It’s been a turbulent twelve months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but progressive metal quintet Exist Immortal have used their time wisely to write and record new music, striving to spread as much positivity as possible. We caught up with vocalist Meyrick De La Fuente ahead of their new EP Act Two: Gold, to discuss the band’s formation and influences, his first musical memory and much more.
Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself and your band.
I’m Meyrick, the singer of Exist Immortal. We are a prog rock/metal band from London UK, currently sitting out the pandemic by writing and recording new music and striving to provide as much positivity as possible.
How did the band form and how long have you been together?
The first idea for the band came about 10 years ago, when it started as a college project for Kurt and David along with some other members that eventually left. It was initially just that however, a college project. I joined a couple of years later and we wrote some music while I was still at uni, then we released our first EP which allowed us to play some shows and start to think this could be a thing we pursue. However, it wasn’t until a few years later we actually started to take it seriously and really settled on the line-up and the general direction of the music – we settled on this final line-up four years ago. Three of us, Kurt, David and myself have been making music together for almost 10 years. Which is crazy.
Can you remember the first time you realised you wanted to make music?
For myself, it was very early on. My grandfather played the piano and as soon as he taught me some basic pieces around the age of six/seven, I was hooked. From then on I’ve always done music in some form and always had a need to perform and be the centre of attention, even when I was at school. I would sing and play piano during my lunch breaks, like the weird musical kid, and take part in any event I could. It goes to also explain how I’ve ended up working as a producer and songwriter when I’m not with the rest of the band! The heavier side of things came a lot later for me, in my teenage years wanting to be edgy and a ‘rocker’.
Who and what are the band’s main influences?
Our influences are quite broad, I really could go on forever with this. Guitar influences such as classic rock bands like Whitesnake and Guns N’ Roses, through to 2000s emo and punk music such as MCR, Saosin, Atreyu, A7X etc. Basically anything that was on Scuzz between 2000 and 2010 has influenced us in some way. We’ve been also hugely inspired and influenced by proggy and djenty bands such as Periphery, TesseracT, BTBAM, Volumes and this trend continues with newer bands such as Plini and Polyphia, continuing to break the boundaries and help us spark new ideas. The curveball influence is our huge collective love of hip-hop and modern trap/pop, which is perhaps the most listened to genre amongst us as individuals. Everything from the deep and dark elements of UK grime and drill, through to the more nonsensical but awesome elements of US trap. All of these influences form our melting pot of inspiration.
What do you aim to achieve as a band?
We want to tour the world, visit all our fans in far flung places, and really refine our creation process to be ever more effortless and flowing. It provides an outlet for us and our personal struggles and we’ve had conversations with fans who truly feel the same way, so we want to build on this.
For those who are yet to see you live, what can they expect from an Exist Immortal show?
High energy and a sense of community and belonging. We want everyone to leave our shows feeling like they have experienced something special.
What’s next for Exist Immortal?
Our first aim is to ride out this pandemic by releasing more new music, then get back on the road as soon as possible and visit all our fans who we have missed performing to and hanging out with these past few months. That, plus even more new music.
Exist Immortal‘s new EP Act Two: Gold is due for release on 19th March 2021 via Seek And Strike.
