Up and coming Connecticut band Eternal Wake has been making some waves in the Oxford scene with their newest release "Buried" (Feat. Kyle Strang of If I Were You) out now on YouTube and Spotify! Though the band is new their story is one that has gone back a few years resulting in this humble and talented Alternative/Metalcore band you see today. Though Anthony has been one of my closest friends in the music circuit today, I felt it necessary not only to share his story but all of Eternal Wake's story as it is an interesting one. This band already shows signs of star power and there is no telling where time will take this band. All that can really be said is that the future is looking bright. If you are a fan of bands such as Blessthefall, Capture and Parkway Drive, this is the band to check out !

Happy Listening!

So lets start out with an obvious question, What's the name of your band?

ETW: Eternal Wake

How did that come about?

ETW: Our friend was on a run with Anthony and after a week Ant's friend suggested it. Anthony stopped and called the rest of the guys instantly.

That's pretty awesome,were there any thoughts about changing the band's name before the final decision?

ETW: Nah. We went through several ideas but we never changed it.

Good things! So tell my readers a bit about yourselves?

ETW: of course! Most of us are childhood friends. We mostly grew up together! We played in a different band a few years ago called "Fading Tides." The only one who didn't is Ant. But we think of him as family the same.

That's really interesting. But honestly when you find that kind of connection with a band, its those types of bands that last the longest I feel. So I want to talk a bit about the music. What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

ETW: We don't necessarily like to claim a certain genre. But in this case people tend to label us as Metalcore/ Alternative. Some influences for all of us are Counterparts, Gideon, Motionless In White, and Polaris.

Definitely some of the best bands that have come out within our generation. What or who would you say your music sounds like, just to give a rough idea to our readers here?

ETW: That's a tricky one! Honestly we'd have to say Blessthefall, Capture & Parkway Drive.

How long have you known each other? How did you meet?

ETW: Josh and Paul have known each other since high school. Growing up in a small town, they kinda knew each other already but did not formally meet until they started Fading Tides with some mutual friends in 2011. They have been friends ever since, jamming and recording throughout the years. And then they met Anthony (also through mutual friends) in 2018 and formed Eternal Wake shortly afterward.

Very cool ! When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

ETW: The summer of 2018,and honestly just our passion. As cheesy as it sounds, we collectively believe that music is the only universal language, and it is one that has affected all of our lives profoundly, through good and bad times. We see music as a source of healing, solidarity, expression, and much more. It's everything to us, and we just want to share our passion with everyone who is willing to listen. Plus, we all love the same bands which makes it very easy to create music together.

That does make the process a bit easier when you have the same music interest. Are you guys signed or are you guys currently just doing your own thing?

ETW: We're currently unsigned and not a member of any music organizations. We would love to be signed one day, but for now we are focusing on releasing our first EP, playing as many shows as possible, and having fun!

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

ETW: We have only played a few shows and they actually have all been at one venue - The Cave in West Haven, CT. It's a gorgeous venue with the best lights and sound, and we have met some amazing people there. We are stoked to play another show there on November 16th with Saving Vice, If I Were You and Set For The Fall!

Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?

ETW: We have had a pretty consistent set list so far, including our first single "Buried" featuring Kyle Strang of If I Were You. We like to throw one cover into the mix as well - one that always get a great response is "Mr. Highway's Thinking About The End." It's super fun to play and it's awesome to see everyone singing along!

That's awesome."Mr. Highway's Thinking About The End." is always a good choice for a cover. So I want to pause on that for a little and jump into the nerdy music stuff lol. Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

ETW: The whole band bounces ideas and has something to contribute, but typically Josh writes the instrument parts and Anthony is the lyricist. Josh, our drummer, also plays guitar. He starts messing around on one riff and it just takes off from there, and it evolves into the instrumentals you hear on our tracks. Lyrically though, Anthony has been through a lot in life so almost everything you'll hear vocally was inspired by real experiences. Of course, we do have songs that aren't! We have future content that definitely has a topic change from what's already been heard.

Ah, I like how this is a collective experience that you guys share together and its not just a select few that contribute to the process. Always good to see a good writing relationship within a band. So I want to delve somewhat deeper and talk about the music-making process. Care to share some thoughts on that ?

ETW: Simply Josh. He's the driving force. He'll write and record a track, send it to all of us, we'll make suggestions and then Anthony will collaborate with us on ideas for vocals.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

ETW: We like consistency - it is best for us to rehearse generally at the same time and day every week. If a show is coming up in the near future we'll practice for several hours until we're convinced of ourselves. But other times we'll run through our songs once or twice and mess around with some new song ideas or jam some covers of songs we know.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together? Can we talk about your latest music you have out now? What can you tell us about that as well?

ETW: Of course! Throughout our time together, we've definitely learned each others styles and strengths and how to use them to create the best music we can offer.

Our first (and latest) single "Buried" began from a riff idea that, like we said earlier, Josh brought to all of us. From there, Anthony introduced the idea of the lead guitar you hear in the intro, and Josh tweaked it to sound even better. The song is about mental suppression of past trauma or anguish, which can cause you to feel like you're stuck, stranded, or, as guessed... buried. More importantly, the song is about overcoming that trauma as well.

We're currently in the studio finishing our debut EP, which are most of the songs on our current set list. We can't wait to share the finished product with everyone, and we hope everyone is excited to hear it!

I think that's some deep lyric material that people will appreciate knowing as they listen to your latest release. Kind of jumping of that, every band sort of has these challenges that they have along the way that they have overcome or are still trying to deal with at that point and time. What has been some of those for your band? Have you been able to overcome them? If so, how?

ETW: Lineup changes. We've had a number of people come and go throughout our time as a band, but we have always found a way to overcome it! Luckily, we are all multi-instrumentalists so we have no problem switching around instruments and roles if we have to (FYI, we already have had to). We are also blessed to have some amazing friends who have filled in for us when we needed it.

What's your ultimate direction for your band? What would you want people to take away from your new music?

ETW: Forward of course! But in all seriousness, we want all our listeners to feel an emotional connection and visualize the things we're talking about. Like we said, we want to share our passion with our fans and ultimately, we aim to influence people with our music the same way that music has influenced us. We love the fans we've made so far and there's one thing we'd want them to know, it is that they're never alone.

One more question and this is always a fun one for a lot of bands to leave off on. If you had the chance to work with another band or artist, who would that be and why?

ETW: Two big names would be Invent, Animate and Architects. They are both groups made up of extremely talented musicians who make some amazing music and are also a huge inspiration to us. So yeah, that would be pretty crazy!

You can get the latest on Eternal Wake via Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/EternalWakeCT/

https://www.instagram.com/eternaltwan/

If you still cant get enough of this band you can find Eternal Wake on Spotify :
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5HBB6TV8pBTgvSV9krdpiL?si=5Gz4xlZ3Qr-9zD2R0QVJPw