quite frequent on their older releases -- ''Prisoners'' in particular -- probably as a result of squeezing [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness sophisticated lyrics]] into unconventional rhythms. It's most noticeable in "Thank You, Pain" ("it's not only my [=afTERlife=] I bereave" and "think about the [=STATistics=] you feed"). This is more or less a result of how Alissa wrote the lyrics and her accent. Ever since Vicky joined this hasn't been an issue due to her more straightforward lyrics on ''Eye of Providence'', ''Five'', and ''Orphans''.
* AirGuitar: How Danny comes up with his riffs.
* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Despite his thing for KlatchianCoffee, Simon is actually a friendly, funny guy.
** AllMenArePerverts: Apparently, Simon tried hitting on Alissa ''at his audition''. Might have just been a one-off though.
* AlmightyJanitor: Kells, who provides both bass backing for Danny and Paco, and vocal backing for Alissa/Vicky. He is also very active in engaging the crowd during live shows, handles a lot of band photography and even directs some of their music videos!
* AndIMustScream: Parts of "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep" and the first verse to "The Resurrection" seethe with this trope.
* ApatheticCitizens: Alissa's BerserkButton. Vicky also touches upon this in the likes of "The Chain" and "The Gift of Silence".
* AskAStupidQuestion: When asked by an interviewer what the most important thing to have with him when inspiration struck was, Danny replied "[[CaptainObvious For music? A guitar. For lyrics? A pen.]]"
* AudienceParticipationSong: "Thank You, Pain" is an audience participation '''video''' casting clean Alissa as a defendant, death-growl Alissa as a judge, and the audience as the jury.
* BattleCouple: As of 2021, Vicky is co-fronting her side project ''Sicksense'' with her husband Robby J Fonts.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted in "As One We Survive" where we see Vicky looking pretty much tortured while [[DraggedOffToHell hands come out of nowhere to drag her down]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown and beat her up]] to a point where she's spewing BloodFromTheMouth. But then after every cut focused on tortured Vicky, interspersed with the band's DressRehearsalVideo scenes, at the very last second we see an actually ''unhurt'' Vicky [[RageBreakingPoint snap]] (with a PrecisionFStrike to boot) and [[TantrumThrowing throw her chair]] [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the camera]].
* BeliefMakesYouStupid: "Predator and Prayer" takes this line, advocating a more existentialist worldview. "Follow the Crossed Line" has a similar message.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: "The Sentient".
-->''Euthanasia is a crimeless death penalty, but it's still better than what they get when they're tortured, brutally murdered, because some fucking coward can't make a clean living.''
* BilingualBonus: Vicky sings a slightly tweaked TitleDrop of "Blood As My Guide" in her native Greek: ''Με οδηγό το αίμα.''
* BloodyHorror: Seems to be a theme with the back half of ''Orphans''. "Blood as My Guide" has a more metaphorical take on the subject.
** The video to "The Gift of Silence" screams this, treating us to shots of Vicky caked in blood every few seconds.
* CallBack: In “The Trial” to “The Raven Eyes” from several songs earlier.
--> “Pour that man another, 'cause he might let you bleed...if you’re nice.”
* TheCameo: Youri Raymond from Music/{{Cryptopsy}} and Unhuman on ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind''. Also Melina Soochan, Avi Ludmer and Jonathan Lefrancois Leduc (Blackguard) performing additional instruments. Their producer even got in a few sneaky [[MetalScream Metal Screams]] on their first single "Business Suits and Combat Boots."
** In turn Alissa has cameo'd in songs for Synastry, The Plasmarifle, Blackguard, Erimha and Music/{{Kamelot}}! You can see her [[AndYourRewardIsClothes wearing a Plasmarifle t-shirt]] at the end of the "Business Suits" music video.
* CatharticExhalation: The very beginning to the video of "As One We Survive".
* ChickMagnet: Paco Jobin (nuff' said) and Alissa is a CluelessChickMagnet. (When it comes to guys, Alissa is fully aware of the ChickMagnet status. Just read some of the [=YouTube=] comments.)
* ConceptAlbum: ''Five'' comes close to being one. And the songs on the ''Days Before The World Wept'' EP focus on themes of mortality, death and resurrection.
* ConceptVideo: "Thank You, Pain" (verging on [[SurrealMusicVideo surreal]]).
* CostumePorn: Alissa's stage outfits. Usually averted by Vicky.
* CouchGag: Kells often introduces the band with "We are the Agonist, and we're here to X", where X is usually an AmusingInjury resulting from ThePowerOfRock.
