Interviews: Ophelia's Eye

We have had the opportunity to interview the Modern Metal band Ophelia's Eye from Switzerland. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Our current name is based on the novel “The Sandman” from E. T. A. Hoffmann.

The story is about the traumatic childhood experience of the student Nathanael which makes its way to the surface through the surprising encounter with the weather glass dealer Coppola. He believes he recognizes the devilish lawyer Coppelius, who is responsible for his father's death. When the beautiful but quiet Olimpia captivates him, he loses himself more and more between delusion and reality.

Olimpia is for us a characterization for the goal we want to achieve with our music:

In the course of the book, Nathaniel's perception of Olimpia changes as he observes her through a pocket lens in her room: "But as he looked sharper and sharper through the glass, it was as if moist moonbeams were rising in Olimpia's eyes. It seemed as if only now the sight was ignited; more and more vividly and vividly the glances flamed." (page 28)

And toward the end of the story, Nathanel is enchanted by Olimpia. He calls her "heavenly-beautiful," admires her every day, and is desperate and driven by longing.

We, too, want to "enflame" the audience, bring them to life and cast a spell over them. Through our songs the listeners should also lose the connection to reality - at least for a while.

To make the name sound rounder, Olimpia is called Ophelia in the band name. 

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

We are not principally fixed on a genre or have once determined that we want to play exactly this genre, but this has developed from what we privately like to listen to and therefore automatically influences the songwriting. All of us listen to different metal genres but there are a few bands we all listen to regularly which have a bigger influence in the songwriting since this bands influence us in it subconsciously.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Marco and Remo know each other since upper school since they grew up in the same village. All others only know each other since they joined the band (Michel: beginning of 2019, Corinne: August 2019, Sandro: August 2020), but the bond is like a family bond regardless the time we know each other.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Corinne: Difficult to say since I listen to so much different genres of metal but if I have to chose I would go for Meshugga since for me everything with this band is just great: they are as tight on stage as they are in their studio productions, deliver a great live show, have complex yet “head-bangable” songs and great sound.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

We all have quite a different taste in Metal which is why we have various influences since most of the time, one of the guitarists has a basic idea for Riffs then we add drums, vocals, and bass. In terms of song structure, riffs, melodies and drive we would say our main influences are As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, and a bit of Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. Regarding sound production Parkway Drive, In Flames and Periphery are our role models. And finally, usually, our lyrics are inspired by our own experiences in our daily lives.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last live gig (so not a streaming one) was in the “Jugendkulturhaus Piccadilly” in Brugg so close to where we live on October 3rd 2020.

7. Where would you like to play?

We have a dream venue which is a goal to play at Z7 in Switzerland – which by the way needs support to find parking lots otherwise this great venue may need to close after 27 years! We are regular visitors of this venue and the sound and people are always great. Also, we only heard good things from bands regarding their backstage, catering, and the whole organization. Regarding festivals our absolute dream would be to play at Wacken, Summer Breeze and Greenfield since we all love those festivals and also know from being regular guests that the crowds are amazing. Of course, we would be happy to play at a small stage for the beginning.

8. Who would you like to support?

All of us have our own idols and absolute favorite bands which is why this differs from person to person but when we would have to chose as a band we would go for Parkway Drive.

9. Who not?

Generally, we are open to play with everyone who fits us musically and genre-like and therefore shares the same crowd as we.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

All of us are a bit nervous before a gig - after all, we want to give the audience our best performance. But a little nervousness is just part of it and also helps to perform great since this gives you a special drive. And as soon as the first song is through, the high comes and we just enjoy the concert. We think the best tip is to always keep in mind that the audience has made a conscious decision to come to see the band and that everyone is just here to have a good time. And once you're on stage: enjoy the moment - it goes by faster than you want and the feeling is just incredible, so enjoy it!

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

For every one of us, the inspiration comes from another band. Michel (vocals) is mostly influenced by old-school hardcore since he grew up with this, Remo (lead guitar) has more melodic influences such as Arch Enemy, Marco (drums) is especially inspired by Eskimo Callboy and Ghostkid, Corinne (rhythm guitar) loves rhythmic bands such as Meshuggah or Goijra even if this not exactly influences our songs and Sandro (bass) loves complex and experimental stuff such as Ice Nine Kills. So there is a lot of different inspiration around in our band and as we develop, probably you will be able to hear a bit more of those different inspirations out of our songs.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

To this point, we have had no weird requests so far.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Our fans are the ones who provide the atmosphere in front of the stage, support us and enable us to realize new projects by contributing to songs, merch, and so on. So a big thanks go out to everyone who has supported us so far!

14. What do you think of our site?

Breathing the Core is a great page to discover bands from all around the world and offers a really great structure and a great overview so definitely a very good site!

15. Something to add?

Thank you for having us and keep on going with Breathing the Core!