A Chat with Asleep At The Helm (12.08.25)
Hailing from the UK, Manchester to be precise, Asleep At The Helm is a modern metalcore band with a sound that is rambunctious, rebellious, ferocious, and as uncompromising as possible. We speak with members Daniel Fleming and Jimmy Dahmer about their single, ‘Photosynthetic’, greatest achievements, what music means to them and more.
OSR: How did Asleep At The Helm come together?
Dan: Our previous guitarist Brandon and previous frontman were in a band together before AATH, they were going to write some material for an “end of the band” EP sort of thing, listened back to some of the songs and decided to release them properly, made a couple more songs, recruited some people and ended up making the album Dissonance.
OSR: You’ve just released your single, ‘Photosynthetic’, and are about to release the EP,
Ornate Resentment. What can you tell us about the EP? Are there any themes or
backstory?
Jimmy: The EP is an emotional expression based around our own personal experiences over the past year. The theme is one of resentment, hate, evolution, survival and growth.
OSR: You released a music video for ‘Photosynthetic’. What can you tell us about creating
the video? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
Jimmy: With the song being short, we wanted to have a video that was simple yet striking. Every single song on this EP has a music video, and every other music video has been extremely art driven, from concepts of ideas to locations and props, with this one, we wanted to make this one more simple as it’s the opening of the EP.
OSR: Why did you opt to create a music video for the single? Why not just leave it at the
single?
Dan: Music videos are a different art form that we can use in order for us to relay to the viewer and listener a different aspect of the vision we have. This is something we are very passionate about, visual and audio are just as important as each other and it gives us a moment to be able to be just as creative with music videos as we are with the songs. It also gives us a chance to work with different videographers and such within the industry.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
OSR: Asleep At The Helm is known for their energetic, high-octane live shows. Which is
the most memorable to date, and why is it so memorable?
Jimmy: Laurance Taylor of While She Sleeps put on his first festival earlier this year called Shreddler Fest and we were invited to play that, being there was an amazing day. 2 stages having amazing artists performing on both of them, and having a room full of people throwing down to us was an amazing feeling.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Dan: It is a way of expression and relief, it can create any emotion in the blink of an eye, it is the best thing we do as a species. Every single human on the planet enjoys some sort of music and can bring us together.
OSR: Describe Asleep At The Helm in one sentence.
Jimmy: An upcoming UK band with the drive and will to become a household name.
OSR: What is your greatest achievement professionally and personally?
Jimmy: Getting signed & releasing an EP under a label. It’s a dream come true, I feel incredibly lucky and proud knowing that this achievement has been done through Year of the Rat Records and no one can take that away from us.
Dan: Having our music being made into vinyl form is something I never thought I’d see happen.
OSR: What can we expect from Asleep At The Helm in the future?
Jimmy: We are currently working on the foundations of our next pieces of music. We also have two shows coming up, 20th Sept @ Amplified Fest in Sheffield among the likes of Confessions of a Traitor, Continents, In Retrospect and Pulse, and then 22nd Nov @ Satans Hollow in Manchester supporting On Hollowed Ground.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Jimmy: Go and check out our latest single ‘Photosynthetic’ amongst the other releases ‘Equilibrium’ and ‘Tarnished’, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more new music around the corner.
Many thanks to Asleep At The Helm for speaking with us. Find out more about Asleep At The Helm on their Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.
