Forever Still

Forever Still is a Danish alternative rock band active since 2010, based in Denmark and formed in Copenhagen. The group includes Maja Shining, Mikkel Haastrup, Rune Frisch and Inuuteq Kleemann. Maja Shining and Mikkel Haastrup form the core of the band’s songwriting and early development, and the project begins in Copenhagen in 2013.

Early releases and self-produced work

The band releases its first EP, Breaking Free, in Copenhagen, followed by the EP Scars in 2014. Another EP, Save Me, appears in 2015. Their work is largely self-produced: the members organise their own touring, take photographs, create cover art and music videos, and record, mix and produce their music themselves.

Albums, label and collaborations

Forever Still records Tied Down with Flemming Rasmussen, who has previously worked as a producer for Metallica. After signing a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast in 2016, the album is re-released by the label and receives a nomination for a Metal Hammer Award for best debut album. The band then releases its second album, Breathe in Colours, via Nuclear Blast in 2019.

Touring and festivals

Following Save Me, the band tours in the United Kingdom and Italy. It also tours Europe with Lacuna Coil in 2016 and with Children of Bodom in 2017. In 2017, Forever Still opens the main stage at Bloodstock Open Air and later appears at festivals across Europe including Sabaton Open Air and Summer Breeze Open Air. It also tours Breathe in Colours with Cellar Darling and Beyond the Black, and joins the Female Metal Voices Tour with Leaves' Eyes and Sirenia among others.

Sound and later direction

Forever Still is associated with modern rock and alternative rock, with references in its music to alternative metal and hard rock. Maja Shining and Mikkel Haastrup lead the songwriting, and the band’s later material moves towards a more minimalist direction using old drum machines and analogue synthesizers. That approach is shaped by influences including Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure. The band’s third album, The Line, is written during lockdown and is in progress as part of this later phase.