AN INTERVIEW WITH FEELS LIKE HEAVEN

2-23-26

1. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

My name is Emanuel and I do vocals for the band. 

2. For readers who may not be familiar with you, would you be so kind as to provide a quick snapshot of the band—where you’re from, how you’d characterize your sound, any of the essentials folks should know?

We are a hardcore band from Stockholm, Sweden. We have been playing for a few years but recently released an LP on Scheme Records. I have heard people call us melodic hardcore and compare us to the revolution summer sound, but I’d like to argue that we are just a hardcore band no matter what we sound like.

3. Can you tell us a little about the band’s origin story—how you came together as a unit, when you formed, why you wanted to go in this sonic direction?

It started off with me writing a few songs in my living room and then inviting some of my best friends to practice them back in 2022 or 2021. The sound really just came from me jamming out on my guitar, it’s what came naturally. I’m generally very drawn to melodies and so are the other guys in the band.

4. What about your personal hardcore origin story? What attracted you to the genre and made you not just love the music but feel like you had to make it yourself? 

I have been listening to punk and metal since I was a kid but when I found bands like The Misfits and Suicidal Tendencies it made me realize there was more to it and I started doing research and found out about the hardcore scene. I’ve been in the scene since I was very young and it still is the most important aspect of my life. I need to play music, it’s as simple as that.

5. How did you guys settle on the band name? I’m always intrigued by how bands arrive at what they’ll call themselves and what the name’s significance is.

Me and Jens (guitar) had the name as an idea for another project that never came to fruition. When we started this band the name really clicked with the sound and we decided that it would be of better use here. The name could mean a million things but for me right now it means playing music with my best friends.

6. Your first LP Within Dreams dropped last month. What’s the reception been like so far?

It’s been very interesting, we had no expectations at all since we are a very small band with no social media and a short history of shows but the album seems to have reached people who really enjoy it. We were recently on tour with our other band Speedway and people came up to us a lot to talk about the FLH album and it truly means a lot.

7. What was the writing and recording process for the record like? What themes do you explore on the album? What can listeners who haven’t heard it yet expect?

The album was written over quite some time, some songs are 4-5 years old. We really like to take our time with this band to truly make sure we are happy with the product. 

For me personally an overall theme of the album is the loss of my grandfather who was a big part of my life. He was a big inspiration to me in life in general and for sure influenced the album. Of course the ups and downs of life take on a big role in the album, but I like to let the listener build their own interpretation and associations with our songs. As soon as a song is released it is out of our hands and now belongs to the listener.

8. Will you be doing any touring in support of the record?

Yeah, we are currently booking a summer Europe tour together with Speedway. We also have a bunch of one off shows during the year and we are also planning more tours further down the road. We will for sure try to make it over to the States eventually but no concrete plans currently.

9. Who are some other bands in the scene we should be paying attention to?

There are so many good bands at the moment which makes it hard to narrow it down. But seeing Combust play for the past few weeks has made me sure that they are one of the best bands out there right now. I also think people should check out Compete from Vienna and Blood Will Tell from Stockholm who will release a demo soon.

10. Last question: For Americans, we usually frame the following as the “Mount Rushmore of…” but that doesn’t always translate. The Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth) does. Who do you think are the Big Four of Swedish Hardcore? 

That’s a tough one. It could change tomorrow, but today I’d say my personal big four is:

Hårda Tider

Anti Cimex

Shield

All of my friends’ bands