EMQ’s with THE HOPE BURDEN
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Oxfordshire, UK Post-Metal band, The Hope Burden. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
We are The Hope Burden. We play atmospheric post-metal, combining ambient passages with the heaviness of hardcore and some black metal influence. We started about 4 years ago as an instrumental band but a year later we added Josh on vocals
How did you come up with your band name?
We threw a lot of names around but eventually our drummer came up with The Hope Burden and it just stuck.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We are from all over Oxfordshire in the UK. We have all been in separate metal bands and came together from those connections. The Oxford scene is quite small in terms of metal and heavier bands although we do have some good promoters and venues (although as with many places, the small venues are increasingly at risk).
Talking about the Oxford scene more generally, it probably punches above its weight.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We have a new single ‘Lamentation’ out on April 17th on all good streaming services.
Who have been your greatest influences?
We take a lot of different influences from across the board, including Devil Sold His Soul, ISIS, Rosetta, The Elijah, Deafheaven, Converge.
What first got you into music?
I think having groups of likeminded friends that all get into music at the same time encourages people to take up instruments/get into music more deeply.
Going to shows at a young age, meeting people and seeing inspiring bands all helps to create the next generation of musicians.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Our friends in Grief Ritual from Cheltenham would be amazing to collaborate with. Or Ghosts in the Photographs from Oxford would be great – they’re an instrumental band with similar ambient leanings and so that could work well.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
ArcTanGent would be great to play just because it’s the kind of festival where we would fit in really well. There’s always a huge number of bands that we all like playing each year.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I think a highlight is Josh being recognised in his local Lush (how rock and roll) but we’ve never received anything from fans.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Please listen to our new single, out on 17th April!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I’m sure we all have different answers individually, but Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson have both come up!
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
We love playing live and getting a connection with the crowd no matter if there’s 10 or 200 people as long as one of them likes us then that’s a job well done.
One thing we hate is the waiting around before the show, we just want to see bands play!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
In some cases, the prevailing trends can lead to bands sounding really similar rather than concentrating on something more unique.
Attendance at small shows can sometimes be underwhelming which is a real shame.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
I’m not sure the whole band could agree on a favourite album. Mastodon have never released anything that isn’t good.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
We’re not sure there is a single best format. Downloading is most convenient, vinyl is great for the large format artwork and for the collectability, but I still buy CD’s!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Bloodstock festival in 2019 was easily the most exciting gig. We probably didn’t play the best on account of the nerves but having such a huge crowd was a massive achievement for us.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well none of us are musicians by trade, we all have day jobs. I imagine we would all still be involved in music in some form, going to gigs if we weren’t playing.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Corey Taylor, Shania Twain, Stephen Fry, Joe Exotic, Morgan Freeman
What’s next for the band?
With the new single we plan to eventually hit the live circuit once the corona virus situation has cleared up.
We have more music in the works and hope to release something else by the end of the year, complete with a video.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
This link takes you to everything The Hope Burden:
www.linktr.ee/thehopeburden
Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Clue’s in the name, they’re a cake. Too soft to be a biscuit!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
