EMQ’s With ARIA BLAKE
EMQ’s With ARIA BLAKE
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with French Symphonic Metal band, Aria Blake. 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?
Eric : My name is Eric Palumbo and I am the drummer and the composer in this band, which I created years and years ago; the band was finally born in its final shape in 2024. In 2015 (10 years ago!) I wanted to create my own Metal band combining my passion for symphonic Metal, movie soundtracks (especially from Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman) and trailer music (Immediate Music, Two Steps From Hell and Thomas Bergersen). I wrote a ghost story called “The Haunting Of Scarlet Falls”, which was originally planned to be a novel and turned it into a concept album divided into 10 chapters/songs. I composed several songs, then I set out to find musicians. I contacted Vinz, with whom I played in another band I formed called Aember and he agreed to join me. Then I met Tanya on a Symphonic Metal Facebook page, she posted then that she was looking for a band. I sent her my demos and she agreed to join me as well. Willdric Lievin, from the epic Power Metal band Fairyland joined me then after passionate discussions about music on Facebook. At first I hesitated to hire a second guitar player to transcribe as well as possible our music on stage, but in a few months my decision was made up and I contacted Pierrot, whom I knew from a friend in common. After listening to the demos and discovering the whole concept behind this project he agreed to join us. Unfortunately, because of a busy schedule Willdric had to quit the adventure. We decided to continue as a 4-piece band.
Vinz: My name is Vinz and I play bass in ARIA BLAKE. Eric and I have known each other for a long time now. We used to work at the same place and he once told me that he was searching for a bass player for his former Melodic Death metal band Aember. After working together in Aember we had to stop because of Covid… Later he came to me with the ARIA BLAKE project and I really wanted to be part of it! We shared those connections: music and cinema. I’m a really big fan of Hans Zimmer and old Hollywood movie composers … so it was meant to be! 🙂🙂
Pierre: I’m Pierre Deprugney, or Pierrot, and I’m the guitarist of the band! I met Eric during a jam session and when we played all that Blues and Rock stuff together. It was soooo cool and we had a great feeling! Then, Eric asked me to join the band. Even if Symphonic Metal was not in my habits, I really had a good time hearing how Tanya’s sweet & powerful voice married with all those epic orchestras written by Eric. Quickly, I connected with the Big Vinz to write all the guitar and bass riffs of the album! Earlier my Metal was heavy, now, it is freaking Symphonic!
Tanya: My name is Tanya (Tatiana) Stanishich and I’m the singer in ARIA BLAKE. I’m a professional opera singer and voice teacher. In my teenage years I was in a Symphonic Metal band in Canada but then my life went into the direction of Classical music. Around the time I was finishing my second Master’s Opera Studies in Austria, I broke my wrist and had to have it operated. Post-surgery I was pretty miserable and I knew what I was missing in my life – my teenage passion, Symphonic Metal. So I started writing in Facebook Metal communities, looking for a band. I got a few responses, but fell immediately in love with the demos that Eric sent me. It was destiny, to come back to being in a Metal band after all these years!
How did you come up with your band name?
Eric: Aria Blake is the name of the main character of the story we tell in our first album, which we are currently working on and are hoping for it to be released in late 2026.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Eric: Vinz, Pierrot and I live in France. Metal is not promoted by our country as well as in Finland or Germany. You will not be able to watch Metal band videos on TV or listen to Metal bands on radio during the day. So it’s hard for Metal bands to emerge, even if we have the Hellfest festival, and Gojira!
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
So far we released 4 tracks digitally, which are included in our EP “As Night Descends”, released in September 2025. We also just released our first official video “Stabat Mater Dolorosa”. And finally, we are about to release our EP physically, on CDs.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Eric: Nightwish and Hans Zimmer!
Vinz: I’m a big Pantera, Angra and Iron Maiden fan! I also love those old Hollywood music composers like Vince Dicola or Paul Herzogvideo and game composers like Takashi Tateishi or Manami Mastsumae.
Pierre: My idol is the maestro Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. They made me want to play the guitar when I was 15. Then, I discovered SOAD and BFMV, and they also represent a part of my musical culture.
Tanya: While I appreciate music and artists from various genres, my heart is always divided between Metal and Classical music. When it comes to the Metal world, I love Epica, Nightwish and Within Temptation. From Classical music, my favourite composers are Puccini (for example his operas “Madama Butterfly” and “La Bohème”) and Tchaikovsky (his “Eugene Onegin”). If you want to be forced to cry by the most touching music out there, they’re your guys to go to. But there are many more beautiful artists out there that haven’t been mentioned.
What first got you into music?
Eric: Movie soundtracks from Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman. I fell in love with the music of Hans Zimmer as a teenager with his scores for “Days Of Thunder”, “Drop Zone” and above all “The Lion King”. At the same time I fell in love with the beautiful and enchanting music from the “Edward Scissorhands” movie, and that is how I discovered Danny Elfman.
Vinz: Back in the days I was a (noob) keyboard player and was listening to bands like Angra Dream Theater and Iron Maiden; and then I logically switched to playing bass lol.
Pierre: Fun fact: I discovered Metal music by playing Guitar Hero! I was really good at it, but when I saw a friend of mine (RIP) being able to play every song I asked him to (even Dragonforce!), I fell in love! (I mean, not with him but with the guitar, c’mon!)
