Metalite
Bridge Between The Metal Scene And Different Pop Genres

22.05.2021

Sweden’s Metalite are quite typical representatives of a modern generation of musicians who successfully meet expectations of Spotify-era listeners. The band plays quite easy-listening, modern metal music with catchy dance melodies, keyboard arrangements, a powerful female voice and elegant guitar solos. Guitarist Edwin Premberg is responsible for all the creative aspects, he’s a professional computer guy in love with music, so it’s no wonder that Metalite sing so much about “virtual reality” and all this stuff. Powerful and stylish singer Erica Ohlsson delivers this material in the most efficient way possible. She joined the band right after the debut album release saving Metalite after the original singer had left. In March 2021 Metalite released their third studio album, “A Virtual World”, via AFM Records, and we caught up with Edwin to talk about this work, various moments of the band’s history, and general matters of the actual and virtual reality.

This is Metalite’s first interview with Headbanger.ru, so it seems we need to start from the very beginning and go through the band’s history and stuff. As far as I’m concerned Metalite as a band were born of one song called ‘Afterlife’ which had a big impact on YouTube. Could you recall that story? Did you expect that it would result in something bigger while creating and recording that song? Or was your idea to come up with one song and to see what happens? Did you have other songs composed at that same time?

I have always wanted to write my own music and in 2015 I took that step and started to write melodic metal combined with different influences from my former career. The first song I wrote was ”Afterlife” and it took me a couple of weeks until I felt that this song was ready. I tried some different vocalists and finally I met Emma Bensing. She was invited into the studio and we recorded it, it felt very good. I contacted Jacob Hansen whom I didn’t knew at that time. He answered me directly that he wanted to take the challenge to mix and master it for me. When the song was ready I distributed it to various labels. Inner Wound Recordings contacted me asking if I wanted to sign with them and I said, ”of course!”. A record deal with just one song! I got motivated and started to write more music. The rest is history.

What’s the idea of the band? I know that in case of phone apps like Facebook vs Facebook lite, the word “lite” means a simpler and not so “heavy” version. Do you think that Metalite is a metal-lite, a metal band which does not produce a heavy “load on ears” and is easier to listen to?

The idea for me was just to create a melodic metal piece that was mixing my favorite music genres, the 90/00s dance music and melodic metal. The band name Metalite was created by mixing the word ”Elite” that was taken from the ”Leet-language” that often is used in the gaming scene and the just the word Metal. Then, I didn’t think about ”lite” at all. Some of the classic metal people out there maybe think it’s a ”light” product but I’m just doing my thing and the kind of metal that I like the best. Melodic, modern metal with a lot of memorable melodies. My vision was also to create a bridge between the metal scene and different pop genres.

How did you start with music in general? Did you expect that you would have a band, a record label, music videos, shows when you were just headbanging and singing along with records of your favorite bands? Where did you learn playing the guitar and who are your guitar “idols”, so to say?

I started to play the drums when I was about 5-6 years old when I got my first drum kit. The time before I used pens and different bowls, pots and such forms for the kitchen to create the drum kit, haha. I started to learn the guitar at 15 with punkrock bands like Bad Religion, Green Day, The Offspring etc. Very melodic and easy-playing bands. I went on with heavier bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden and such. Later on I joined some cover bands. My vision back in the days was not to be a rockstar and have my own band. My dream then was just to write my own music. I couldn’t even imagine that my music would hit the charts and have millions of views on YouTube etc. It’s crazy how Metalite has developed.

What type of guitars do you like most?

I really love the Ibanez RG guitars, of course, with active pickups. Later on I recorded the latest album with 7-string guitars. I also have great feelings for the ESP M-II and E-II guitars. Both brands are great metal guitars!

How did your meet the members of the first line-up? Could you introduce the guys, especially those, who are still in the band? Was Emma from the professional environment too?

I met Emma at a party cruise here in Stockholm, she was performing at a show on that boat. She’s a professional performer in many different genres. When she left the band I had to find another vocalist that had this kind of voice that matches the Metalite sound and I found Erica at Dinner Rock Show in Stockholm were she was performing a lot of rock oldies together with her crew. This was the perfect match for us! Robert Örnesved (guitar) and I teamed together on a show for about 15-20 years ago when I was invited to play the guitar at a show he had with his former band Castillion. I asked him to join Metalite and he said yes. I met Lea Larsson (drums, ex-Imber) and Robert Majd (bass, Captain Black Beard) on Facebook through some mutual friends when I was searching for the last pieces of the puzzle.

Were you totally sure that the band would continue when the first singer Emma left the band?

I had my idea of this band back in 2015 and after the first single had been released and we’d got a lot of positive feedback there was no chance to leave this band behind! I really wanted to find another singer that would match the group. After 6 months I succeeded in finding Erica. Before we tried out about 4-5 different singers in the studio and the rehearsals.

Did Erica bring anything new to the band and its music? What changed with her joining Metalite?

Erica brought her personality and engagement that the band really needed. Not to mention her fantastic voice that really blew us off the chairs! With her positive attitude it got a lot easier to work in the studio and we recorded the second album ”Biomechanicals” (2019) pretty quickly.

Are you good friends with the other musicians and do you spend some free time together to have fun (maybe in Zoom now)?

We try to meet as much as we can in these times, both on the Internet and IRL. We sometimes need to get together signing albums, fan cards and other merch but now when the summertime stands in front of us there will be more gatherings. It’s really a tough period in life right now when we just cannot get out and play and promote ourselves. We are looking forward to travelling around the globe and meeting our fans and playing our music.

