EMQs with OPENSIGHT
EMQs with OPENSIGHT
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with UK-based Heavy Rock/ Metal band, OPENSIGHT. 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?
We are Opensight, a London-based heavy rock and metal band with a vintage film music edge. Imagine a band that could score a Hardboiled 70s crime film like Dirty Harry, a 60s smoky Italian thriller, or a vintage horror film. We grew up obsessed with heavy music, but we were just as obsessed with cult cinema, old scores, grainy VHS visuals, and vintage videogame soundtracks, so all of that has always lived together in the same universe.
The current lineup came together through London’s metal scene over time. It wasn’t a “school friends start a band” story, more a slow convergence. Once we got together, it felt oddly familiar, like it had been on the cards for longer than we’d admit.
How did you come up with your band name?
A long time ago we had name ideas with “Dark” and “Side” in them. Over time those words flipped into “Open” and “Sight,” and “Opensight” stayed because it sounded right and gave us room to move. It didn’t pin us to a specific genre or image.
The cinematic connection came later, which is funny, because the name now feels perfect for the visual side of what we do. We also like to explore the meanings of “Opensight”. It can mean clarity of vision, a vision beyond the evident, being open-minded, and that sensation of music triggering vivid images and strange mental scenes or hallucinations. Those ideas run through our new album The Outfit, where “open sight” becomes a recurring metaphor.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
The band had its initial sparks in Colombia, where it functioned for a while. The band is currently based in London, UK, and most of the lineup is local. London is remarkable and inspiring with many bands and many shows happening, so it is a tough place because of the amount of things happening, but at the same time very healthy if you’re passionate. Strong communities like the London Metal coalition are helping grassroots bands grow faster and collaborate with each other.
The earliest sparks of Opensight happened in Colombia, where the project existed for a while. Today we’re based in London, UK, and most of the lineup is local, with an international thread still running through the band.
London is remarkable and inspiring with many bands and many shows happening, so it is a tough place in a way and at the same time very healthy if you’re passionate. Communities like the London Metal Coalition help keep grassroots bands connected, and that kind of network makes a real difference.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our new album “The Outfit is” out 15 May 2026 via Inertial Music, with Season of Mist distributing in North America. The first single and video, ‘In Plain Sight,’ dropped 13 March 2026, with more singles to follow before the album lands.
“The Outfit” is where we pushed further into our darker, more dramatic instincts: more ’70s crime-film tension, more Spaghetti Western vibes, more vintage-horror haze. The arrangements are bolder, the melodies stick harder, the atmosphere is more enigmatic, and the emotional swings are more extreme. It’s a clear step forward from Mondo Fiction, in the same way Mondo Fiction was a step forward from Ulterior Motives.
Who have been your greatest influences?
When writing a song, a lot of our initial ideas come from outside rock completely: cult film music, grindhouse themes, old videogame soundtracks, and specific atmospheres we want to capture. Then those ideas get translated through a band like us, players who grew up on hard rock and heavy metal, so it comes out loud, melodic, and heavy.
So yes, film composers like Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, John Barry, and Bernard Herrmann sit in our DNA alongside heavy artists like Faith No More, Opeth, Devin Townsend, and Iron Maiden. All of it is soaked in the aesthetics of Italian giallo, Euro-crime, ’70s thrillers, Spaghetti Westerns, vintage horror, and a bit of vintage videogame ambience. We love blending heavy rock and metal with the tension, suspense, and melodrama of grindhouse and cult film.
What first got you into music?
It feels natural. I think music was always there in a way. Classic Rock bands played around the house and eventually you have an emotional response and want to start playing. We grew up obsessed with heavy music, but we were equally entranced by movies, television, magazines, videogames and so on. We were always absorbing culture through movies, magazines, television, videogames, and that all fed back into music. For us it was never “music over here, and everything else over there.” It was always one world.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Tough question. Mike Patton comes to mind, who famously has been part of many many collabs and a similar inclination towards everything cinema related. A huge amount of respect for Devin Townsend and Mikael from Opeth which would be a dream to do something with. I would love to have someone like Marck from Carpenter Brut orchestrating a song like he did with Ghost’s Danse Macabre. Same with vintage Italian composers, someone like Fabio Frizzi scoring one of our tracks would be awesome. And not sure how feasible, but Edda Dell’Orso singing on one of our tracks would be a mesmerizing dream come true.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Z! Live in Spain was a massive highlight for us last year. We shared the bill with bands like Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Vola, Exodus, and our drummer Redd got to join Sepultura onstage for “Kaiowas” during their tribal jam, which was a genuine honour. Next up we’re heading to Taunus Fest in Germany in late March.
