Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?
We are all gamers and geeks in Tessia and so the band name is a planet in the sci-fi video game series Mass Effect, but in the game it is spelled Thessia. The band was officially created in 2016, releasing our first single ‘Fight For the Lost’. From there we started to hone our craftsmanship as musicians and more importantly as songwriters. After our EP ‘As Above, So Below’ we decided to produce and record everything ourself, but getting outside help with the mixing and mastering. Being in a professional studio is really nice, but having the clock tick and payment by the hour does not spark creativity and experimentation, because of that we bought the recording equipment and set to do it ourself. After the album ‘Burn The Sky’ We moved two floors up and started recording, producing and rehearsing in an actual studio created in an old paint factory that have been closed down. ‘Shadows and Dust’ was created there and it improved our sound tremendously. We feel that we are just getting better and better, and can not wait to show the world our newest releases, especially after getting such good feedback on our newest singles.
Lets introduce our band members, Julie, Dennis and Matias are all original members from the start in 2016.
I (Julie) am the vocalist of Tessia and make all the vocal melodies and writes lyrics. I love being creative and aspire to challenge myself a bit further with my vocals each time we make a new track.
Dennis is our rhythm guitarist, producer and creative mastermind. He has created many of our songs and written many of its lyrics. He is also the one producing our albums and takes care of recording. His job also includes telling the rest of us what to do haha
Matias, our bassist of course loves Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, even playing his signature bass guitar and is finger style exclusive, not only is he an incredible bassist, he got such amazing pitch, and have so many smart tiny ideas and inputs that changes the entire song or part to a new level.
Eirik our new lead guitarist started out with helping out the band with numerous projects like making armor for our music video for ‘Frostfall’ or whatever we else we needed, he is an creative force and a incredible guitar player, so the decision for him to join the band when we needed a new lead guitarist was not a hard decision.
Sindre our new drummer, is originally from Stavanger and as everywhere drummers are really hard to come by, so when Dennis saw he was posting on a musician Facebook group if someone wanted to jam along with some Lamb of God, and Slipknot we managed to rope him in. He is such a talented and amazing drummer exactly what Tessia wanted, an aggressive heavy drummer!
Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?
⅘ of us is hailing from areas just outside Bergen, Norway and our drummer is from a bit further south on the west coast of Norway.
Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?
I have drawn a lot of inspiration from bands in the melodic death metal genre with how they combine clean vocals and growling. In Flames, Soilwork and The halo Effect are great examples. I have always loved female fronted bands such as Lacuna coil, Arch Enemy, In this Moment and Within temptation and gotten a great deal of influence from there.
Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?
Sort of. I have been singing my whole life and had an ambition as a child to sing in front of a crowd whether it be as a opera singer or a pop star in a big venue or with a guitar at a pub. As i got older, my music taste changed and I got into heavier music and the urge to create a band grew larger.
What songs or albums are on your current playlist?
Our previous albums and songs I have primarily been singing with clean vocals, but in our newest release and upcoming releases I am doing a lot more growling and heavier vocals. I have always worked towards pushing my vocal capabilities to the max, while being classically trained it took some time to “unlearn” how to sing squeaky clean, but going into growling peaked my interest about what my voice can actually do, I am currently taking inspiration from other vocalists that pushes it to extreme so I’ve been listening to a lot of
Cattle Decapitation, Lorna Shore and Slaughter to Prevail lately. And the album ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’ by Amon Amarth never stops being on the current playlist.
Do you sing in the shower?
Actually no, i’ve always been to scared someone might hear me haha
Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?
We just released 2 new singles ‘The Fall of Divinity’ and ‘Voidwalker’ and we plan to release 1 more during the fall. They are going to be part of part 1 of an album set to release somewhere in the first half of next year if all goes to plan.
Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?
Yes! 1 more single are getting released this fall. A long with part 1 of an entire full length concept album.
If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?
That is a tough one since there are so many legendary venues out there. Royal albert hall is definitely one of them and any stage on Wacken Open Air would be awesome.
Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?
Isn’t it an unsung rule to never ask a metal head about their favourite album? Its like picking your favourite cat.. or child. Wintersun Forest seasons are definitely high up there together with Amorphis’ Queen of time that I think is one of the best albums ever. I also have to
mention Sabaton` ‘Great War’, I love that.
Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?
Lady Gaga – Born this way, that was my jam back when it came out. I still love it!
If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?
Wow! The greatest show on earth.. It would have to include Metallica and Iron Maiden, those guys are of course metal legends. I would love to have Machine Head and Gojira there too and definitely Tool. And then I would say humbly that Tessia could be the first warm-up band or even just entertaining the people that were hanging up their coats haha
Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?
I can actually. I bought Led Zeppelin Mothership together with Tool 10000 Days, I still have and love them both.
As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?
Never let anyone say that you can’t do something just because you are who you are. When I say this I think about being a woman in a man dominated music genre. It is definitely getting better but there are still people out there who actually believe that being a female singer and growler is a joke.
Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessiaband
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessiaBand
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tessia2021
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/2qB2dNnA0tnNNX72gn5VnW?si=rElO5
GQaQPirvb8cd3OeYg
We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?
Hmm… We want to thank The Metal Asylum for showcasing us and giving us a platform to speak, and thanks anyone who read this to the end, we are grateful and appreciate you more than you could imagine. We create music we love ourself, and love to blend metal genres and Tessia are better and stronger than ever and hope people are willing to check us out!
This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum