My Immortal Enemy was founded just early last year in 2019. The band's one year mark is approaching and what better way than celebrating than by releasing the band's debut album titled "Akuma". The band's styling is a mixture of metal and rock, think of acts such as Avenged Sevenfold, AFI, My Chemical Romance or even Beartooth. Frontman and vocalist Steven Juliano who also fronted previous acts I Am Ghost, Requiem, Requiem for the Dead, among others, fronts and vocalizes this band as well. Find out all of the details as to what happened to his past bands and what the plans of this band turn out to be for their one year timing that is now 2020 and the release of their debut album!
1. First things first, is My Immortal Enemy it's own entity not just a name change to the previous bands that came before it Requiem For The Dead/Requiem?
Steve: Yea, it's a completely new monster, although we have members from those previous bands you mentioned. The biggest thing we realized when writing this new album was it was sounding completely different than what we'd had been writing before. This was a much angrier album. Much angrier.
2. What ended up happening to those bands you were in prior?
Steve: Nothing really happened, per say. Requiem for the Dead was never a serious project. We never toured. We just put out music ourselves, like literally recorded everything in our living room and put it out for free. I don't think we sold any music. We just gave it away. We'd play local shows here and there. That was about it. REQUIEM on the other hand was basically a re-carnation of "Requiem for the Dead". More polished I guess, because it had management and agents and a label behind it. We did a few tours with REQUIEM. We put out a full-length CD on Cleopatra Records. It was a fun band. But, we started recording new demos after that CD was out and felt the stuff that we were coming up with, the new stuff that is, was an angry beast and was unlike anything we'd done in the past.
3. How would you say that this band is completely different to Requiem/Requiem For The Dead/I Am Ghost?
Steve: It's the angriest album I've ever written. I mean, you can get down to the nitty-gritty details, and yes, it has similarities with I Am Ghost for sure, but you will always have that cuz my voice is pretty recognizable. I am not saying I'm some great singer, just that my voice is unlike 'most' singers in our genre. So, whatever I do musically always gets compared to I Am Ghost. Doesn't matter what. I could write an all ska album and people would still say; "Dude, sounds a little like I Am Ghost, huh?"
4. Would you say perhaps that this band, whilst being different was aiming to be a "2.0" of those previous bands or for it to stand it's own ground as it's own thing.
Steve: Yea, you can say that. I've been in bands since I was 18 years old and after you do anything for twenty plus years you start to find things you like and don't like... and you stay away from the things you don't like and stay with the things you dig. Basically, I've just learned a lot with all my past experiences writing and recording music. We didn't have a producer on this album. Yes, we tracked it all at a real studio, had a real engineer mix it, but all the songs are 100% us. And I am really proud of that.
5. You went on to release a handful of the tracks as singles but went with "Dangerous" as the main choice for a music video how come?
Steve: I think it was because it was the weirdest song on the album. Ha ha ha. It's the angriest/catchiest song on the album and there is no intro... it just kicks the shit out of you immediately.... and doesn't stop. No soft bridges. No interlude. Just a 3 and a half minute punk rock song. I dig it's simplicity, really.
6. In My Immortal Enemy and the other acts that came before, a female vocal presence is heard throughout but physical member was but is no more, what happened?
Steve: With life, you learn there isn't much you can do but keep adapting to your surroundings, and of course, keep moving forward when things that are out of your control happen. With "the girl" in the band, we finished the album and began gearing up for shows, and it was like, for her: "I am quitting music. I am getting married. I am moving away. Goodbye." and we were like, "Ok?" But, what can you do? We just gotta keep moving forward. She's doing what's best for her. We are doing what's best for the band.
7. What makes you think that My Immortal Enemy will be here to stay and not end up calling it quits as the other bands you were in had done?
Steve: No band is here to stay. Except maybe The Rolling Stones. Sixty plus years is it? No, most bands have a five year cycle. If that. That is just a fact. Some bands get lucky of course and go ten or twenty plus years, but never with the original line up. It's a lot cut and pasting new people to stay together. Will MIE last? I have no idea. But that's not a concern of mine. It never has been with music.
8. With the release of your debut album "Akuma" coming out during the start of this New Year next year, how do you plan on celebrating?
Steve: No rest for the wicked, right? We took off some time for the November/December holidays, but we are all back not in rehearsal. We are hoping to just play as many shows as we can this year.
9. Does the band have any shows and or touring lined up?
Steve: None that are "confirmed". But, stay tuned. Things always change quick.
10. Why go with a band name like My Immortal Enemy, who is the "My" in the namesake.
Steve: We all have a "Immortal Enemy" per say. Anything that can't ever die, so not necessarily a person. It's more like, you know: alcohol. Or drugs. Or depression. "MY" is each person's enemy they have to deal with in life. Everyone got an Immortal Enemy they gotta deal with in their life. Anyone who says they don't is a liar.
For more info on My Immortal Enemy:
www.myimmortalenemy.com
www.facebook.com/myimmortalenemy
www.instagram.com/myimmortalenemy
www.twitter.com/myimmortalenemy
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