Emerald Shine was born from the need of the main composer and songwriter, Leena, to tell fantasy stories via music which would be heavy and atmospheric at the same time. In 2013, she managed to find a bunch of musicians and started the band. Since then, Emerald Shine has developed quite a specific style within the folk metal genre.
During the first years, we were experimenting with different metal & non-metal instruments; it took us quite a while to find the right combination of sounds. Finally, in the end of 2015, we were satisfied with how our music sounded and started our first recording session. A year later, we started making music videos.
There have been lots of personal changes in the line-up. Nowadays, the band consists of six people of quite different age and experience. Some of us have been classically trained on their instruments, some have played in lots of bands before Emeral Shine, some are still members of other bands besides Emerald Shine. But one thing we have in common: the will to keep working hard on our "fantasy metal" and make it sound as fresh, original and varied as possible.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Our music could be described as a combination of tender sounds of the harp, recorders or violin with the raw sound of electric guitars and diverse rhytms of drums, all combined with several vocal styles (male, female, clean, harsh...). We like experimenting with unusual keys and rhythms, playing with different moods and tempos... Our aim is to make the music interesting for the listeners, but also for us. The lyrics are mostly on fantasy themes, that's why I mentioned the term "fantasy metal" in the previous question. Bands influencing our music include Blind Guardian, Eluveitie, Wintersun and many, many more.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
To find out how it sounds when an electric harp is a full-time part of a metal band's line-up! :) Haha, not only that. I believe our music can help them get away from the reality of today's world and bring their minds to fantastic places, where they can meet elves, fairies, and even unicorns - not those pink fluffy ones dancing on rainbows, though! :-D Metalheads should listen to our albums when they want to hear some music with various sound colours, music in which there's always something going on, music they need to think about a bit.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We have so far released a demo EP called Beneath the Stars (January 2016) and a conceptual full-length album Misty Tales (November 2019). Mainly the later one has been well received; it has been so far rated around 8/10 in the reviews and our song Rainy Night, together with its music video, became one of the 12 finalists of the year 2018 in a music video chart on the Czech channel TV Rebel. We have also received some very nice feedback from fans, people from different countries are ordering our new CD and giving us compliments on our music, so we are really very pleased. ^_^
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Yes, we do. We are performing at clubs and festivals, we have also played at a few historical events, which is always very interesting. Recently we have been performing in the Czech Republic and Poland, some shows in Slovakia are now ahead of us. We enjoy playing live, it's usually fun and one meets interesting people, among both musicians and fans. So, we are looking forward to summer open air concerts and all other live activity the future will bring!
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Because we do our best to bring music which is imaginative, unusual, with strong atmosphere. They should know that we are devoted to what we do; we have no problem to travel long distances to perform and we are always ready to answer questions and provide detailed info when a zine needs it. :) And we always do our best to share our energy with the audience, to "charge people's batteries", when we are playing live.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
In the nearest future, we have to find a new bassplayer (our current mate decided to leave the band, unfortunately :( ). In the upcoming months, we are going to play some gigs and continue working on material for a future album. We should also make some more music videos for the songs from Misty Tales. In a bit further future, it would be cool to bring our show to some more countries, so we are gonna work on that!
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can listen to our band on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-uRJ8Nozq_4pYHX1pZax0Q/), Spotify (https://spoti.fi/2DuiSTo) and other online music platforms, you can also check Soundcloud, ReverbNation or the Czech website Bandzone.
To buy our stuff, it's best to contact us on our social media or e-mail emerald.shine.band@gmail.com, we can arrange everything and send you our stuff ourselves. :) All the merchandise that we offer can be found on our Instagram (@emeraldshineband) or Facebook, exactly in this photo album: https://www.facebook.com/1430700767203730/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2191020074505125 The only bad news is, that the EP has been sold out. :( But we still have our new CD, T-shirts, and also hand-drawn T-shirts made by our violinist Clara, so be sure to check it out! :)
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/emeraldshineofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/emeraldshineband/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-uRJ8Nozq_4pYHX1pZax0Q/
April 2019