Arch Enemy addresses Kiko Loureiro’s copyright claim: “Are 3 notes really the same?”

Former Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro recently engaged in a dispute with Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy, accusing them of copying his 2024 track Talking Dreams in their new song, To The Last Breath. Loureiro took to Instagram to share a clip of the two songs side by side, highlighting a similar chord progression and cheekily commenting, “Just helping promote Arch Enemy’s new song… you’re welcome.”

However, Arch Enemy swiftly responded to Loureiro’s claims of copyright infringement by sharing a video on Instagram showcasing a demo version of To The Last Breath from 2022, a full two years before Loureiro released Talking Dreams. The band dismissed the accusation, emphasizing that their creative process involves extensive documentation of demos and iterations, which unequivocally establishes the timeline of their song’s creation.

In a statement from Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott, he addressed the situation directly to Loureiro, stating that any similarities between the songs were purely coincidental and that he had the melody back in 2022. The band also pointed out that musical similarities are bound to occur given the limited number of chord progressions and notes available in music.

While Loureiro has not responded to Arch Enemy’s rebuttal, former Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow, who now manages the band, defended her former bandmates on Loureiro’s post. Gossow commented that she had never heard Loureiro’s song before and questioned the significance of three shared notes, noting that such occurrences are not uncommon in music.

The clash between Arch Enemy and Kiko Loureiro reflects a common issue in the music industry where artists face allegations of plagiarism due to similarities in their work. Notable cases like Ed Sheeran being accused of copying Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On with Thinking Out Loud highlight the complexities of proving originality in music. Sheeran, who used a guitar in court to demonstrate the prevalence of certain chord progressions, expressed his frustration at the accusation and threatened to quit music if found guilty of plagiarism.

In the realm of music creation, where millions of songs exist and artists draw from a finite pool of musical elements, disputes over alleged plagiarism are inevitable. While some disputes, like the one between Arch Enemy and Kiko Loureiro, may invite legal scrutiny, they also underscore the intricate nature of music composition and the challenges artists face in proving the uniqueness of their creations.