Interview: NEPTHISIS
Photo by Felicia Davis
Sheila Eden is a spooky queen of film trailer music and sync licenser for film and television, sharing dark rock-inspired, female-empowered siren songs. Her music as NEPTHISIS was recently spotlighted in the prestigious magazine Distorted Sound in addition to Metal Temple, Ghost Cult Magazine, Ripple Music, Terra Relicta, and Frontview Magazine, which refers to Eden's work as "A rich soundscape of pounding guitars and haunting ambiance lay the foundations for Sheila Eden's untamable vocal performance... A marriage of horror film score and heavy metal, it is an exceptional and fresh take on the gothic rock genre."
NEPTHISIS' witchy anthem "In The Shadows" was used to promote the film 'Bones and All' starring Timothee Chalamet, and landed in the top 10 songs from Prog Magazine, played on International Radio stations, and had hundreds of thousands of streams on Instagram reels.
What inspires your music?
NEPTHISIS is heavily inspired by the darkest of dreams and the most primal desires, combined with the haunting ambiance and soulful revelation. Musically, this exploration takes on gothic nuances in exchange for a more aggressive spirit unbound by genres. NEPTHISIS has aspects of dark cinematic rock, opera, goth, industrial, and experimental darkwave influences.
Who are some of your influences?
NEPTHISIS is reminiscent of certain aspects of FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE and RUELLE, combined with more rock-inspiration like IN THIS MOMENT, PORTISHEAD, PJ HARVEY, ZOLA JESUS, CHELSEA WOLFE, and even EVANESCENCE.
What are some of your favorite memories from your career?
Every step has had challenges and wonder within it. I'm deeply grateful for it all. The rejection and pain, and the joy and celebration. I'm honored to have gotten to take this path in life. Specifically though, some of my treasured memories from my career include performing and recording alongside others, that fully dare to understand what I'm attempting to create through my music.
Which of your projects do you love the most?
"In the Shadows" is the best example of a culmination of cinematic trailer meets gothic rock elements. It is deeply expressive and speaks to the power we hold inside and are able to unleash when we tap into our truth. It is an empowerment anthem, and is my own story I've lived. I hope it continues to speak to others, and guide them to remember to incorporate all parts of our selves, light and dark. That to truly know the darkness, is to know the light.
Who are some of the collaborators who helped you create your favorite works?
Somer Bingham (@somerbingham)
Andreas Smidelov (@andreassmidelov)
Ana Elena Saucedo Gomez (@Anelsg)
Damian Voelkel (@Voelkelindustries)
What are you most excited to bring to your fans next?
I'm thrilled to bring fans an EP and music video coming soon, all a follow-up to "In the Shadows" and "A Devil Inside" - full of dark ambient, metal-influenced trailer tracks, with an emphasis on the end of times - apocalypse, corruption, and history coming to an end. It will hopefully be a perfect tool in a film or television director's toolkit.
What are your goals for this upcoming year?
For 2025, my goals are to continue to encourage and influence others through my own musical works and the release of a new EP and music video.
How can your fans and our readers best support you right now?
It would be amazing to increase connection and listenership. I would love to encourage listeners to use my creations and music to share on social media, and create reels and more content. It's empowering to see the art that's come through me, go on to inspire others, and lead to sharing, community, and connection. Also, you can find the NEPTHISIS work on all music steaming platforms. Stay tuned for more work coming soon.
