EMQ’s with ARYEM
Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview, with Mexico City based, Symphonic Metal band Aryem. 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?
Hi! We’re Aryem, a symphonic metal band with Karen M-Dozza on vocals, Diego Heero Maaginen as composer and bassist, Javier Días on guitars and backing vocals and Luis A. Echegollen on drums!
The band was formed in 2012, though the current line-up was finally consolidated in 2019. We released the album “DANGEROUS PARADISE” on March 21st, 2020. We’ve played various online festivals with a few bands like Jinjer and Nervosa, and thankfully the popularity of our album in Aryem’s fan community had, as a result, the release of an extended version of the record, including the orchestral versions of the songs, on November 13th, 2020.
How did you come up with your band name?
Aryem is a combination of the words for “Spirit” and “Soul” in Latin because our music explores the avatars of human existence. We stand for unhinged passion and visceral raw emotions in music. We think it was a natural choice for a name.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We’re from Mexico, Mexico City. The metal scene here is awesome for us, because there are so many kinds of bands and styles that we’ve had a chance to listen to or play with. We really enjoy the metal scene here.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We released our debut album “Dangerous Paradise” on March 21st, 2020, and our latest release is ‘REBORN’ the first single of the upcoming album “The Bird’s Assembly”.
‘Reborn’ (Official Video)
Who have been your greatest influences?
We all have very different backgrounds, though we share a mutual love for metal and especially Symphonic Metal (i.e. Nightwish, Epica, Kamelot, etc.). But composing wise, our greatest influences have to be the Greek composer Yanni, the amazing film composers John Williams and Danny Elfman, along with the greats from music history like Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, Stravinsky, amongst others.
What first got you into music?
Love for the emotions it causes. Music is a wonderful medium to express what you feel, what you think… we were all collectively captivated by it, and it went on from there. The desire to be able to express such things in sound and share said passion with an audience in one of the most honest and expressive styles there is…Metal.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
If this was a letter to Santa Claus, hands down it’d have to be Yanni, along with bands such as Nightwish, Epica, Skillet, Ensiferum, Mago de Oz…we really look up to them.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Resurrection Fest, Wacken, Domination… Those are festivals we’ve visited in our younger years and were astounded by the experience. We would love to be able to perform in them, and give the same emotions to the audience that we got as teens!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Besides underwear on stage with a phone number on it? Hahahaha…probably that one time we were gifted crickets. Literally a small Tupper full of crickets.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
We are honoured that you share our passion for Aryem’s music! And literally, we wouldn’t be able to do ANY of the things we do without you. YOU represent everything Aryem stands for, and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of such a beautiful community as the one you’ve all created around us. It’s amazing, and we can’t wait for all the new adventures that lie in store for us…together!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Freddie Mercury or Alexi Laiho, no questions asked.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The connection with the audience, hands down. It’s wonderful…and the emotion of performing music is beyond anything we’ve ever felt before.
What do we hate? Maybe the fact that in Mexico, there is a kind of stigma around being a musician. It’s not taken as a real job or career, something we’ve struggled with in society and even from a few family members…It can be tough sometimes.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
To give more chances to upcoming bands. There are some AMAZING talents out there that deserve a shot.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Live At The Acropolis” by Yanni, “Once” by Nightwish or “Design Your Universe” by Epica. It depends on which of us answers, hahaha.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Anything as long as it’s not pirated!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Two, Funnily enough, the first one is of the smaller ones. The first time we performed with Karen we did so at a small club, and she just brought the heat! We had never felt like that performing with other singers and it was an AMAZING feeling for us.
The second one, we recently went to a place called Rio Verde in a state called San Luis Potosi. That’s the first time we’ve played since the Pandemic begun, and we were thankful to be back on stage with a live audience after a year and a half of lockdown.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
We can’t imagine doing literally anything else. Maybe acting, but that’s a huge maybe. We’re terrible actors (And we still have the guts to act on our music videos…go figure…)
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Yanni, James Hetfield, Tuomas Holopainen, Simone Simons and Floor Jansen.
What’s next for the band?
On October 8th, 2021, we’re releasing our second album “The Bird’s Assembly”! It’s inspired by the Persian poem “The Conference of the Birds” by Attar of Nishapur (1177 AD). The record is an intense and explosive experience into the true nature of humanity’s soul. Unhinged passion, visceral raw emotions and intensity roam free in every corner of this album.
To make this album… we had to go through some dark places… and we did and faced things we never thought we’d ever encounter. And now, it’s ready to come to the light.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
You can find us in Spotify, Amazon, Apple music, i-Tunes, the whole thing! But we do encourage you to come join the Aryem Family in our socials, we’re always connecting with the tribe and having a blast on the comments (There’s also some special music exclusive to each platform)!
www.facebook.com/aryemband
www.instagram.com/aryemmetal
www.open.spotify.com/artist/0LiR5Xmjnk2veqhjCZ8sMZ
www.youtube.com/channel/UCJtUmRoy__0Zx3RvT4o8yFg
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
They are a biscuit sized cake 😉 Or a cake sized biscuit if you’re 50 cm tall!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you, Ever Metal, for having us! It’s been a lot of fun answering your questions! And hey, if you’re reading this and have never heard of us before, come join the party! If you like our music, you can join the Aryem family (Which is full of amazing folks!) and you can share it with your friends! If you hate our music, you can send it to your worst enemy and ruin his day! It’s a win win, ain’t it?
No but, seriously, thank you so much, and we can’t wait to connect with you on our socials!!!
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.