* CoverVersion: They’ve done ones for “Monochromatic Stains” by Dark Tranquility, and “Take Me to Church” by Hozier.
* CreepyChildrenSinging: Employed in "Predator and Prayer," in a similar vein to Music/PinkFloyd's "Another Brick in the Wall."
--> '''Choir''': We hear you, we don't care. We hear you, we don't care.
* DarkerAndEdgier: '''''Orphans'''''. Lyrically (many of the songs take after horror stories), literally (dark album art, dark color motif, possibly Vicky's dark hair), and of course sonically (''very'' aggressive-sounding compared to the last two Vicky-era records).
** "The Resurrection" from ''Five'' reappears on ''Days Before The World Wept'' (this time titled as just "Resurrection") with a notably darker and heavier sound.
* DawnOfAnEra: Alissa pauses in the middle of "Predator and Prayer" to deliver such a speech, which turns into a MetalScream by the end. Vicky does the same thing in "The Ocean."
* DealWithTheDevil: "Remnants in Time" and "Immaculate Deception" both pose the question of what someone would be willing to sacrifice in return for more life. The music video for "Remnants In Time" takes the metaphor even further, featuring Vicky in an actual devil mask.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The video for "Orphans", with hints of LeFilmArtistique.
* {{Determinator}}: They don't stop their gigs for injuries, sickness, [[MyCarHatesMe car breakdowns]], headliners pulling out of tours, or even [[WalkingDisasterArea natural disasters]]. "As One We Survive" hammers this home, having been first written down at a time when hectic touring as well as food and sleep deprivation (among other things) had almost worn the band down to their last legs.
* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: [[http://www.theprp.com/2012/06/06/news/the-agonists-alissa-white-gluz-we-dont-see-money-from-album-sales/ justified]].
* DistractedByTheShiny: In one interview with Skulls n Bones, Alissa stops mid-sentence to [[GrammarNazi point out a typo]] on a passing van.
* DramaticPause: In a few songs; sometimes by the whole band (eg. "Lonely Solipsist"), sometimes by Alissa/Vicky alone.
* DressRehearsalVideo: "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep", "Thank You, Pain", "Business Suits and Combat Boots", “A Gentle Disease”, “The Hunt” and “Take Me to Church”.
** “Gates of Horn and Ivory” is a [[ParodiedTrope comedic variation]], showing the band being forced to prepare for a music video in HairMetal outfits, before storming out and performing a more traditional one.
* EpicRocking: "Ideomotor" (which, incidentally, they ''love'' playing live) and "As Above, So Below," both clocking in at about 8 minutes. However they tend to play the shorter version of "Ideomotor" live which is 6 minutes long.
* EtherealChoir: "Swan Lake" is an ethereal choir of Alissas.
** Also in the background of quite a few other songs, such as "Predator and Prayer".
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Alissa. Also TheCharmer, IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn and [[StupidSexyFlanders Stupid Sexy Alissa]].
* FinalSolution: "Born Dead, Buried Alive" references the TropeNamer. It is probably worth noting that Alissa is of Jewish heritage, and lost family members in the Holocaust.
* FirstTimeFeeling: "I Endeavor".
-->''Is this a blessing or a curse?''
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Synopsis," the slightly [[MindScrew Mind Screwy]] intro from their first album, contains a distorted vocal excerpt of "Rise and Fall."
** "The Wake" is basically an orchestral prologue to "The Resurrection".
* FriendlyRivalry: Kells and Paco occasionally try to one-up each other during live shows.
* GenreBusting: The band has variously been described as MelodicDeathMetal, {{Metalcore}} (due to their use of breakdowns and alternating clean/harsh vocals) and {{Deathcore}}, and they also have some [[ProgressiveMetal progressive]] elements (which have become prominent in their more recent work).
* GoodNeedsEvil: Discussed in "Immaculate Deception".
* GratuitousFrench: At the end of "Martyr Art," and at the start of "Revenge of the Dadaists." Less gratuitous than most, however, seeing as they are from Quebec.
** "Martyr Art" - ''Accablées de misère en décembre, les muses se baignent en flammes. Noyées dans l'ombre elles disparaissent, attendant le divin pientre de l'Univers, le Soliel''
** "Revenge of the Dadaists" - ''Sont-ils prisonniers? Devrais-je les libérer?''
* GratuitousGreek: "Blood As My Guide" has a section entirely in Greek. Again, [[AvertedTrope not as gratuitous]] when you know that Vicky Psarakis grew up in Crete. Bonus point for the word "agonist" itself being of Greek origin. (Thank you, Alissa.)