Tanya: I’ve been singing since I can remember myself. My parents put me in a music school when we were still living in Russia; I was 8 years old at the time. I played many instruments there, was part of orchestras, and sang in various choirs. That’s where I made my first musical discoveries. When I was 16 I was asked to join a Symphonic Metal band, through friends of friends. At that point my family and I already lived in Canada and I had no idea about Symphonic Metal. My former bandmates showed me Nightwish and Within Temptation and I quickly fell in love with this music. Then I started my university education and that’s where I discovered Opera and Classical music.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Eric: We already had the privilege to work with Ambre Vourvahis (Xandria) and Roland Grapow (ex-Helloween, Masterplan) on this debut release. I feel blessed and of course grateful to them for accepting to be featured in our songs! I still can’t believe it. Once and forever, thank you Ambre, thank you Roland!
Vinz: I would love to play our music with the Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France but more realistically speaking, I love playing with everybody!
Pierre: I would definitely love to share the stage with a great orchestra, in order to give our music its real power!
Tanya: Hm, what a hard decision to make! My mind is jumping in very different directions! Perhaps it would be a conductor or a stage director, it would be great to interpret some cool piece.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Eric: Honestly, I would realize my dream to play at Wacken, because this is the festival where every band I love has played.
Vinz: If I had a time machine… I would say Donington Castle. But seriously, Wacken or Hellfest would be awesome.
Pierre: My childhood dream is to play at Hellfest, Wacken or Grasspop stage! Once I’ve done that, I can die in peace.
Tanya: Wacken. And Salzburger Festspiele. 🙂
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Pierre: A 5€ bill from a guy watching me play at a hotel. He put it in my guitar case and told me “If you become famous, it will be only thanks to me”. Now I have to honour his word.
Tanya: A very cute but inconvenient musical tea cup. It’s pretty, has music notes on it, but is very uncomfortable to hold! Haha.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Eric: Thank you! Welcome to our world of dark fairytales, hope you will enjoy the ride!
Vinz: Hope to see a lot of you on the road!
Pierre: I would say that I’m a fan of fans. So we can go far together!
Tanya: THANK YOU ALL! It’s simply fantastic to be making music that other people can enjoy and connect to! It’s really one of the few most special things in the world to us.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Eric: Freddie Mercury.
Vinz: The Abbots Brothers or Steve Lee.
Pierre: Even if I’m not their biggest fan, I would say Kurt Cobain, just to have the chance to see them on stage! And of course The Rev from A7X.
Tanya: Ozzy Osbourne of course! The Father of Metal!
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Eric: I hate nothing about being a musician. I enjoy being myself and sharing my passion with the world, connecting with people I would never meet in another way. The power of music.
Vinz: I think what I like the most is to see composition and production processes turn into vibes when playing live. It is pushing the song sometimes so far, beyond your own expectations! For the part that I hate, I would say the waiting before events like gigs or songs premières… That makes me feel so impatient! 😁
Pierre: For me, playing guitar is like stepping into a bubble, completely disconnecting from the outside world and being in perfect harmony with the instrument, feeling every vibration transcend your body. There’s nothing I hate more than breaking a high E string…
Tanya: Making music, listening to good music are feelings that are hard to describe in words. It’s passion, it’s like love, it’s a purpose for living (if you’re being extra cheesy). But it’s really like that to musicians, without exaggeration. When it comes to the things I hate about being a musician, it’s the people in the music industry that use musicians’ passion for their own profit.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Eric: stopping AI in music composing.
Vinz: A little bit more for everybody in the media. More style of music on the air. Like the GTA Radio…😆😆
Pierre: Punish all those scammers who take money from small bands by promising them the moon and doing absolutely nothing to help them grow.
Tanya: Prioritize talent over connections, money, looks, etc.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Eric: Angra – “Angels Cry”.
Vinz: Pantera- “Vulgar Display of Power”.
Pierre: A7X – “Nightmare”.
Tanya: Epica – “The Phantom Agony”.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
Eric: I will always prefer the physical format, especially CD and Vinyl.
Vinz: MiniDisc! 🤘
Pierre: I prefer downloads haha!
Tanya: I dream of getting a vinyl player and retire listening to my vinyls on it. Haha
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Vinz: With my former band Edensands in Paris.
Pierre: With my first cover band called Blackout!
Tanya: It was an opera performance actually. Playing the role of Anna Maurrant from Kurt Weill’s opera “Street Scene” during my studies at the University of Toronto. It’s something about that role; dying on stage from being shot by your husband as a woman in an abusive and unhappy marriage. What kind of singer doesn’t want to play in a tragedy haha?
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Eric: Writing Dark Fantasy /Horror novels.
Vinz: I love music production.
Pierre: I would continue playing Guitar Hero…
Tanya: I would do something related to languages. I speak 3 languages fluently and can somewhat speak 2 more. I love to notice similarities and differences between languages, sounds, roots of the words, etc.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Vinz: Is it supposed to be a Wednesday evening…?😆
Pierre: Vinz, Eric, Tanya and that’s all, no need for more people!
Tanya: Those that know how to have fun! 🎉
What’s next for the band?
Eric: We are working on recording our debut album “The Haunting Of Scarlet Falls” fully, and hope to release it in late 2026. Until then we hope to finally hit the stages and meet our fans, to share with them our passion for symphonic metal!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Eric: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ariablake_official ), Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ariablakeband , TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@aria.blake.offici , YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AriaBlakeOfficial and Bandcamp https://ariablake.bandcamp.com
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
Eric: Haha, in my opinion it’s a biscuit!
Vinz: What the hell is a biscuit?????
Pierrot: How do you even eat this kind of biscuit?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Vinz: Thank for YOUR time too 🙂
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.
