EMQs with After Infinity

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Finnish Heavy Metaller, After Infinity. Huge thanks to their founder, Zsolt Szilagyi, 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 there! My name is Zsolt Szilagyi. I founded After Infinity as a continuation of my solo career. Before that, I was doing everything alone, from playing all the instruments to production. I wanted to take my music to the next level by getting more talented people involved in the process: musicians, mixing and mastering engineers, artwork designers, a record label, etc. At the same time, I felt a shift in the style of music I was creating: something clicked, and it felt like this was clearly a new chapter worthy of separation from my solo chapter. Oh, and to answer your question, I play the guitar mostly in this project!

How did you come up with your band name?

I wanted a name that sounds futuristic and fresh. I studied mathematics at uni, and infinity has intrigued me for a long time. It’s this weird concept/number that has its own mathematical rules that don’t really fit in with the other numbers: using it in addition, multiplication, etc. comes with weird consequences. And guess what comes after infinity? Just more, bigger infinities! 

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

We come from Helsinki, Finland. Finland has the most metal bands per capita in the world, and when it comes to power metal, we have pioneers such as Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, and Nightwish. It feels like there are more bands than people coming to the shows; it’s hard to get a good crowd. But you have no problem finding other metalheads in your area wherever you live.

What is your latest release? 

At the time of answering this question, we have released our third single, “Everlasting Mark” from our upcoming album “Beyond Eternity”. It features singer Sara Strömmer from Shereign and ex-Fear of Domination, showcasing her emotional range from soft singing to extreme screaming. It’s a catchy heavy metal song.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Dream Theater is my absolute favorite band. I love how they combine complexity and catchiness, and I try to play with that in my music as well. Sonata Arctica and Helloween are worth mentioning from the power metal realm; that’s where I get my power metal influences. Finally, I’m a sucker for some emotional 80s hair metal, and especially my slower songs draw inspiration from the metal ballads of Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, and other bands from that era.

What first got you into music?

My parents sent me to piano classes when I was 6. After a few years, I got tired of it and quit, but I picked up the guitar of my own free will in my teens after getting into the 70s & 80s music my parents used to listen to at home.

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

Dino Jelusic is the most interesting singer to me at the moment. The way he combines that bluesy Coverdale sound with a great vocal technique and modern metal sound is admirable. He also writes great music for his band Jelusick.

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

Well, the biggest and craziest ones, of course! Wacken is a classic choice for a European like me. Also, that 70,000 tons of metal cruise in the Caribbean sounds like a fun party; having a boat full of metalheads for a week should be crazy enough!

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

When we played in China with my other band Dreamtale, we got so many adorable gifts it made me cry! Not sure I would call any of them weird, but the most surprising was probably getting my own band’s CD. It was Dreamtale’s sold-out debut album Beyond Reality, with a thoughtful letter inside. I didn’t have that CD, and it’s really hard to get your hands on it nowadays, so I was very honored by that.

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

Be kind and forgiving to yourself and everyone around you. It will make you happier. Do it for yourself.

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

Randy Rhoads. He left way too young. It makes me sad thinking how many good songs he would’ve recorded, and with better production than the Ozzy albums he did. The guitar scene would be different if he didn’t get on that plane.

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

Playing shows to an enthusiastic crowd and creating music that touches my soul are the most enjoyable parts, obviously. Not everything around it is enjoyable, but it has to be done in order to get to enjoy those good things. I would gladly hand over everything related to the music business and promotion to someone else. Also, having a day job and a music career at the same time is tiring, but it’s really hard to get to a level where you can live off of your music.

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

Remove the businessmen in suits that are there only to profit off of musicians, without bringing any value to the table. Today, that would be the Spotify leadership.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Dream Theater – Metropolis pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. There’s so much good music on that album, coupled with a cool story that makes it a cohesive concept album. Just the right amount of heaviness, softness, and complexity for my taste.

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

Downloads are the most convenient format, but I’m also interested in exploring the vinyl world. I know it’s technically lower quality than a CD, but I can imagine a fully analog album sounding more natural on vinyl, which might be the best way to enjoy some styles of music.

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

It has to be one of our gigs in China with Dreamtale. I guess my first gig there in Beijing in 2024 was special, because I saw for the first time how the audience reacted to us. My latest gig there was in 2025, also in Beijing, and it had some disasters: first, I had a terrible fever; then my in-ear monitors stopped working halfway through the show; and I even snapped a string. But I pushed through, and the audience was on fire.

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

At my day job, I work as a programmer. I build e-commerce websites at work, but I would probably use my free time to develop games. I enjoy playing video games such as The Witcher 3, the Final Fantasy series, and the Pokémon series, for example, and I’ve played around with different game-making software in my teens, so developing my own game would be my next passion after music.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

My spouse of course, then a few close bandmates, my brother, and perhaps someone famous and funny like Jack Black.

What’s next for the band?

We are releasing our sophomore album Beyond Eternity on the 23rd of October, and playing our very first show ever on the 6th of November at Lepakkomies, Helsinki. Depending on the reception of that show, we’ll start booking more shows. The third album has already been written, and the songs have been demoed, so at some point we will start recording those.

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

Website: https://after-infinity.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterinfinityofficial/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afterinfinityofficial/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AfterInfinityOfficial/

Merch: https://unomas.fi/afterinfinity

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

I feel like I shouldn’t answer this question before visiting the UK. It’s been on my bucket list for a long time; there’s so much rock history in that country! But I’d call it a bun.

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

I’ve said enough. If some reader actually got this far, congratulations on your exceptional attention span, and thank you for taking an interest in our humble band!

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