EMQ’s With Oceans On Fire
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scottish Metalcore band, Oceans On Fire. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Dani Heggie, 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, I’m Dani Heggie and I play guitar for Oceans On Fire! We started in 2016 from the ashes of a band we started as teenagers. Our singer Liam Nisbet and other guitarist Jordan Street and myself started to get the ball rolling in 2019 and over the years have been joined by our drummer Kerr Milne and bassist David Falconer.
How did you come up with your band name?
We took our band name from the Architects song ‘Colony Collapse’, from the line “They say the oceans on fire, say it isn’t true”. We chose this name because Architects are a band that we all have great deal of love and admiration for and that song in particular focuses on themes of environmentalism and mankind’s impact on the Earth, issues we care very deeply about.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from central Scotland and the metal scene here is absolutely brilliant and full of talent! There are countless bands full of great people who are incredibly supportive of fellow bands. It is an incredibly great scene and we feel so lucky to be a part of it!
What is your latest release?
Our latest release is our latest EP ‘TRINITY’, a collection of singles we released since our inception that are tied together as a trilogy of songs/music videos. These singles are called ‘Abandoned’, ‘A Cold, Cold Heart’ and ‘Into The Void’. All three songs deal with the theme of existentialism and what it is to be alive, looking at different aspects of this theme in each song.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Killswitch Engage are a band that have had a profound influence on us from our teens to this very day!
What first got you into music?
Personally, it was hearing bands such as Black Sabbath, Metallica and Green Day for the first time when I was little. I know for the other lads in the band some of the bands that got me into music also did the same for them. Artists that got other members into music also include Dio, Iron Maiden, Linkin Park and Pantera.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
We have all said at some point or another that the dream collaboration would be to work with Howard Jones from Light The Torch to some capacity. It would be a dream come true to have him sing on one of our songs!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
It would likeley be either Download, Bloodstock or Wacken as they are some of the most legendary and iconic metal festivals of all time and it would be more than an honour to be even a small part of that!
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Can’t say we have gotten to the point where we have been receiving gifts from fans yet!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
The support that our band receives, no matter how big or small, means more than you could ever know. Playing music means the world to us and anyone who takes the time to listen to us is making our dreams come true! So thank you from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who considers themselves a fan of Oceans On Fire!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Dio! He is an absolute legend, from Sabbath, to Rainbow, Solo to Heaven and Hell, he was a true rock and metal legend and an amazing man! There are so many legends gone before their time, so if you’ll allow us one more, Dimebag Darrell too, he changed the way metal guitarists played forever!
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
We love the creative process, writing songs, jamming them in the rehearsal space to develop them further and expanding on them further in the recording process!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
That the artists should be looked after far better by those that rely on them for income, such as record labels and streaming services. Far too many music industry giants take a massive pay check while the artists that create the very thing they sell, often get a very small percentage of that revenue.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
The End Of Heartache by Killswitch Engage, it has had a profound effect on many members of the band much like KSE has themselves. Plus there are just so many great tunes on it!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vinyl for sound quality, downloads for convenience!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
That would have to be our ‘TRINITY’ EP Launch show, it was the busiest show we have played so far, everyone was getting involved during the set and made it an absolute blast! We had so much fun and we still talk about what a great night it was regularly!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
This is a question that comes up a lot and we honestly never know how to answer it. We have all studied music or music production, we have all been in bands since a young age, 3 of us work as musicians outside of the band and we are always making or listening to music. It’s practically our whole lives! Sorry if that is a bit of a cop out, but it is 100% true!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Howard Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Hamill, Ozzy Osbourne and Nicko McBrain.
What’s next for the band?
We are currently in the process of recording our next EP, we are about halfway through at this point and really proud of how the songs are coming together! We are also gearing up for some great shows across Scotland in Dundee, Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh as well as other locations that are in the works!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
We tend to use a Link Tree or a link to our website most often as both have links to all our YouTube, social media pages and streaming pages! We are most active on Instagram and Facebook but we also update our Twitter and TikTok as often as possible!
https://www.oceansonfire.com/
https://linktr.ee/oceansonfireuk
https://www.youtube.com/c/oceansonfireuk
https://www.instagram.com/oceansonfireuk/
https://www.facebook.com/oceansonfireuk
https://twitter.com/oceansonfireuk
https://www.tiktok.com/@oceansonfireuk
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
It’s a roll to us!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for having us and if anyone in Scotland is reading this, come to a show and have a mosh with us!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.