EMQ’s with LEADING LIGHT
EMQ’s with LEADING LIGHT
Hi Everyone. Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Gotland, Sweden based Metal band Leading Light! Huge thanks to vocalist/guitarist Rasmus Weström 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?
My name is Rasmus Weström and I’m the lead singer and guitarist in the band. Leading Light was formed in 2012 due to some label issues with our old band, “Inception To Embrace”.
Basically, we had to change our name to continue to release music.
How did you come up with your band name?
My tattoo artist Stefan Börstad came up with the name while I was getting a lighthouse tattoed on my arm. He’s an old sailor and told stories about when he was out at sea and they would shout “Leading Light” whenever they would see the light from a lighthouse. I later suggested the name to the rest of the band and they liked it.
What country are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We’re from Sweden. Sweden have a really good reputation in the metal world with bands like In Flames, Opeth, At The Gates and many many more, so that’s great. The scene here is tricky. We have a lot of people that listens to and appreciates metal, but there aren’t that many places left for us smaller bands to play. We have always tried to reach outside of Sweden with our music. But we love to play in Sweden as well, whenever we get the chance.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single or Video)
Last year we released our second album “Shards Of Broken Reflection” and we released a music video for the song ‘Burn Me’ recently, off of that album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wXImqwGi7E
Who have been your greatest influences?
For me personally, System Of A Down. They made me want to play guitar and sing. We play a lot with the dynamics within or songs. Going from soft to very aggressive sections instantly and that’s very influenced by them.
What first got you into music?
My grandmother gave me an acoustic guitar for my birthday and I didn’t play it for like 1-2 years. Then I heard System Of A Down and that was it.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Cory Brandan from Norma Jean would be awesome!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Wacken! But there are a lot of awesome festivals around the world that we’d love to play!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Hm… We’ve had a lot of people buying us beers during and after shows. That’s pretty great!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
You’re the best and I appreciate that you care about our music!
If you could bring one Metal/Rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Hm… Chester Bennington, he was just awesome.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
We’ve had some people email us, telling their story and telling us that our music helped them during though times. That’s definitely what I enjoy the most. I hate greedy people within the industry, taking advantage of bands. We have experienced that first hand.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
That people would pay musicians for their work more.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
I have to say “Toxicity” by System Of A Down.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
I would love to be a vinyl guy but downloads are just so much easier so, downloads/streaming.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Definitely the Sweden Rock Festival! That was just unreal.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I drew a lot before I started to play music so probably a cartoonist or something.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Serj Tankian, Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, our drummer Simon because he can cook and… Daron Malakian!
What’s next for the band?
We’re working on new music at the moment. We’ll probably release some new singles early next year and then we’ll try to play as many countries as we can!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Mostly Facebook, Instagram and Youtube!
https://www.facebook.com/Leadinglightband/
https://www.instagram.com/leadinglightband/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCof8lOr2xwm4nVkr1jHyAvw
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Haha, I had to google that… But by the looks of it, biscuit?!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for the interview and to everybody that gives a shit about our band!
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