Spotlight on Local Band

Article written by: Laura Pearson

With two members of Fife based band He Lies Still living in the South Dunfermline area, I was delighted to speak to founding member Drew Edmunds to learn more about the band.

For fans of origin stories, theirs is the story of a group of guys who wanted to play music. Lead guitarist Drew voiced his idea to start a band to David, now rhythm guitarist. The pair only knew each other a little, but had a connection that led to them being joined by singer Liam and bass player Nik, who had known each other for years. Drummer Chris completed the line up after connecting with the band online. Drew says “coming out of Covid, there was a mutual desire to just play our instruments and play gigs. Once we had all the members, it was relatively easy to play music together. We had a vision, and we were all excited to work towards it. We worked together to support and challenge each other to be better.”

The band started out playing pop punk covers from bands such as Green Day, Fallout Boy and Blink182. As they grew together as a band they started to move towards emo and slightly heavier music. In 2024 the band started writing their own music, which they describe as metal/metalcore. Their setlists have since become a mix of their own songs and heavier covers from bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, Korn and Linkin Park.

Drew said he really enjoys the creative outlet of the band and added “I like writing and learning songs and then playing those songs in a room or venue with other musicians. I love the sound of live drums and electric guitars. Playing live to an audience is amazing, and seeing them enjoy and react to the music is great.”

The band have played a number of venues over the last few months, including a couple of memorable gigs at Bannermans in Edinburgh. Remembering those gigs Drew said “the last time we played there was the first time playing our own songs, so it was very special for us. The songs went down really well, and we had a big audience, as we were the opener and had all the other bands and their fans there.”

“Another time we played there was the night Harry Styles was playing Murrayfield. Bannermans was packed, and it felt like everyone who didn't want to see Harry Styles was there to listen to guitar music. Everyone was having a great time, and the audience chanted for two encores... for that hour, we felt like rock stars!”

To find an upcoming show or listen to their music visit their website: https://www.heliesstill.uk/