Is Metalite more about being a “professional band” or “having fun”? How important is it having fun to create good music?

It’s a mix between those things. I create my music just because of my interests and my love to this genre. It’s really fun to produce this kind of music. And when you know you are having fun creating you can just go on and on. But you also have to see the ”professional” aspect of this band and always do the things you do in the right way. In a certain order to make everything work and develop. As long as you are happy the product will be fantastic!

Could you name some other songs from “Biomechanicals” and “A Virtual World” that can be compared with your very first hit “Afterlife”, in your opinion?

From the ”Biomechanicals” album it’s ”Far From The Sanctuary” that was a sequel for ”Afterlife”, it turned out very well! ”A Virtual World” I think is kinda harder to compare with ”Afterlife” but maybe ”Talisman” was influenced by ”Afterlife” and ”Far From The Sanctuary”.

How many song ideas did you have for this album? How did you compose and choose the songs?

I think I had about 80 ideas of songs in my archive before we decided to go with these ones. I often start the songs with some great chord progressions and then I add a melody. After that I write the guitar riffs and then lyrics. When the song is in the right key for Erica I start to program keyboards, effects and such. Then, when the pre-demo is ready we decide if it’s a candidate or not.

How did you pick up songs for the singles this time? Do you think they are the best songs?

I wanted the singles to be different from each other. ”Peacekeepers” is a little bit rougher than the former songs, ”Cloud Connected” is a classic Metalite song with all of the Metalite elements included and ”A Virtual World” is our fastest song ever recorded,  a real power metal blast. It was surely perfect as a single too.

Could you explain the cover art of the new album? You have used Erica’s image for the artwork again!

The cover art was influenced by a sci-fi Spielberg movie ”Ready Player One” which is a fantastic film about the way the world could look like in the future. But I also wanted it to be a bridge from the ”Biomechanicals” album to the new one with Erica in front. The Biomechanical warrior that steps into the virtual world. Jan Yrlund at Darkgrove Design realized my idea and it turned out really well! We are so happy about the artwork for ”A Virtual World”.

How could you describe the difference between “A Virtual World” and “Biomechanicals” in terms of music, lyrics and the whole atmosphere?

The ”Biomechanicals” album was a lot darker, both in lyrics and music. I wanted to highlight more positive vibes for this album, especially in these dark times that we’re in right now.

What kind of feedback do you receive? How is it accepted in your home country (Sweden has so many good bands, so I think there’s a big competition)?

We have received a lot of great and positive feedback and we are stunned about how much the songs have been streamed and downloaded but also how many physical albums we have sold. We didn’t expect it to happen! We are so grateful! This genre is really narrow in this country. It’s really hard to get our music played on the national radio, TV etc. We are announced to play at the biggest metal festivals here in Sweden and we are really grateful for that. There isn’t really a competition between the bands, more like we are supporting each other. And that’s a really good thing to do in a country were this kind of music isn’t that big.

I’ve heard that you got a deal with Nine Lives Entertainment. What kind of expectations do you have for the time when it’s possible to play live again?

Yeah, it’s awesome! We have announced a mini-tour in Spain for September. We really hope that we can play these shows. Apart from that, we are planning a EU tour further on but right now, the only thing we can do is to plan.

Do you have a family, children (if you’d like to talk about it, of course) and what they think about your music? Btw, I know that some actors don’t like their children to become professional actors following the parents’ steps. Do you think it makes sense to inspire children to become “metal”?

Every member of the band has a family and some of us have kids. The kids love our music, my kids play and sing the songs all the time and I think I’m inspiring them to do their thing in music. They really like to play different instruments that we have at home etc. I would not have a problem if my kids got into the music industry as long as they do what they love to do.

Many people expect that some certain things in the world will never be the same after the pandemic. Of course, I don’t mean apocalyptic forecast that the mankind will stay home and wear masks even on the beach forever. I rather mean the situation that a part of work and entertainment might be kept online even when the threat is over. As an expert of “virtual world” what do you think? For example, I’ve heard that Live Nation has started to equip clubs with facilities for live streams on a permanent basis, so that bands can play for a real crowd and for a virtual crown at the same time…

There are always good things coming out from the bad ones and that would be such a thing. It would be really great to combine a virtual concert with a real one! I think most of the people want to go to a live concert IRL. But there are also a lot of people that can’t visit live shows, it would be a prefect thing for them. People are longing to go and see their favorite bands live so I don’t think the live scene will die. But of course, there will be a tough time to get into ”normal” again.

What do you do besides music? Has your work suffered due to the pandemic? Do you feel stressed not because of this pause in touring but due to covid restrictions, and where do you find motivation to carry on and feel good?

I’m hanging out with my family and my closest friends, that’s my favorite thing right now. I don’t feel stressed about the covid thing but I feel a bit frustrated not being able to do whatever I want, travel, play shows etc. But it’s the same for all of us, just hang in the there and keep distance.

What do you think are advantages and disadvantages of a “virtual world”, and how should one find a balance between reality and hyper-reality in our crazy times?

We have seen a lot of both in these times. The advantages of the technology, to meet each other despite the restrictions. We can meet in virtual meetings etc. The disadvantages are really the social thing that we need to meet in real life to be 100% satisfied. The real social life is much more needed and people get frustrated and mentally sick of being alone at home. After the pandemic, we all need to balance the tech-meetings and the real social life to get stable. I think we all looking forward to meet IRL without any restrictions and recommendations. It will be great!

Metalite on the Internet: http://www.metalite.se/

Special thanks to Irina Ivanova (AFM Records) for arranging this interview

Lady Boss
April 2021
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