--> ''Ανοίξατε τις πύλες για να μπουν οι ψυχές στον κάτω τον κόσμο.''[[labelnote:translation]]You have opened the gates for souls to enter the underworld.[[/labelnote]]
* GreenAesop: Many of their early songs touch on this ("Business Suits and Combat Boots," "Globus Hystericus" and "The Sentient" being the most obvious ones, though even those tend to deal with a great deal more than just environmental issues).
* GrimReaper: Appears in “The Raven Eyes” video as a sinister, balaclava’d figure attending several suicide victims and a sick child. He [[AntiVillain doesn’t seem to enjoy the job]] very much.
* HumansAreFlawed: A theme in many of their songs ("Thank You, Pain," among others).
** Alternatively, HumansAreBastards: "Rise and Fall," "The Sentient."
* IAmSong: "The Ocean", natch.
* IAmTheBand: Danny Marino.
** Possibly unrelated, but since then there has been a notable [[TookALevelInBadass increase in his liveliness]] at live performances.
* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: It's fair to say that the entire band, [[https://www.metal-hammer.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20/11/1229620398_BINARY_106343.jpg past]] and [[https://fanart.tv/fanart/music/d6d9ec73-d0dd-4066-944c-20d4a6d6c7c7/artistbackground/agonist-the-54df3e53e62c5.jpg present]], are a rather attractive bunch.
* IndecipherableLyrics: On occasion. Alissa is aware of this, and has stated that she thinks it would be cool if someone made a misheard lyrics video.
** Less prominent with Vicky, who started out with a slower growling style. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jud_SnKTlY/ Compare]] and [[https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx7mkBtspzQ/ contrast]].
* InTheHood: Danny, quite often (though not when he is on stage).
* KillItWithFire: ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Burn it!]] [[TitleDrop Burn it all down!]]''
* LargeHam: Not prominent in most of the vocal work, but ''Orphans'' saw Vicky's clean singing reaching ham levels.
* LastNameBasis: Chris Kells, notable because every other member of the band usually uses their first name.
* LastNoteNightmare: In "Everybody Wants You (Dead)." A MindScrew-y SubduedSection is followed by a discordant wall of noise with Alissa screaming in the background. Subverted by way of a few more lines within the last 20 seconds of the song.
* LeadBassist: Kells is a type B.
* LighterAndSofter: Compared to ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind'' and ''Prisoners'', ''Eye of Providence'' and ''Five'' were toned down to make room for the band to explore new directions with Vicky on board.
* LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair: Discussed in "Globus Hystericus" and also touched upon in "The Tempest" (along with WhoWantsToLiveForever).
* LostInTheMaize: Featured at the end of the music video for ''In Vertigo''.
* LyricalColdOpen: The opener of "Burn It All Down" is bound to give you a MoodWhiplash.
* MaleBandFemaleSinger: First with Music/AlissaWhiteGluz and later with Vicky Psarakis.
* MasterRace: The concept is venomously attacked in "Born Dead, Buried Alive."
* MetalScream: Probably 60-70 percent of the vocals in the Alissa-era, 40-50 during the first two Vicky-era albums. Noteworthy that both singers have undergone VocalEvolution (more details below) while they're at it.
* MinimalisticCoverArt: ''Orphans'' has only the O of the Vicky-era band logo gracing its cover.
* MoodWhiplash: The band seems to have a thing for starting some of their albums with this.
** "You're Coming With Me" starts with a soothing acoustic intro before Alissa and the band blast through the silence.
** "The Moment" is a subtle one that kicks off with a meditative, intoning synth chord that sounds almost detached from the rest from the track ahead.
** "In Vertigo" starts off with nothing but a soft piano under Vicky's soothing vocals. The band comes in like a sudden tidal wave of BlackMetal-esque soundstorm after over 30 seconds.
** Another LonelyPianoPiece opens "Remnants In Time", the first song on ''Days Before The World Wept''. Several other songs on the EP also feature quiet intros before all hell breaks loose.
* MoralityBallad: Well, more like Morality Mosh, but a lot of their songs have AnAesop for you to think about.
* TheMothman: "Mr. Cold" is all about this, including even dropping the TropeNamer.
* MotorMouth: Usually during the deeper sections of songs, more often with Alissa than Vicky.
* MurderBallad: "The Raven Eyes" sounds like one, but since the subject is the GrimReaper it could also be interpreted as MercyKill.
** [[WordOfGod Word of the band]] says that "The Raven Eyes" is inspired by doctors during TheBlackDeath, possibly averting this trope.
