EMISSARY is a finish heavy metal band from Helsinki, that released their self-titled debut EP in mid-May, an amazing heavy metal gem made up of six amazing songs.
The success has been so great that in just a few weeks they sold out the first edition of the EP in cassette format, made up of 125 copies.
Its sound is surprising because it combines the very particular strength and crudeness of bands made up of three members, but it also offers great melodic passages that highlight its great compositional power.
Listening to EMISSARY is witnessing the birth of a group with enormous potential to lead the Finnish heavy scene, a scene that is slowly beginning to produce more bands in the genre.
Due to the great debut they have had, we contacted Iiro, bassist and vocalist of the group, who tells us about the birth of EMISSARY and the story of how they almost died while recording their debut EP.
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Interview with EMISSARY’s Iiro about his self-titled debut EP
HeavyRiff: How did you get to meet each other and decide to create EMISSARY?
Iiro: Me and Dimi are long-time friends and we’ve been talking about having a band from the get-go.
Pretty soon after I moved to Helsinki in 2017, we started jamming together under a project name »Banisher».
We realized shortly that we’d need a drummer to unleash the full potential of our ideas and vision.
In October 2019, we ran into our mutual friend Joel while seeing Cirith Ungol in Helsinki and everything just clicked right from the beginning when we had a chat about possibly joining forces.
After the first jam session together, Joel was already part of the Emissary bridge crew.
HeavyRiff: Why did you choose to name the band EMISSARY?
Iiro: We are huge Star Trek fans and the band name EMISSARY actually originates from two Star Trek episodes (great episode from TNG season 2 and DS9 pilot episode to be exact).
I find very interesting all the vibe and concept around EMISSARY, is there some kind of story that you are trying to develop through your music?
While visiting this planet, our mission is to provide visions assembled throughout galaxies and different timelines.
These apparitions are only broadcasted to individuals that are synchronized to a series of heavy frequencies used in the transmission process.
Stories will continue writing themselves as galactic forces interweave.
HeavyRiff: When did you start working on the songs of the EP and how was your composition process?
Iiro: We started writing songs immediately. After a riff had been introduced at rehearsal, we just basically jammed it out and the songs began to take shape.
Almost all vocals were composed during the recording sessions, though.
HeavyRiff: Where did you record these songs and how was the experience, was it easier or harder than you thought?
Iiro: Songs were recorded in two separate places. The first being our old rehearsal space, simply known as “the cabin”.
I swear, one time we must have had carbon monoxide poisoning, the ventilation was absolutely horrendous there.
The second location was Joel’s family cottage in the woods. It was a completely contrary experience recording there. We had a great time there!
The only challenge in recording the songs was that our initial idea was to just record a demo over the weekend.
Although our sound engineer Anselmi (Ahopalo) was hell bent on recording an EP to do our songs justice.
In the end, I’m happy that he was vocal about it and convinced us otherwise.
HeavyRiff: Why did you decide to release a cassette version and how many copies are available?
Iiro: We decided to go with a first run of 125 cassettes and they are sold out already.
We went with cassettes since we could get them out pretty fast compared to vinyl.
HeavyRiff: Where did you take the pictures for this album? They look really great!
Iiro: Thank you! All the pictures were taken in a Japanese garden in Eastern Helsinki.
It’s a beautiful, almost outworldly place, so it was a natural spot for us to beam down.
HeavyRiff: I find your sound very peculiar, especially the guitar sound. Were you looking for some specific sound since the beginning or this happened naturally?
Iiro: We were looking for a raw and unhinged guitar sound. This principle also applied to the general soundscape overall.
Having ridiculously loud tube amplifiers certainly helped the cause.
We must have scared off the wildlife from a 10 kilometer radius while we were recording guitars at the cottage.
HeavyRiff: Keeping in mind the band was created back in 2019, have you already had the chance to play live?
Iiro: Unfortunately not, but we are on standby to land on any location given and deliver a great show. Can’t wait to play our songs live!
HeavyRiff: You are getting a great response from fans. Are you surprised by this great success?
Iiro: I can’t even express how happy we are with the response from fans. Thanks for all the support!
In all honesty I can’t say we are altogether surprised by this since we knew that we were doing something exciting and deviating from trends and we were very confident with our songs from the beginning.
HeavyRiff: Due to this great response, are you planning to release a full-length album soon?
Iiro: A full-length album is coming soon, yes! We are planning on starting the recordings this year.
HeavyRiff: Now that your EP has seen the light, what are your next steps?
Iiro: Next steps are taking over stages in Finland and Europe and working hard on our upcoming full-length.
One might also find the EP available in other formats than cassette pretty soon.
HeavyRiff: Thank you very much for your time. Do you have any final words for all the readers?
Iiro: First and foremost, I want to thank all the people who have supported us!
See you in basements, bars and festivals hopefully very soon. Live long and prosper.