Interviews

Eddie Berg - Imminence ‘It’s Always The Music First’

Georgia Haskins

Sep 8, 2025

8 min read

Few bands become drenched in fanfare in quite the way Imminence have. Hailing from Sweden, Imminence have long captivated audiences with their alluring mysteriousness, often encased in an ethereal and otherworldly capsule - both musically and aesthetically. In recent years, this traction has only grown, with many people not just adoring their lyrical depth and emotional grasp, but instrumental diversity. Colloquially donning the title of ‘violincore’, Imminence are in a league of their own.

Ahead of their first official headline tour of Australia, we sat down with vocalist Eddie Berg about all things touring in the Aussie heat and returning to The Black.

‍We're here to talk about Imminence's first Australian headline tour. That is a massive and monumental occasion. So first of all, congratulations on that. What was the band like when this came to fruition? What were the celebrations and the opinions?

‍I mean, obviously, we went over in December last for the very first time. That was a really big thing for us. We got to travel to new places in the world for the first time with our music outside of Europe last year. And that's been such an incredible ride, and to be able to come back again and do a proper headline run is really, really cool.

‍I did want to talk about the shows last year. I was at that Sydney show, which was your first stand-alone Australian show. They managed to put you in the world's hottest venue on what appeared to be the hottest day. There were people in the pit fainting. I don't know who had more sweat- people moshing or you guys who had just come on stage. Can you recall any memories from that night? Was it a crazy first-time experience?

‍Yeah, absolutely, because we still talk about this show as the hottest one we've ever done as a band. It was absolutely really crazy with the humidity dripping from the ceiling and the walls. And you just knew as soon as we set our foot on the stage. It was like we were all dripping with sweat.

I think almost everyone in the band had a moment on stage that night where we felt like we were going to pass out. So it's definitely a memorable show.

‍I can safely say, regardless of how many times I've been to that venue, I have never, ever seen it hotter. So I think there was just something there that night that wanted you to experience Australian heat. In terms of that as well, let's talk about when you came over for Good Things Festival. That whole period of time, you were thrown into the deep end. First Australian shows and first Australian side shows. What did you learn from this experience that you're going to take with you for this tour?

‍I don't know how I would apply that to this tour. And obviously, we're coming in a different season. I don't know what the temperature is going to be like in October. But it's always when you're used to touring in a certain way, like what we do in Europe or in the US, doing a tour like that in Australia, just what we like to call punk rock shows. It's just us going up on the stage with minimum equipment and nothing else on stage. It always takes you back a little bit and makes you feel like you shouldn't take anything for granted. It's always the music first.

‍You mentioned a bit there the simplicity of your stage show, and I think that's always something so captivating. When you look at you guys on stage and even the photos that come out, it's the lighting, it's everything that just makes it so beautiful, but it is essentially just you guys on stage, and that's what's so captivating. I will say, though, for you, Eddie, I was really interested to talk to you. Does it ever sometimes feel as though you're a bit of a spectacle? There are moments where it's you and that violin at the forefront. Do you ever feel the extra eyes or extra pressure on you a little bit?

‍I mean, at this point, I would say I normally don't feel that anymore. I'm trying to just be part of the band and part of the music. But yeah, obviously, it's been times in my career where you do feel that pressure of being in the forefront. But I'm also lucky to be able to lean on the other guys in the band and go up and play as a band rather than for myself.

‍Absolutely. This tour in itself is a celebration of The Return Of The Black, which has some extensions of the album at hand. Not a lot of people get to revisit an album so soon. What do you think resonated with people that allowed you to go and revisit it so soon?

I think that a lot of people were looking forward to more of that universe because, as some fans pointed out, it was essentially just nine full songs, if you will, and a couple with three instrumentals. So it definitely felt like there was more space on the album. Even if I'm really happy with the original album, I did feel like there was something that we could revisit. It wasn't the plan from the beginning. We started writing acoustic songs like we usually do, or what we have done in the past. I think we just did one song, and then we felt inspired to keep writing. And we wanted to focus on that instead because we felt like it's more important. And what came out of those songs that we wrote, we did feel like the two songs that we did put on The Return Of The Black, they felt like they belonged there. So it was just laid out in front of us that this is a way that we could go, and that we were happy with.

‍When adding those songs and seeing it in full again, were there any songs that were completely shifted in your perspective? Did any songs change meaning to you or feel completely different after adding some things to this album?

They didn't really feel different, I would say. But to be honest, when we finished ‘God Fearing Man’, we had everything mixed and mastered and all of that. Both Harald and I felt a little bit unsure about this track. We didn't know if it was going to be something special.

But obviously, we were proven wrong as it's probably our most successful single release to date.

It's funny how that happens. I guess it links to that. After seeing what can happen when you revisit a work so soon, is there something from way earlier in your catalogue that you look back on and you would have loved to have revisited?

‍We actually did that in December last year. So we re-recorded all the vocals for our first album and had it completely remixed and remastered. This was something we've been thinking about for many, many years. And it felt really fulfilling to finally do it.

‍Going back to The Black as well, watching your growth within the past few years, that album seems to have struck a chord with so many people. It saw Imminence become something a little different. What does that album mean to you personally?

‍It did feel like we managed to have a full circle moment on that record with tying back our sound with our roots and where we come from, and letting that inspiration also influence the album. It was also a very open and free style of writing where we didn't really put any pressure on ourselves and tried to just enjoy the creative process in itself. So it has a really, really important meaning to me, both personally but also professionally, and looking at where this album has taken us.

‍Whilst being pressured into that limelight, there have also come a lot of social connotations for you guys, being branded as the ‘Violincore Band’ and other things like that on social media, which is obviously crazy cool to have a tagline like that. But did you ever think that having this niche that was so close to your heart would gain such traction for people who think it's strange in the metal world?

‍I was always hoping for it.

‍Talking about Imminence’s year so far, you guys have had a year of festivals. It's been nonstop for you. How does your festival appearance differ from a show? What changes for you in your day-to-day routine before a festival?

‍That's the thing. There's essentially no real routine because some days you play at one o'clock in the day, and sometimes you're at ten in the evening. So no festival is the same. And the big difference of playing a festival for me, is when you play in front of so many people, and not everyone is maybe a fan of your band, and you have to convince them. So it always feels a bit more like a showcase rather than playing at your own club show, where you know everyone is there to see you. So it definitely changes the feeling that you have on stage. But I don't think it changes our performance or the weight that we put into every show.

‍Coming back to these Australian shows, they have been selling like hotcakes. Everybody is so excited to see you guys again. And like you said, they're in these venues where it's fans crawling on top of fans, and the space is so intimate. What for you is the highlight of these smaller shows? Is it seeing these people scream back at you? Is it the feeling of mutual connectivity? What is it for you?

‍Yeah, I would say it's a combination of all those things. And they always feel more personal and up close. And it's easier to see the people connect with the music, and that feeds you back on stage.

Interview by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002

Select tickets remain available for Imminence’s tour of Australia in October. Take a look here if there’s any left for you!