* MyCarHatesMe: Their touring van, "the blue hornet", had a habit of breaking down in the worst possible places.
** TonightSomeoneDies: They promised to get their revenge by destroying it on film, and took suggestions from fans as to how they should do it.
--> '''Simon''': "[[BatterUp Baseball bats]], spiked clubs, [[InsertGrenadeHere grenades]], [[StuffBlowingUp TNT]]...do you think we could procure [[KillItWithFire a flamethrower?]]"
** Its fate was finally revealed in a live Q and A: [[spoiler: [[AntiClimax They sold it.]]]]
* NewSoundAlbum: They love this trope:
** ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind'' was overall faster and had less emphasis on breakdowns, along with a more pronounced MelodicDeathMetal influence.
** ''Prisoners'' had more ProgressiveMetal influences than its two precursors. This probably has to do with them being from the Canadian Death Metal scene, which is big on the more aggressive prog metal.
** ''Eye of Providence'' was the most varied, but was generally more melodic than ''Prisoners.''
** ''Five'' verged on being a concept album, and had a simpler but much grimier sound (especially in the vocals).
** ''Orphans'' boasts a DarkerAndEdgier return to the heavy, complex stylings of ''Lullabies'' and ''Prisoners'' particularly with more emphatic drumming and diversified vocal work, as well as far more prominent TechnicalDeathMetal elements.
* NonAppearingTitle: Lots.
* NotQuiteDead: "The Resurrection".
* NotSoOmniscientAfterAll: Covered in "Rise and Fall" and "The Sentient".
* PepTalkSong: "In Vertigo" and "Blood As My Guide". The latter is an outright battle cry.
* PerformanceVideo: The videos for “Panophobia” and “Follow the Crossed Line” are made up of clips from the band’s live performances.
* PimpedOutDress: Alissa in the "Thank You, Pain" music video.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Vicky sports a magenta dress in parts of "The Gift of Silence".
* PrecisionFStrike: All over the place. Usually signifies that Alissa is ''pissed'' about something (usually humans in general). So far Vicky has avoided this in the music itself, but does one at the very last second of the video of "As One We Survive".
* ProtestSong: Again, lots of them.
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: In "Trophy Kill" ("Fuck! You! Fucking hypocrite!")
* RedFilterOfDoom: Featured in several music videos (often when the screaming kicks in)
* RedOniBlueOni: A minor but noticeable case with the band's singers: Alissa's stage persona was very stern and controlled, while Vicky tends to smile more and mess around with the other band members during instrumental sections.
* SceneryGorn: Parts of the "Orphans" video, aptly for its [[Literature/WeHaveAlwaysLivedInTheCastle literary]] ShoutOut, were shot at the roofless ruins of a church.
* ScrewDestiny: "Gates of Horn and Ivory".
* SelfBackingVocalist: Alissa (and Vicky) since ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind''. Kells did the backing in ''Once Only Imagined'' (and continues to do some at live shows).
* SerialEscalation: The ongoing competition between Alissa's (and now Vicky's) [[MoodWhiplash whiplash]] vocals, the three guitarists' {{Epic Riff}}s and Simon's ludicrously fast drumming. Arguably toned down after peaking with ''Prisoners''.
* SerialKiller: Some of the band's more recent songs like "The Villain", "The Killing I", "A Devil Made Me Do It", and "Burn It All Down" seem to be from the perspective of this trope.
* ShoutOut: "In Vertigo" is an allusion to ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. Possibly also a CallBack to "As Above, So Below".
** "Orphans" pays homage to ''Literature/WeHaveAlwaysLivedInTheCastle'' by Shirley Jackson.
* SignatureMove: Kells and Paco have one: holding down the frets of each others' guitars during instrumental sections.
* SimpleScoreOfSadness: The end of "Business Suits and Combat Boots."
* SingingVoiceDissonance: Mostly averted, but you'd be forgiven if you thought Alissa's Type 2 MetalScream in the epilogue of "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep" were from a guy. Vicky becomes an even bigger offender come the finale of "In Vertigo" as well as sections of "The Gift of Silence" and "Orphans".
* SixthRanger: The two most notable are Pascal (Paco) Jobin, who joined the band in 2010, and Vicky Psarakis who replaced Alissa in 2014.
* SopranoAndGravel: In this case, both provided by the same singer.
