An Interview with
'Henrik Steenholdt'
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Lead Singer & Rhythm Guitarist of
'Empyre'
which took place on Wednesday 30th April, 2025.
Interviewed by Dale Holford.
Empyre are about to perform at The Corporation in Sheffield. Saturday 3rd May.
They have just sold out Room 3 at Corporation Sheffield so they have moved the Saturday's gig into Room 2. This is a hint of how popular this band is!
Dale: What are we to expect from this tour?
Henrik: Songs from 'Self Aware', songs from 'Relentless' and a few new songs that we’ve never played before.
Dale: Can you tell me about your band members and what instruments they use?
Henrik: I am the Singer and Rhythm Guitarist (for the most part). I occasionally plays lead guitar but he’d much rather leave that to Did, who is a our Lead Guitarist. Did also plays piano on our acoustic material. Grant is on bass and Elliot is on drums.
Dale: When do you become Empyre and how did you all meet?
Henrik: The name Empyre probably came about around 2015. Did and Henrik had been in a covers band before that for about 8 years and gradually moved towards working on our own original material.
Grant joined about a year later after his wife showed him our advert for a bass player that they thought was for a better known band with a similar name! Elliot joined in 2019 just before the release of 'Self Aware' and he had known Did and I for a few years already.
Dale: Where is your home base and where was your first ever gig?
Henrik: Our first proper gig was at The Zombie Hut in Corby. The venue no longer exists. We played there in late 2016 supporting 'Black Orchid Empire'. We are based around Northamptonshire.
Dale: How did that first gig go? Was it all smooth or lots of laughs and mistakes?
Henrik: I think the first gig went relatively smoothly. I don't really remember much about it.
Dale: Who is the Joker of the band and who is Mr Serious?
Henrik: Did is the Joker of the band and Mr. Serious is either Me or Grant.
Dale: Do you have one writer or is it a collaboration?
Henrik: Myself and Did write the basis of all the songs. Sometimes together, sometimes on their own, and it becomes a band collaborative process once those songs move from being a home-made demo to the rehearsal room.
Dale: Three albums in and one live and unplugged album, do you have any new music on the horizon?
Henrik: Yes we do, we’re working on new music at present but it will be 2026 before that is released. It’s early days.
Dale: What song are you most proud of and which song so you love to play live?
Henrik: We can’t pinpoint one song that we’re most proud of as we strive to ensure that when we write songs for an album we are as equally proud of all of them as we can be. So we’re proud of them all. Currently, live, Elliot loves to play 'Parasites', Grant loves to play 'Your Whole Life Slows', Did loves to play 'Stone' and I love to play 'Waking Light'.
Dale: What are your favourite live venues and for what reasons?
Henrik: As a punter, I love KKs for many different reasons like accessibility and meeting band members. but as a performer you would base it differently than us because of ease of moving your equipment, acoustics or vibe from the crowd.
KK’s is one of our favourite venues, we love it for the same reasons as you, but also because it has a big stage and a 10m video wall (which can also be split into separate smaller screens). This works for how we want to present ourselves and feels like a mini arena.
There are also smaller venues too, such as The Waterloo in Blackpool. We played there a lot and they’ve put a lot of time and effort into turning what was just a pub with a stage into an amazing rock venue. We feel very much at home when we perform there.
Dale: Thanks Henrik. I am really looking forward to the gig on Saturday. If you see me walking with my stick taking a 1000 photos give me a wave.