ROX Alive: Emetropia reveal their secrets to ROX Alive

Enthralling and entrancing newcomers Emetropia are making waves in the metal scene for good reason too. We wanted to find out all about the band. We got drummer Oscar Heikinnen to tell the juicy details recently…

Let’s start by getting to know Emetropia. Who is in the band?

Emetropia is:
Lisa Wallenberg - Lead vocalist

Liam Strand - Keyboardist, vocalist and main songwriter

Olle Renius - Guitarist and backing vocalist

Oscar Heikkinen - Drummer

When did you form?

We usually say that we started in 2017, since that’s when Lisa joined us on vocals and we changed our name to Emetropia. Olle, Liam and I (Oscar) have played together for longer than that, but the band as it is today formed in 2017.

Were you in bands before?

Lisa sang in A Mace and Astolat, and Liam had a band in high school called Never Forget. Olle and I started our musical journey with Emetropia (or Grayscale as we were called back then).

There have been some lineup changes since you formed ; was it a search for the right chemistry or sound that made you change your line up?

Honestly, it’s never really been about neither chemistry nor sound. Everyone we’ve had in the band have been great people, and played their parts in a way that fits the music. Usually when someone’s told us they want out, it’s simply been about pursuing other priorities in life. With that said; the four members that are still around have kind of always been the “core” of Emetropia. We’ve played on all recordings dating back to our debut EP in 2018, and we’ve always had the most creative input. It’s a bit sad though that we’ve had to say goodbye to so many great musicians through the years.

How are things now? Getting along and being creative?

Things are great at the moment! Since releasing New Dawn—our latest cover of Visions of Atlantis—we’ve been blown away by the response, and have all received a burst of creativity. We’ve kicked into a higher gear and are working hard.

Your debut “Equinox” was very good. You’ve been more into releasing singles and EPs though. Why is that?

Thank you! Releasing singles and EPs is mostly due to the (ever so annoying) lack of time and money. Our songs have many layers that need to fit together, which makes writing the music take a lot of time. For example, the vocals and orchestra need to meld both in regards to melody and rhythm, and the drums can’t overpower the vocals. Our recording process is probably slightly different from many other bands (such as recording drums last for example) but we’re always working on improving our workflow because we’d love to release albums more consistently.

Then again, with the music business being the way it is nowadays, I wouldn’t say that releasing music in smaller batches is necessarily a bad thing either. Our two latest releases, New Dawn and the EP “An Acoustic Endeavor”, came about because we enjoy challenging ourselves. We saw them as an opportunity to improve as producers so that when it’s time for another album, we’ll have the skill set ourselves to save both time and money.

Do you feel the metal scene by you is supportive and vibrant?

Absolutely. There are a few great local venues in Linköping, and the bands from here are not only incredible musicians, they’re also wonderful people. It’s a fun city for both musicians and fans.

What are you up to now? Is there a new album on the cards?

We’re in the studio, working hard on new music. It’s been a long process, with half the songs being written before we even recorded our debut… We’re finally getting there, but I don’t have any details on when we’ll start releasing singles yet. I can however say that the new material is catchier, heavier, faster—and sometimes slower and more intimate—than anything we’ve done previously. We’re excited to share more info soon.

How about live dates?

We currently have one planned show at Palatset in Linköping on September 21, together with Razor Attack and Souls in Custody. It’s a special and exciting show for us because we’re planning on also recording a music video for an upcoming single. I guess this is a good time to share that if someone wants to hear our new music earlier, they should speak to their local promoters because we’ll be playing them live at every opportunity…

What would be your dream gig?

A dream gig for me personally would be playing a big festival like Hellfest, sharing the bill with all my favorite bands such as Opeth and Gojira, and getting to hang around sidestage to watch them perform up close after our own show is done. As for the band, we’d love to someday play with Epica and Amorphis at some nice outdoor venue such as Plovdiv, Red Rocks or Dalhalla.

Is there anything you want to say to your fans?

Thank you all so much for your kind words regarding New Dawn. It was a fun challenge for us and we’re happy to hear that people are enjoying our version. We don’t play many shows and may be a little slow when it comes to releasing music, but we promise that there’ll be new stuff coming in the future. Thank you for continuing to support us!