Former Arch Enemy and New DragonForce Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz Returns With Blue Medusa's 'Flying Monkey'

Blue Medusa, the new extreme metal project led by former Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, has released the new single and official video “Flying Monkey”.

The track follows the project’s debut release “Checkmate”, which introduced Blue Medusa’s blend of cinematic extreme metal, conceptual storytelling, and psychologically driven lyrical themes.

Rockum previously covered the beginning of the project through Former Arch Enemy Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz Introduces Blue Medusa, A Fierce New Force in Extreme Metal and Alissa White-Gluz Unveils 'Checkmate' with Blue Medusa, Marking a New Chapter Beyond Arch Enemy.

“Flying Monkey” continues expanding Blue Medusa’s layered artistic identity through a combination of aggressive instrumentation, psychological symbolism, and cinematic visual presentation.

According to Alissa White-Gluz, the song was intentionally constructed around hidden meanings, allegorical imagery, and visual symbolism integrated throughout both the lyrics and the accompanying video.

White-Gluz additionally co-directed the video alongside Vicente Cordero and personally created the single artwork through digital painting.

The instrumentation for “Flying Monkey” was composed by guitarist Dani Sophia, who described the song as emerging during a transitional period in her life and inspired by recurring dream imagery and surreal emotional states.

White-Gluz handled the lyrics, vocal melodies, arrangements, and co-production duties, describing the Blue Medusa material as deeply personal and emotionally reflective.

Guitarist Alyssa Day, who previously composed the instrumentation for “Checkmate,” additionally contributed the lead guitar solo for the new single, incorporating more experimental harmonic phrasing and technical passages.

Since its introduction earlier this year, Blue Medusa has quickly developed a recognizable identity built around:

cinematic storytelling
conceptual visual design
emotionally charged lyrical themes
technical musicianship
psychological symbolism
layered extreme metal arrangements

The project combines modern heavy music with theatrical visual presentation while emphasizing detailed world-building and artistic continuity between songs and videos.

LINEUP & CONTRIBUTORS

Alissa White-Gluz — vocals, lyrics, arrangements, co-production, artwork
Dani Sophia — guitar composition
Alyssa Day — guitar solo

Following her long-running international career with Arch Enemy, The Agonist, and multiple collaborations across the metal scene, Alissa White-Gluz continues expanding her creative direction through Blue Medusa, a project that merges extreme metal with more personal and conceptual artistic exploration.

The project additionally arrives during a particularly active period for White-Gluz, who was recently announced as part of the new era of DragonForce while simultaneously developing Blue Medusa as an independent creative platform.

With “Flying Monkey,” Blue Medusa continue establishing a darker and more psychologically layered artistic identity, positioning the project as a cinematic extension of Alissa White-Gluz’s evolving creative direction beyond her previous bands and collaborations.

Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist

Watch the official video for “Flying Monkey” below.