It’s proving to be exciting times for Zürich-based metal band Paleface Swiss. Having released a career defining EP in the shape of The Wilted (reviewed here) at the beginning of this year, the band will be taking their heavy sound all over Europe via the Festival circuit. With a new drummer in the band and new material in the works, now seems like a good time to speak to the band, so we sat down with bassist Tommy Lee and guitarist Yannick Lehmann at this year’s Download festival for an exclusive chat. Here’s what they had to say:

Switzerland is not my first thought when thinking heavy metal. How hard was it breaking out of that country and getting recognised on the global stage?

Yannick: Hard, definitely. Complicated and hard.

Tommy: In our early days we were lucky to be able to play in Germany, we were able to explore that scene, and we were lucky enough to play in the UK early on in our career, It’s strange, but we always felt more at home in Germany and the UK than we did in Switzerland.

Were there many places to play in Switzerland?

Tommy: It’s a small country so there are maybe only two or three places to play, but the great thing is that people travel, so we always had the same amount of people wherever we played.

Yannick: You can play every town in Switzerland but the shows will be small, maybe 80 to 100 people, so if you want to play big shows there are only a handful of places.

Switzerland is renowned as being a peaceful country. How come you have such an angry sound?

Tommy: Maybe because it is so peaceful, you need an outlet. But as a band we are peaceful people, we like to have fun, so the anger in our music is just an expression of negative emotions.

Yannick: For us it’s a strange thing: the happier we are, the angrier the music gets.

As a band, you are now gearing up for the festival season. How do you psyche yourself up for an afternoon show?

Yannick: Pretty much like any other show; we have our warm up routine. One hour before the show we start to warm up, playing our instruments, the 15-minutes before the show we do our vocal warm ups, and then we are ready to go. So, it could be any time of the day, we are ready with that routine.

And how about coming off stage early? You must have a lot of adrenaline flowing.

Yannick: We go into the crowd and join the party!

A lot of your singles have been collaborations. What do you look for in recording partners?

Tommy: I think that the main thing when collaborating is that the artist is different and brings something new to the song. It doesn’t make sense to collaborate with a band who is too similar.

Yannick: I’d say that we would really like to collaborate with a really big pop star, so that we could bring the two worlds together.

Tommy: Someone who has a really unique voice, that would also be a big plus.

Do you view collaborations as a way of getting your music to different audiences?

Yannick: Definitely.

Tommy: Obviously, there’s a difference depending on the size of the band, with bigger artists there seems less opportunities to collaborate but people like to crossover, so it is definitely a good thing to do.

So, if I could wave a magic wand and make a collaboration come true for you, who would it be with?

Yannick: Our singer would say Billie Eilish, I’m more of a heavy metal guy, so I’d go for a big metal band; Limp Bizkit, Ghost, Judas Priest…anything out of the ordinary.

Recently you acquired a new drummer in the shape of Luigi Paraventi. How has he altered the band’s dynamic?

Tommy: On stage it always takes a little time to get used to, but because Luigi is very good at what he does, it was a very easy transition. On a personal level, he is young, he smiles a lot, and he hasn’t been on tour too much, so it is amazing to show him around. He brings a good positive energy and I don’t think we could have chosen anyone better than him.

How about musically? Has he brought a new groove?

Yannick: Definitely, because he comes from Brazil he brings with him a whole new culture and I think that will be very useful in our songwriting. He’s very open minded in regards to every musical genre and he can play every style. It’s a big positive.

What are your plans beyond the festival season? Will we see you in the UK anytime soon?

Tommy: We don’t have anything planned beyond Download, so I think for now the UK will have to wait. We’re just going to enjoy this show at Download and see what the future brings.

Next year will be Paleface Swiss’ tenth anniversary. That’s a big milestone. Will you do anything to commemorate it?

Yannick: No big plans, to be honest.

Tommy: No big plans, but there’s still time. I just saw the look of surprise on Yannick’s face when he realised that it is the tenth year, we will definitely celebrate, but we don’t know in what way.

You album sleeves and videos have a definite look. How involved are you with the band’s presentation?

Yannick: Not too much, Tommy and I are mainly here for the music, our singer is mainly responsible for the visual aspect. He’s really creative and loves to work with visual art, but we are more focused on the musical side.

But how do you feel about the visual side? For example, you have a very heavy sound, but a soft visual aesthetic.

Yannick: I think it’s good. It’s nice to have something that catches people’s attention.

Tommy: And there’s a depth to it: there are other bands who are just totally angry, but our approach makes people stop and think. There are other bands who are totally straight up dark, I don’t like that too much, I prefer the way we do it.

If I could make any wish come true for Paleface Swiss, what would it be?

Tommy: I have one wish, but it is very personal and selfish; I would only like to fly business class…because flying as a band, we have to do so much.

Yannick: For me my boyhood dream is coming true: we play at Wacken Open Air in Germany and I have been going there since I was 15, 16 years old, I tried to go there every year, and in 2026 we will play it for the first time, so my personal dream is coming true.

Finally, what is the one question interviewers never ask, but you wish you would?

Tommy: That’s a good question. What I like personally is when at our Meet & Greets, some people ask obvious questions which they can read online, I like weird and unusual questions; someone once asked me what my favourite soup was. So, more personal questions and nothing that is too general because there is so much information out there.