Imminence: Searching For Your Heaven In Hiding
Music can hit you emotionally in many different ways. Whether it is the euphoric high of a wonderful uplifting chorus, a release of tension and stress through a hardcore brutal breakdown or through tears caused by a sombre but beautiful ballad. Three albums in, Swedish band IMMINENCE have grown throughout their journey. Their brand of violin-tinged metalcore has become the perfect way of communicating their battles through mental health struggles that have resonated with fans worldwide. We chat to lead guitarist and backing vocalist Harald Barrett about their latest album Heaven In Hiding and discuss their journey penning songs to the tune of their pain.
“Our art form is an expression of who we are and where we’re going, but more importantly also how we are and what we’ve been through. Music is our escape and a kind of self-therapy. Things that are very hard to talk about in a conversation can more easily be expressed in a song, at least for us. It’s strange when you think about it, how comfortably vulnerable you show yourself in your art form.”
Their breakthrough 2017 album This Is Goodbye gained a lot of attention and while IMMINENCE have moved on from that sound slightly, the bones of their origins are still lying underneath. “Anyone listening through our entire discography would probably be wondering if they’ve only been listening to one band or three. We’ve come to a completely different point compared to where we were at while writing our first album, personally and musically, and I believe that we’ve always been quite good at letting each and every record represent the state of the band during each writing process, again personally and musically. Even though the sound and ways to express our music has differed so much in between the releases, the essence and themes have always been touching on the same topics, so I guess there is part of who we are that will always remain the same no matter what.”
While the themes have stayed very similar throughout their releases, their upcoming third album focuses on the possible light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering. “Heaven In Hiding is in a way a further descent into darkness compared to our previous albums, but with encouragement to finding a secret place of strength or sanctuary within yourself,” states Harald. “Today, we are so impressionable to other people’s ideals and ideas and often tend to apply them to ourselves without recognising who we truly are. Therefore, we want to invite the listener to interpret the album in their own way, find your own meaning and make it your own.”
A big selling point to the music of IMMINENCE is the addition of the violin to their sound. It adds a lot of extra weight to the emotion felt within each track. When gushing about their genius of marrying up the stringed elements to their metal Harald was incredibly grateful and spoke about frontman and violinist Eddie Berg’s playing. “Thank you, I’m really happy to see that people seem to enjoy this element in our music. I guess it’s just as a natural instrument in our band as guitars, bass, drums etc, just that it comes and goes in between Eddie’s vocals. It’s something we can use to really play the leading role in a part, but also something to just add a little touch where it’s needed.”
The band’s music videos for the singles from Heaven In Hiding (Temptation, Heaven In Hiding and Ghost) have been viewed in the millions on YouTube and are short cinematic journeys, beautifully crafted and are fantastic to experience. We asked Harald about the thought process behind their creation. “We write the story concept together with our producer, Pavel Trebukhin. For me, being a musician and not a professional video producer, I can close my eyes, listen to the song and have a visual idea while hearing the track. In the next step, we have to discuss with Pavel how to practically realise these ideas and welcomes his own artistic input in the story concept. The videos represent the theme of the album and the specific song, but are not necessarily related in linear time and place.”
With each track being so personal and there being much effort and thought poured into every moment from the new album, we asked which track(s) meant the most to Harald and why. “Alleviate is a very special song. To me, it captures tragedy and hopefulness in a way I feel is our very own. Apart from that, I’d definitely have to say Heaven In Hiding. It’s a song that is not very genre-specific, the atmosphere and nerve are just perfect for what we’re trying to say, and all in all, I think it’s one of the best songs we’ve ever written!”
Heaven In Hiding is out now via Arising Empire.
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