Hei’An (SVN)

Hei’An is a five-piece post-metalcore band from Slovenia whose unique sound blends elements from various metal, rock, pop, and electronic music styles. Their deeply emotional and impactful songs are packed with both intimate moments and massive segments.

Hei’An released their debut album, “imago”, via SAOL in November 2022. It was produced by Matej Gobec (Laibach) at The Cosmiconic Studios. To follow up on the album’s success, the band flew to the world-famous EastWest Studios in Los Angeles to record live versions of four songs from “imago” with a string quartet from the LA Philharmonic. The resulting EP, “Live at EastWest Studios”, came out in October 2023.

Since their first-ever, sold-out release show at the cult Slovenian venue Kino Šiška in early 2023, Hei’An has performed across Europe and at some of the prominent metal festivals and music industry events worldwide, such as 70000 Tons of Metal, Metal Days, ProgPower EU, Eurosonic, and MENT Ljubljana.

Hei’An’s sophomore album, titled “Kiss Our Ghosts Goodbye”, was recorded at Beartracks Studio, produced by the band and Randy Slaugh (Architects, The Amity Affliction), mixed by Joseph McQueen (From Ashes to New, Bad Wolves) and Zakk Cervini (Bring Me the Horizon, Architects), and mastered by Ted Jensen.

To promote their new singles, they created four music videos in collaboration with prestigious visual artists Grupa13 and more.

In the words of Hei’An’s frontman, Matic Blagonič:
“While ‘imago’ was focused on internal struggles, ‘Kiss Our Ghosts Goodbye’ delves into situations influenced by external factors: people, society, genetics, etc. Although not a conceptual album per se, it has a clear common thread throughout. I’ve overcome the mental barriers that made me write ambiguously in the past and aimed for brutal honesty and vulnerability in these new songs. Lyrically, the album covers themes such as my battle with multiple sclerosis, societal issues, personal rejection due to my sexuality, and geopolitical fears.

Musically, it’s a huge leap forward, refining the band’s existing sound and introducing fresh elements to create a uniquely “Hei’An” style. Each song addresses a “ghost” from my story, with the moral being that we should all strive to let go and move forward by “kissing those ghosts goodbye”, if we can.”

The group is also already hard at work and promising new music in 2026 already.