ENERGEMA have released their latest EP Hunter Of Immortals with new vocalist Ryan Thomson at the helm. Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham grabbed a quick chat with Ryan about the EP, his time in the band and mental health.
Hello Ryan, thanks for joining Rock Out Stand Out. So the band name Energema, does it mean anything or is it two words merged together?
I think it has something do with the divine power of creation or something like that.
It’s funny you mention the divine creation and the latest album is about Dracula who some may call a divine creation.
Yes, actually some of the earlier albums before I joined the band was more about the divine creations.
For anybody who hasn’t heard Energema, how would you describe the sound?
It’s very power metal. A lot of fast guitars and high vocals; think bands like DragonForce and Twilight Force.
I was listening to Hunters Of Immortals earlier and I also got Stratovarius, Rhapsody Of Fire. Would you agree?
Yes, we were definitely going for that; especially with the choirs.
Hunters Of Immortals is about Dracula; was the themes and creation decided before you joined the band?
Most of it was done before I joined the band but I did write one of the songs which was Van Helsing.
That was the one that caught me off guard. There are some atmospheric sound effects; did you and the band already have in mind what tracks were going to include those?
Most of it was written last year, it was supposed to be one they did in 2021 but due to COVID and everything, it didn’t go ahead. I joined the band in September 2022.
Were there video gaming influences in this EP? I got from Van Helsing games like Sonic The Hedgehog and the Pokemon games.
I did too, in particular the Castlevania games. I think he might have had some influence from those games.
What was the most challenging track to do? Particularly coming into the band when you did.
The main challenge was the song Dracula itself and maybe Angel Dust as that’s a remake of one of their older tracks. That singer had a higher voice than me so it was quite hard to match. The main worry was wondering if the fans were going to compare me to the previous singer but so far that fans have liked it.
At Rock Out Stand Out, we promote mental health awareness. What’s awareness like in your local area?
To be honest, it’s pretty non-existent. There’s not much support for it.
Is there anything we can do more of as family members, friends, work colleagues so people feel more comfortable reaching out?
I’m not quite sure. For me, it’s one of those things that’s really hard to speak about because you never know what people are going to say about it.
Is there anything you like to do to unwind?
I like to practice my guitar quite a lot while watching movies.
Any particular movies you like to watch?
Lord Of The Rings and Braveheart.
The EP is all about Dracula, do you have a favourite adaptation of Dracula?
Out of the ones I have seen, I would have to say the 1992 version; Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Do you have a message for Energema fans and Rock Out Stand Out readers?
Keep a look out on the fan pages and keep up to date.
Thank you Ryan for joining Rock Out Stand Out and best of luck with album release.
