Inner Wound Recordings recently signed Swedish female fronted melodic metal band Metalite to their label. The band’s debut album “Heroes In Time” will be released on October 27th in Europe and North America, and on first listen, it looks as though Inner Wound Recordings have made a tremendous discovery and have thankfully acted quickly in supporting Metalite.
Edwin was kind enough to answer our questions about their debut album and their first single released from it, “Afterlife”.
Many thanks for agreeing to answer our questions!
Thanks to you, it’s a pleasure! 🙂
Your debut album “Heroes in Time”, how did you feel after you heard the finished article, and how was the experience of recording an album for the first time as Metalite?
When I heard the finished songs from the album I was totally stunned! But hey, the songs were mixed and mastered by the guru himself, Jacob Hansen, so what could go wrong! 🙂 Metalite started as a project and we recorded all the songs for about 6 months. A long time but it was worth it of course. Hopefully there will be a new album and maybe the process will be changed in some cases, but overall I´m satisfied with this type of recording process.
Who did you work with in producing “Heroes in Time”? Did they offer a different perspective on some of the tracks?
When the songs were recorded I asked Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Volbeat, Epica etc) in Hansen Studios to help me mix and master my material and he said YES. I knew what kind of sound I wanted to have on my material and Jacob laid his magic hands on it. Of course there was some discussion front and back and of course he was a real helping hand. But overall I had already decided the structures and reasons for the album.
The album also features Fraser Edwards (Ascension) and Jakob Svensson (Wigelius), what was it about them that made you want to work with them, and how did it come about?
When Metalite was in the project phase we needed some shredding guitars for the songs and Emma introduced me to Jakob Svensson who is an excellent guitar player. He recorded solos for a couple of songs. Fraser Edwards was a Metalite fan in the early stage when we got in contact. Because he is a great soloist in the Scottish power metal band Ascension I let him record a bunch of solos for a couple of songs too. It fitted perfect for the Metalite sound.
Are there any personal favourites on “Heroes in Time”, and if so, why those particular tracks?
Of course Afterlife is one of my favorites because of the sound, Metalite’s signature sound. The song has all of the elements Metalite is all about. Great riffs, swirling keyboards, melodies with massive harmonies and all that. The same as the song Nightmare. But I also have a greater favourite, Purpose Of Life which has a deeper meaning for me. The song is about ambition and how people spoil their chance to realise their dreams.
The music video for “Afterlife” is extremely stylish, but what made you choose it as the first single?
Like I said earlier, the sound of this song is like the signature sound for Metalite. It presents the band and the sound in a fairly decent way. To put Metalite on the metal map we needed to release a song that could present us in the best way possible. Afterlife helped us with that!
“Afterlife” has had almost 150,000 views on Youtube, has its popularity surprised you, and has it sunk in yet?
I´m still living in the clouds after the release for about two weeks ago and I could never imagine that it could be so popular. I know that the song is very melodic and the melodies stick in your brain, also it has the energy that will give the viewers positive feelings. It’s very well written and produced. I have worked hard to get it in this way, so in that case I´m not surprised that it has become a hit! 🙂
There was a time when seeing a female fronted rock band was a rarity, but thankfully that situation seems to have improved, but why do you think that is?
I really like that female fronted bands are getting more attention, because I like the sound of a female lead combined with metal. But there´s also a great difference between the female fronted bands since most of the bands are in the symphonic metal genre which Metalite isn’t. Most of the metal fans see the metal genre as a hard, evil, aggressive genre and Metalite together with the other female fronted bands are about to change that view of metal. Metal can be happy, positive and still with a lot of energy. We bring you that sound of music.
What are your next steps for the band?
We want to get out and play live around the globe of course in the near future. Right now we are planning a release party here in Stockholm so we have to get into rehearsals. Of course we want to follow the success with Afterlife and hopefully the success with the whole album ”Heroes In Time”. Maybe we will meet at the festivals in Europe next year 🙂
We certainly hope so! A big thank you to Edwin of Metalite!
Web Links:
Website – http://www.metalite.se/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/metalitemetal
thejunctionuk.wordpress.com 