Interview with Blackest Heart

From blinding light through pitch black darkness and back, Blackest Heart have been on the scene since 2024. With their EP "There Will Be Light" they explore a wide spectrum of powerful post-hardcore and modern rock music.
Alan – Hi guys. How is playing in Switzerland?
Marco - Due to the small and manageable scene in Switzerland, certain niches like punk, metalcore, and hardcore have developed their own communities. With our sound, we move between these different scenes. On the one hand, this allows us to reach people across genres — on the other hand, we don’t really belong to any specific one.

Alan – How long have you been on the scene? You were formed in 2024 as a trio, right?
Jake - That’s right. We started in 2024 just three of us figuring stuff out. Before we used to play in other bands and been doing music together for a while.
Marco - I think that early phase helped us find our sound quickly because we already had a lot of chemistry from previous projects. It felt natural, even though we were starting something new.

Alan – Your musical focus is modern rock/post hardcore. Well, I also hear elements of new wave there, so how are you doing with your work?
Jake - Yeah, we like to mix things up heavy, emotional, and a bit melodic. It’s been going well. We just write what feels honest.
Marco - We don’t set boundaries when we write. Sometimes it starts with a drum groove, sometimes with a synth line or a heavy riff.

Alan – Switzerland – your homeland. How are you doing there as a very young band with touring?
Jake - We’re getting around slowly. Playing local shows, some festivals. Building our base.
Marco - And every show feels meaningful. We’re building real connections at a grassroots level, which is super valuable long-term. It's not about quantity yet, it's about quality.

Alan – Is there a good environment for modern rock/post hardcore in Switzerland? How is the scene there?
Jake - Switzerland isn’t exactly a hotbed for modern rock or post-hardcore the way countries like the US, UK, or Germany are, but it’s not dead either it’s more like a niche scene with passionate pockets of support.
Marco - But what’s cool is that the audiences are very open-minded. We’ve had people come up to us who don’t usually listen to heavier stuff, but they connected with our melodies or lyrics.

Alan – Who all contributed to the release of the album There Will Be Light? I know about David from the Engineer, who else? And how are you in contact with David?
Chris – Our label is DMB Records – a small indie label from Switzerland. They helped us set up the release and with the local booking. David from Engineer helped us out on the UK release and promotion. 

Alan – Where did you record the mini-album? Where did you master it? Did anyone help you?
Chris - We recorded DIY. Dave Boothroyd (UK) did the mix. Mastering was done by Sam Proctor at Lismore mastering.Recording DIY meant we had full control over the creative process. It was intense at times, but also very liberating. Dave and Sam both elevated the tracks massively in post-production.

Alan – If we had to break down the album. Tell us about each song. Both lyrically and musically.
Wild – Fast, dark wave. About growth, struggle, resilience, feeling trapped.
Closer – Melodic, emotional. Rejection and not wanting to.
Ruthless (feat. Kellin Quinn) – Hard-hitting. About struggle and facing inner chaos. Kellin killed it.
No Limits – Uplifting. Breaking past your fears.
 Party Manifesto (feat. _Vinny) - Dancey but dark. Expresses inner turmoil and rebellion.
Evolution – Mid-tempo. About change, unity and truth.
Kick Me – Angry, raw. Saying “enough.”

Alan – You also released a lot of visual material for this debut. Who prepared it for you? And for the movie, the choice of sequences?
Jake - The sequences in the film were built around the themes of the songs dark to light. We worked close with out longtime friend Pascal Berger (https://www.pascal-berger.ch/about)
Marco - Visuals are super important to us — not just as an add-on, but as part of the storytelling. Pascal really got our vision and helped us translate it into something cinematic and real.

Alan – Let’s lighten things up a bit. Funny experiences – have you had any fun in your existence? When touring, recording an album, or filming a video. Do you have something to laugh about?
Jake - That's an easy one as Chris recently jumped off the stage during a show in a full packed venue and lost his balance mid-air. As he was landing, he instinctively used the neck of his guitar to brace himself. He hit the ground hard, and his elbow and knee swelled up. It looked painful as hell but the first thing we asked was, “Is your guitar okay?! And the wild part he still managed to finish the song like a total pro banged up, but heads up. Unfortunately no one had it on camera. 
Marco - let’s not forget the very first show our vans GPS led us to a cow field instead of the festival ground — we literally had to reverse the van down a dirt path while a herd of cows stared us down. Rock’n’Roll, Swiss style.

Alan – Where are you going to go with your work this year? Switzerland, the UK, and what else?
Jake - We’re doing more Swiss dates, hopefully go to tour in Europe and overseas soon. 
Marco - We’re writing new material too. The goal is to evolve our sound and hopefully release some new songs this year!

Alan – As a band, which bands do you draw from? Which groups have influenced you?
Jake - Underoath, Bring Me The Horizon, Deftones, I Prevail and so on.

Alan – You’ve been on the scene for a short time, right? Nothing less - what do you consider the best of what you’ve achieved so far? Apart from the album, which was released on LP, CD, and in digital form?
Jake - Playing our first headline show was very special to us. Also our upcoming show in Zurich together with Dayseeker will be a great experience and a milestone. 
Marco - Also seeing people sing our lyrics back to us at our shows — that’s the kind of moment you dream about when you start a band. It hits different.

Alan – Do you have connections with booking agents who can get you out? Just around Europe, all over? Not just Germany, France, the UK, etc. ..... but maybe also to Romania, the Czech Republic, or Slovakia?
Jake - We’re starting to build those connections and we’re open to anything. We hope to visit these beautiful countries soon! 
Marco - We’re totally down to play anywhere that’s open to our music. Eastern Europe has such passionate fans — we’d love to bring our live energy there soon.

Alan – Thanks for the interview. maybe we’ll meet at a festival in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or Bavaria sometime.
All – Thank you Alan! We hope to meet you soon and to play our first shows in these regions soon. 
By the way we've heard about your anniversary of 15 years Heel Magazin. We would like to high-five you and wish you all the best!!! 

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