Get ready for a deep dive into the world of Enemy Inside, the highly anticipated new album from the band that’s been turning heads with their musical evolution. With influences ranging from the dark intensity of “Venom” to the power track with Japan vibes and anime-style song “Sayonara”, this album explores themes of internal struggles, including the battle with depression. As they prepare to headline their upcoming European tour, fans can expect a powerful live experience, showcasing both their growth as musicians and the emotional depth of their latest work.
The release of “Venom”
So Nastassja Giulia , welcome to Femme Metal Webzine. How are you today? How is this period treating you?
Thank you. Thanks for the interview. I’m fine. I’m currently on tour, so I’m stuck in a hotel room. I hope my internet is good enough. So, yeah, I’m good. I’m good.
“Venom” was released on the 20th of February 2025. Also, since it involves RPM, I wanted to ask: how has the signing deal been going so far? How did you guys first connect with RPM?
Our previous label, Rock of Angels Records, collaborated with RPM. Now, RPM exists as both RPM and RPM Roar, which is how this happened. Our label boss gave us a choice—since we had one more option with them, asking if we wanted to continue there or work with RPM. We were really happy with our previous label, but RPM offered us more opportunities, especially in the US. So, we decided to go with RPM, but we’re still in touch with our old label as well.
Enemy Inside production process for “Venom”
Let’s start with the production process. When did you first begin gathering ideas for this new release? Your previous album, “Seven”, came out in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic. Now, in 2025, how did the creative process for this new release come together?
It’s always a bit difficult to say because sometimes the process starts without us even realizing it. We probably had a song idea as early as 2021 or 2022. In fact, “What We Used to Be” actually came from an idea I originally wrote in 2014—it was an electronic song I created for a university project. At some point, we revisited it, loved the melody, and decided to turn it into an Enemy Inside song. So, the songwriting process can be unpredictable. But I’d say the real writing and recording process happened in 2024.
The lesson learned of Enemy Inside
In the statement you gave for “Venom“, you described it as an album about evolution. And with every evolution comes a lesson learned. So, looking at this process compared to “Seven“, what would you say is the biggest lesson (or lessons) you’ve learned this time around?
We’ve learned so many lessons over the past three years—not just as a band, but as individuals too. I think the biggest lesson from this album is that you should stay true to yourself and create the music you genuinely want to make. With Venom, we didn’t feel confined by stereotypes or limitations in the writing process. We allowed ourselves to be freer and just went with the flow musically. Lyrically, I also experimented more. While the first two albums were more emotional and melancholic, this time, I explored new themes and approaches.
Not overthinking and feeling freer
Given everything you’ve experienced, when do you feel freest to express yourself? It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of stereotypes, after all. Was there a specific moment when you thought, You know what? I don’t care—I’m just going to put this out there?
I think that’s the fun part—we didn’t overthink it. We weren’t sitting there saying, “Okay, now let’s do something crazy,” or “Let’s make sure we don’t sound like before”. We just started writing. A great example is the song “Sayonara”. When Evan and I, since we write the music together, started working on it, we looked at each other and thought, “I really like this”. And that was it. We didn’t worry about whether fans, especially those who loved the first album, would expect something different or might not enjoy it. We just knew we wanted to make this song. I think the moment you stop worrying so much about what other people think, you become truly free to create what you want.
Speaking out loud about depression
One song I really love is “Don’t Call Me an Angel”. In it, there’s a line that says, “Don’t call me an angel, I am the shadows that nobody sees”. I’m curious—what’s the meaning behind it? If you’re open to sharing, how do you personally interpret this line?
“Don’t Call Me an Angel” is a very personal song—it’s about depression. I went through a really difficult time between 2022 and 2023 when I wasn’t in a good emotional state. This song reflects that experience. It not only expresses how it feels to be in depression but also how it affects the people closest to you—how your energy can unintentionally pull them down as well.
“I felt a lot more honest and vulnerable in my lyrics.”
Given the situation, how do you feel about being so open about it, especially in a song that you have to perform night after night on tour? Is it difficult for you to constantly put yourself in such a vulnerable place?
In the beginning, when I was writing this album, I felt a lot more honest and vulnerable in my lyrics. At first, I did question whether I wanted to share such personal things, whether I was ready to put myself out there like that. But over time, I realized how important it is to talk about these things because so many people go through similar experiences.
The music I personally connect with the most is often the kind that tells real, honest stories, and I wanted to be that kind of artist too. I haven’t performed Don’t Call Me an Angel live yet—this tour will be the first time—but when I released the song and shared the video and lyrics, I actually felt proud of myself for being able to talk about it.
When I receive messages on Instagram from people saying, “This song really speaks to me. It describes exactly what I’m going through, and it helps me a lot“. I know I made the right decision. No one should ever feel ashamed of struggling with depression or going through a difficult time. It’s something we should be able to talk about openly, without stigma.
The visual production of Enemy Inside
Enemy Inside’s visual production is always really well thought out and highly praised. I wanted to ask, are you also involved in developing the concepts and scripts for the music videos? From an organizational perspective, how does that process work? It must be challenging to juggle being the lyricist while also managing video shoots and script development. How do you handle it all?
I’m the one behind the concepts and storylines for our music videos. I work closely with Jonas Sommer—he’s the one who records and edits our videos, and he’s also a good friend of mine. He initially started by filming our behind-the-scenes material on the road, and at some point, he transitioned into shooting our music videos as well. We collaborate closely, but I’m responsible for the concept, set design, and overall creative direction.
When I first started Enemy Inside and worked on our early videos, I quickly realized that this was a huge passion of mine—creating the visuals, designing the costumes, planning everything, and writing the scripts. So when we’re on set, I’m not only performing but also directing. In our last few videos, I even did the makeup myself, which made things a bit stressful. That’s why we now try to schedule at least two shooting days—one where I can focus on directing the band, and another where I focus more on my performance.
I love this creative process, and recently, I’ve also started working on projects outside of Enemy Inside. In October, I directed my second music video for Lacrimosa—I don’t know if you’re familiar with them. They’re a well-known band from Germany, and I handled both the direction and set design for their video.
Kicking off with the first headlining tour in Europe
In February, you’ll be kicking off your European headlining tour, and you’ll also be making a stop here in the Netherlands. Since this is your first major European tour as headliners, what are you looking forward to the most?
Yeah, this is our biggest headlining tour so far, and it’s exciting! We’ll be playing in a lot of countries where we’ve never headlined before. For example, it’ll be our first time headlining in Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
We’ve played in Finland before, but only at festivals—this will be our first proper headlining show there. In the Netherlands, we previously performed as a support act for Lordi and at some festivals, but this time, it’s our show. So yeah, it’s a huge milestone for us, and we’re super excited!
(*Currently, due to illness, both Maastricht and Utrecht were not played. Unfortunately, only Utrecht was rescheduled to the 12th April at De Helling with openers Letters Sent Home.)
First of all, I want to thank you! I appreciate you taking the time for this interview, and I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Yeah, I did. Thank you so much for the interview.