EMQ’s With Illusions of Grandeur
EMQ’s With Illusions of Grandeur
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with USA Fantasy/ Theatrical Metal band, Illusions of Grandeur. Huge thanks to their frontwoman, Maggie, 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?
We are Illusions of Grandeur, I am the vocalist Maggie “The Siren” Carlton Illusions of Grandeur is a powerful female-fronted metal band based in Los Angeles, CA USA that captivates audiences with their dynamic sound and theatrical performances.
Their performance, “The Siren Saga”, is a story of the journeys, perils, and triumphs of the Siren and her warriors. The story mixes facts and fiction combining Greek and Norse Mythology, Sirens, Gods, Archangels.
For fans of In This Moment, Slipknot, and In Flames.
IOG EPK: https://www.iogmusic.com/epk/
How did you come up with your band name?
The name originated from a time when Maggie “The Siren” was seeking out other musicians to form a band. A lot of the ads said, “No Illusions of Grandeur here” meaning they just wanted to play music, Maggie thought “Why not Illusions of Grandeur?” Life is short, go for what you dream and want!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Illusions of Grandeur is from Hollywood, CA, the scene here is amazing! Band support one another and the venues are just top notch
What can you tell us about your latest release ‘MIDNIGHT25’?
Our new single MIDNIGHT25, it’s for sure an exception in our discography. It’s a song that would not normally exist in the Illusions of Grandeur writing style. So, while in our writing process for our last record “The Siren (2022)”. While CM was in our recording studio, just warming up, Maggie was walking through working on some lyrics, just a basic writing process that we have. CM began playing a “riff” Maggie stopped CM dead in his tracks and said, “Play that again”, it was just a warmup, not actually in our normal tuning of A, but this time in B. It sparked Maggie to start to write and arrange and in about an hour have the bed track for the song “Midnight”.
While the 1st version of “Midnight” appeared on “The Siren” album, as Illusions of Grandeur has been evolving over the past few years and changing our sound, we felt “Midnight” needed to come along on this journey. So, we, with our new producers, decided to update the song and release it as a standalone single MIDNIGHT25.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Illusions of Grandeur’s influences come from many genres; like Korn, In This Monet Metallica, Avatar, evanescence. Each member draws off their individual influences as well which are varied from The Siren influences from Jonathon Davis, Maria Brink, Janis Joplin and Johannes Eckerstrom to CM’s love of John Paul John of Led Zepplin to The Smiths, Supertramp and Soundgarden. IOG feels this just adds to the sound and allows the band to explore a lot of themes in their music.
The idea of Illusions of Grandeur is to create a world and tell the story of “The Siren” and her journeys. IOG’s love of both history and Greek/Norse Mythology felt that this was the best medium way to create a world for “The Siren Saga.”
IOG feels that when listening to music or seeing a live show you should be able to immerse yourself in that moment and take a journey of your own with the band.
What first got you into music?
My father is a musician and I have been going to his rehearsal and singing on stage since age 5.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
That for sure would be Korn or In This Moment, as both are major influences on what Illusions of Grandeur does.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
For sure HELLFEST!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Life is short, go for what you dream and want!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Well, so many but Ronnie James Dio would be the one I would chose
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Fair payment for Streaming services!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Too many to decide that!
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Well Vinyl! But downloading is the quickest and most popular
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
SO many festivals, most recent would be Rockfest! It was amazing
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I couldn’t even imagine that, maybe a fitness instructor, as I spend a lot of time in the gym
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
1. Jonathon Davis
2. P!nk
3. Maria Brink
4. Peter Gabriel
5. Keanu Reeves
What’s next for the band?
2026 will see the release of Illusions of Grandeur’s new EP “The Siren Rises pt2: The Ascension ” which will continue The Siren Saga from the previous albums, taking The Siren further into battle with hades.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IllusionsOG
Band camp: https://illusionsofgrandeur.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iogmusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iogband
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@illusionsog
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.
