UK gothic doom outfit Opia unveils their haunting debut album, I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep, via Hammerheart Records. A masterclass in atmospheric despair and emotional depth, the release captures the melancholic beauty in the acceptance of the inevitable, guiding listeners through shadowed corridors of sorrow and serenity. With brooding riffs and mournful melodies, Opia stakes their claim as a formidable new voice in the realm of gothic doom. Let’s learn more about together singer Tereza Rohelova.
Welcome to Opia
Hi Tereza, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine! How are you doing, and how’s life treating you these days?
Hi, thank you for asking, life is very hectic with the album release right now. But that’s by no means a bad thing!
Band formation
For whom is not familiar with Opia, would you like to spend a couple of words about how the band got together?
It happened when Dan and I were working on a Kypck show. We had been discussing it before, but that show was the moment we decided to start putting plans into place. We felt that Phoenix, whom I’d worked with in the past in Agrona, would be the perfect guitarist to join us, as he was always very interested in this genre of music. He was in Spain getting drunk on Rioja at the time, but said yes immediately.
Dan also knew a keyboardist from when he was in Dystopian Wrath, but he wasn’t sure if he still lived in the UK or not. We asked him to join the band anyway, and that’s how Jorge joined us. We also reached out to my best friend Rich (who left the band last year) to play bass as we’d always talked about playing in a band together someday. And by the time the gig ended, the band was complete.
Opia ‘s debut album
25th April marked the release of Opia’s debut album “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep”. What can you share about its general production?
We produced the album mostly remotely, and we used Google Drive in order to share recordings for each instrument. The only exception is that I recorded the vocals at WoodCroft Audio in Cardiff with Timmy. I’ve recorded there in the past with Agrona. And I felt he was the perfect man to get the best out of my vocals.
After that, we forwarded everything to Abe Fihema, who mixed and mastered the album. He was moving jobs at the time. So it took a little longer than we expected, but it was 100% worth the wait.
The collaboration with Hammerheart Records
“I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep” is released by the Dutch label Hammerheart Records. How did you connect with them, and how did this collaboration come about?
We were looking for a label that could release the album, and when Hammerheart expressed their interest, we jumped on it. They have a great roster of melodic extreme metal bands that we like, and we felt that they would understand and value our music the way we do.
The main lyrical concept of “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep”
The main lyrical concept of “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep” is about facing and/or questioning about acceptance of the end, whether it’s an ending that you choose or an ending you must come to make peace with.
How challenging is it as an artist and/or human being to be completely open about this theme?
For me, I think it’s important to remember that all of us are mortal and we all end up dying eventually, it’s inevitable.
I work in palliative care, so death and seeing people struggling to come to terms with it are something I see every day. The album itself shares a connection to this. As well as to our own experiences, and how we interpret them.
In many ways, the album is also about the importance of cherishing life and the good times while we still can.
To live every day as if it were the last. We wanted the album to be honest, so we don’t write about topics we don’t know anything about. And even though I see death daily, I do still see a lot of light and love within the world.
I’m personally not afraid of dying, and when my time comes. I will simply welcome it with open arms…but hopefully not too soon, haha.
The single “On Death’s Door Part I”
“On Death’s Door Part I” was chosen as the main single. What made this song stand out to you, and what can you say about the video shooting?
It was the first song we finished as a band. We love the song. And in addition to the first Opia song, it was also the first one in my career where I did clean vocals as well as harsh vocals.
In many ways, that song is kind of a beginning point for the band, as well as the style we developed with the later songs. For the video concept, we actually weren’t present for that, but we asked the Belarusian videographer, Olga Kann, to create the video.
We explained to her what we wanted the video to be about in general, but she had a largely free hand to work on it.
We did ask for some elements of symbolism in the video, though, such as the black shroud being placed over the mirror (which comes from folklore about souls potentially being trapped by uncovered mirrors) and the scenes where the actress is being consumed by the illness. Olga did an amazing job with it.
“On Death’s Door Part II”
“I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep” features On Death’s Door, part I and part II in two separate and distinct parts. What can you say about these specific songs, and in what manner do they reconnect?
So the first part is mainly about a person who is suffering from a terminal illness, and it’s written from their point of view. They want to be remembered as they were during the good times in their life, rather than who they are and how they look on their deathbed. On Death’s Door Part I is about quite literally being on “death’s door”. Part II, however, is about what comes after. Namely, the grief of her partner whom she left behind.
It’s about how grief can drive you insane, sometimes even causing hallucinations. I think both songs deal with the raw emotions of death, but from two different perspectives. The one who dies, and the one who has to experience their death and figure out how to remain in the world afterwards.
Future Plans
What’s next for Opia? Is there any news about a potential European tour?
We have a tour announced for the end of July / beginning of August, with the Dutch death doom band Officium Triste and our friends in The Drowning. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes right now regarding live shows. We are in talks about doing more EU dates.