EMQ’s With Esperance 

EMQ’s With Esperance 

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Australian Symphonic Metal band, Esperance. Huge thanks to their guitarist, Nathaniel Lydeamore, 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 Nathaniel Lydeamore. I play guitar in the Australian symphonic metal band Esperance. 

How did you come up with your band name?

Coming up with a band name for us was definitely way harder of a process than you might expect. After a few band meetings, we all went home with the task of bringing a list of 5 or so names back to the next meeting. I lived near a street called Esperance drive and I thought Esperance sounded like a pretty cool word. To my pleasant surprise, everyone liked it. We later found out that there is a small town in Western Australia called Esperance, which is kind of fitting for us being from Australia ourselves. 

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We are from Adelaide in South Australia. There is definitely a strong metal scene here. Most of the local bands are more in the style of Death/Thrash metal so we like to think we have a point of difference being a symphonic/power metal band.

What is your latest release? 

As of this interview, we have released our single ‘Heart’. Available on all the streaming platforms as well as a lyric video on YouTube.

Who have been your greatest influences?

As a guitarist, Alexi Laiho, Steve Vai, Ritchie Blackmore and so many more. As a songwriter/composer perspective, Tuomas Holopainen from Nightwish and Nobuo Uematsu who composed the soundtracks for the classic Final Fantasy series.

What first got you into music?

Definitely my mother. She is a big metal fan, particularly Black Sabbath. Because of her, some of my very first memories in life are hearing all the Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin albums in the back of the car. I still love them to this day.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Guthrie Govan. I think from a pure musicianship perspective, he is the best guitar player in the world. It would be an honour for him to do a feature guitar solo or something along those lines for one of our songs.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Wacken Open Air. Probably the one big dream of mine is to play there one day. So many iconic performances have been there, and it would be cool to share a stage with some of those legendary bands.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I had this guy who wanted me to listen to his band from way back in the day. Gave it to me on a USB drive. Also on that drive were these weird memes and conspiracy theory videos on them. I don’t know why but they seemed adamant that I must see this stuff. Sometimes Adelaide is a weird place.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Thank you for the support and taking the time to listen to us, follow and subscribe to us. Honestly I am so grateful to anyone who supports us.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Hard to choose one. Either Neil Peart or Alexi Laiho. I know Neil was a private kind of guy but he was so intelligent and interesting, it would’ve been cool to have a conversation with him. Alexi is an absolute idol of mine, I always loved the fact that Bodom was a death metal band yet still has so much melody, it always appealed to me. Also his approach to guitar soloing. Very technical yet memorable and melodic. 

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I love all of the purely music side of things, writing, recording, playing live and yes, even practicing scales and learning music theory. The thing I hate most is the necessary evil of networking and putting myself in the public eye. It feels like a contradiction at times because I want as many people as possible to hear our band, yet I value my own privacy.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Ideally, I would like it if I could just focus on music and nothing else but in this day and age, musicians need to be able to do a lot more than just be good at their instruments and write good songs. Whether it be marketing yourself, social media and streaming algorithms etc.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

“Permanent Waves” by Rush. Rush is my favourite band of all time and my favourite album from them changes every week. I think “Permanent Waves” is a good blend of their older prog rock days and their later more approachable style.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

I think Vinyl and CDs for the best listening experience but streams and downloads are good for their convenience. 

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

Before Esperance, I used to play in a Kiss tribute band here in Adelaide believe it or not. Full costume and makeup and everything. We played a local venue in the north of Adelaide and it was the first time a few of my work friends had come along and seen me play live. The place was absolutely at capacity that night and they couldn’t let anymore people in due to fire safety hazards. The place was absolutely packed and the crowd were so into the music. It was so much fun for us to perform for them.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I used to work in the mining industry in Western Australia. I was a Drillers offsider. I would like to think I would’ve made it to become a driller one day. I loved it and the people I worked with but honestly it was never my true passion in life. 

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

1. Neil Peart if he was still with us. Would be the most interesting discussions if you could get him to talk.
2. Georges St-Pierre. He was a former UFC champion and I always admired his discipline and work ethic to be the best he can be. Also seems like a pretty interesting guy away from the sport.
3. Matt Heafy. As well as being a phenomenal musician and has been so successful in multiple aspects of his music career in the modern day. He also seems like a really cool guy.
4. Kimi Raikkonen would be interesting although he probably might not talk.
5. Daniel Ricciardo to make sure we all have a good time.

What’s next for the band?

We have another single to be released in a few months time with another music video and then after that, we will be releasing a full length album for our first physical release at the end of the year. We are very excited for that.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esperance.au?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@esperance6424
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/39DSj8GbolTgTI4L6jBJxa?si=fgQklzpLT-yyk1Dn_xGHgw

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?

In Australia, we’d probably say a bread roll. I’m going to guess it’s definitely not the correct British answer but that’s my best guess.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for the interview. Anyone out there, stay tuned for our releases coming up this year, particularly the album. Thanks again.

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.