** Vicky sometimes leaves the deeper HarshVocals to Kells. They often exchange gravel on live gigs.
* SubduedSection: Both within the context of the album ("Chiaroscuro" for ''Once Only Imagined'', "Swan Lake" for ''Lullabies'', "A Gentle Disease" for ''Eye of Providence'' and "The Raven Eyes"/"The Wake" for ''Five''), and within individual songs (such as "Void of Sympathy," "Chlorpromazine," and several songs on ''Prisoners'' and ''Five'').
* SurvivalMantra: ''We suffer as one. [[TitleDrop As one we survive.]]''
* TakeThat: "The Gift of Silence" and "Dust to Dust" off of ''Orphans'' are likely shots at Alissa White-Gluz, more specifically to her perpetual victimhood and continued, ceaseless attempts to leverage connections to sabotage the band after being fired.
* TechnicianVsPerformer: A mild example: Danny comes up with intricate and technical riffs, to which Paco adds shredding solos. This carries over to live shows, where Danny is generally the most subdued of the three guitarists.
* TextlessAlbumCover: All the main albums bar ''Prisoners'' (though the band's Spotify has even that album playing this trope straight).
* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: “The Moment” is, by the band’s standards, very simple, and is coupled with thoughtful, introspective lyrics.
* TitleTrack: ''Orphans'' is the first album to have one. The closest they got beforehand was two instances of AlbumTitleDrop: "Ideomotor" (''We are all '''prisoners''' of waterfalls'') and "My Witness, Your Victim" (''We will attend the '''eye of providence''''').
* TitledAfterTheSong: Inverted with "The Tempest," which was the original band name.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Alissa and Vicky are two different flavors of this. Alissa's girly streak tends to show in her preference for CostumePorn during photoshoots and live gigs, and continues to do so beyond her Agonist tenure. Vicky, meanwhile, prefers [[TankTopTomboy practical]] getup but shows her own girly streak foremost in having a more feminine singing voice than Alissa, and secondarily in her love for makeup and having long hair.
* TortureCellar: The music video for "My Witness, Your Victim" features one of these, where a GasMaskMook is torturing some poor guy, apparently under orders from [[TheVoice a nearby speaker]].
** DramaticUnmask: The mook then comes to their senses, takes off their mask, [[spoiler:revealing Vicky,]] and smashes the speaker instead.
* TruckDriversGearChange: "Chlorpromazine," where Alissa's growl rises to a shriek after the bridge.
* VillainSong: “The Villain”, naturally. It focuses on a NotSoDifferentRemark (“I’m no villain, I am just like you!”) with a measure of HoistByHisOwnPetard thrown in.
--> The only grave worth lying in...is the one you dig [[MetalScream yourseeeeelf!]]
* VocalEvolution:
** Alissa started out with deep grunts (compare with Angela Gossow's earlier Arch Enemy material) in ''Once Only Imagined''. In ''Lullabies for the Dormant Mind'', she has developed her voice to chameleon-level MetalScream, able to pull off all 4 types within a single song (e.g. "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep"). Since ''Prisoners'' she has stuck to Type 1 with the other types as embellishment, as with her live performances.
** Vicky, pre-Agonist, used to stick to Type 4 in some of her metal covers. In ''Eye of Providence'' she honed her Type 1 soaring on a range as high as Alissa's type 3. Her HarshVocals in ''Five'' are a grimier and more forceful Type 1 with moments of Type 4, particularly in "The Man Who Fell to Earth". As of ''Orphans'' Vicky has mastered Types 2-4 (the last one being her favorite) with less winded high screams and low growls almost outmatching Alissa's, including outright gutturals more comparable to someone like [[Music/{{Abnormality}} Mallika Sundaramurthy]] or [[Music/DespisedIcon Marie-Helene Landry]].
* WalkingDisasterArea: An alarming number of their gigs have coincided with various natural disasters.
-->'''Alissa:''' I feel like as a band we are sync'd with nature in the worst way possible.
** It's possible that Alissa is just TheJinx, given that there have been no notable disasters since she left the band, but on her first tour with Music/ArchEnemy she broke her ribs.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Alissa and the guys do NOT want anything to do with each other anymore.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: "Perpetual Notion".
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: "Born Dead, Buried Alive" sounds like it's about to end on a long, fading guitar chord, [[LastNoteNightmare then cuts back in and plays for another 30 seconds]].
** "Ideomotor". See EpicRocking above.
** The video for "A Gentle Disease" ends after Vicky sings, but the album version continues on with Danny's low arpeggio on the acoustic.
* ZombieApocalypse: "Feast On The Living" evokes this. The music video even features Vicky as a CreepyMortician, with the sheet-covered bodies [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue sitting up one by one]] as she leaves the room.
----