From there, there are quite a few: Hellfest always has an awesome lineup, Wacken is legendary, and the UK has an awesome circuit too, Bloodstock, Download, Hammerdown, Breaking Bands, Steelhouse, and more. There’s a lot of ground we want to cover.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
The strangest was not a gift, it was a moment. After I got electrocuted on stage in South America and ended up bleeding from the mouth, a drunk guy thought it was stage blood and smeared it on his face like war paint.
It was surreal, slightly horrifying, and oddly dramatic.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
We feel very grateful. When someone connects with the music and responds emotionally, it feels like a very strong connection. And live shows make that even stronger, because it feels entrancing, like the audience and the band are in sync. Keep your eyes open. We’ve got a lot coming, and we’re genuinely excited about what we’re unveiling next.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
There are a lot of them. I would have loved to see some musicians that are sadly not with us anymore play live: Ronnie James Dio, Darrell, Chuck Schuldiner. I was really fortunate to have seen Ennio Morricone conducting live and it was a breathtaking experience. He is the ultimate rock star if you ask me and I would bring him back. Although all of those influential artists are immortal in a way. Their music will live on…
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The meditative state of writing when time stops and your eyes become distant. Then the contrast of the live show, sweat, volume, and those rare moments when time disappears again because the room is completely captured.
I don’t think there is anything to hate. Whatever makes the music experience painful is probably an interference from outside: All the clerical work and admin you have to do in order to get the music out and play live, but that’s how it is.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Obviously dreaming here, but I would say that going after something like the Hollywood golden age of the 70s on steroids would be great. Where companies and investors in general with an eye for vision and talent would invest in projects and allow the artist to follow their vision with minimal interference.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Choosing one is pretty difficult. Besides the usual classics of the Maidens, Metallicas and so on perhaps I would say the eclectic spirit of Pepe Deluxe’s Queen of the Wave was pretty influential for Opensight.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
With vinyl you tend to do the immersive ritual of sitting down and delve into the music completely. Looking at the artwork and reading the liner notes while the music plays is the best way to experience recorded music, and I love to immerse myself in the imagery. But we grew up with CDs and I am constantly listening to music everywhere so streaming also counts. However, we love anything that treats an album like a complete experience, not just background, and vinyl is great for that.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Z! Live Festival in Spain stands out, big stage, big lineup, and a real step up. Also our drummer joining Sepultura onstage for “Kaiowas” was an honour and a dream come true.
But some of the most intense shows are the smaller ones, when you feel the crowd inches away and the atmosphere turns electric. There are moments when you play when time stops and your eyes become distant, and it can happen in both intimate stages and big ones…
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I don’t know. B-Movie producer? I would probably be involved in something more visual if it wasn’t music. I am involved in all the visual aspects of the bands with the videos, illustrations, logos and so on, so I reckon I would be doing something like that more fully if I wasn’t playing.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I would resurrect Ennio Morricone and bring John Carpenter, Mike Patton, David Cronenberg… maybe Tarantino but he’d probably talk over everyone else. The other dinner party I’d like would be Steve Harris and bring all the directors from the films that Maiden have referenced in their songs to discuss those specific movies (all the ones who have passed would join us via a clairvoyant or medium): Joel Schumacher to talk about the movie Falling Down which inspired Maiden’s Man on the Edge, Christopher Lee to discuss The Wickerman, Ridley Scott to chat about Blade Runner and its influence on Somewhere in Time and Clint Eastwood to discuss his memories while filming Where Eagles Dare.
What’s next for the band?
Keep an eye on our live dates. We will be out of the UK but will be back after playing Germany in late March. Following the first single and video for ‘In Plain Sight’, there will be more songs revealed in due time with the proper gritty videos and noir style visuals to match. Our new album “The Outfit” will be released on 15 May on Digital, CD and a gorgeous red vinyl. We’re treating the album as a whole world, so expect more story, more imagery, and more to uncover as we roll it out.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Website: https://www.opensightband.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opensightband
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@opensightband
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@opensightband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/opensightmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4nuByHPiaXckms2WRkAYTX
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?
We actually had a full band discussion about this one. It seems it depends entirely on where you’re from, but bap/bun/roll seem to be the safest answer without stirring too much controversy. It’s definitely not a tea cake (that’s usually sweet), and muffin is its own category. A cob is technically a larger round loaf.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks a lot for the questions! “The Outfit” is our most focused and immersive record yet. If heavy music with melody, suspense and a vintage hardboiled 70s film atmosphere sounds like your thing… join us!
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