Los Angeles hard rockers Edge of Paradise recently released their new album, Prophecy, on March 7, via Napalm Records. The record continues the band’s overall evolution and this time bringing in a heavier shift in their style while covering subjects such as tackling themes of AI, identity, and disconnection in the digital age. Metal Insider recently spoke with vocalist Margarita Monet about the new album.
What was the recording process like for Prophecy?
I love the recording process, it’s addicting to watch a song transform from an idea into this fully realized world. Prophecy is the fourth album we’ve created with the same production team, so by now, we’ve developed a great rhythm in how we work! We actually record things a little backwards. I usually start by creating demos in my home studio. For this album in particular, after Doug Weiand heard some of my ideas on the keyboard, he was like, “that would fit perfect with an 8 string,” nd that was a significant evolution for us on this album, with the new sonic landscape. It really opened up an entirely new space for Dave to explore with his guitar parts and layers. So once we had a solid demo, I would usually record the final vocals next.
I record vocals with Mike Plotnikoff at West Valley Studios, and I always love working with Mike. He gives me the freedom to explore creatively, we talk about the secrets of the universe and all the mind bending stuff and he’s great at guiding me to get the best performance possible 🙂 Once we have vocals done, usually for 4 or 5 songs, we’ll do a drum session with Jamie Moreno at the studio and the songs start to transform! Then we move on to guitars with Doug and Dave, using a mix of studio and home recordings to layer everything in. After that, Kenny lays down the bass tracks in the studio. And now the cinematic demos turned into rock and metal songs!
Once I have all the instrumental files, I go back and rework all my keyboards. The songs evolve so much during the process, so sometimes it’s a challenge to make sure every layer complements each other and supports the vocals. After I’m done editing the tracks, I send them to Jacob Hansen for mixing—and that’s when the magic really happens. Jacob really knows our sound! Hearing the songs come to life in the final mix is one of the most exciting parts for me and we’re so proud of this record!
Prophecy explores the concept of The Singularity, what inspired you to take on this theme?
The idea of The Singularity—where human and machine consciousness merge—is both fascinating and unsettling. It felt like the perfect metaphor for where we are right now as a society. Technology is evolving faster than we are emotionally, spiritually, and even ethically. I’ve always been drawn to stories that explore that intersection between humanity and the future—where we’re headed, what we’re becoming, and what we might lose along the way.
These topics have fascinated me for years. It actually started with our album Universe in 2019. That was the first time I explored the idea of what lies beyond our current reality—space, time, technology—it was more of a curiosity and exploration. Then with The Unknown in 2021, it got deeper and darker. I started questioning not just what’s out there, but what’s inside us, our fears, hopes, finding strength in the unknown… Who are we becoming as we surrender more of ourselves to the digital world? Are we able to exist through this Digital Paradise we are creating? Maybe living forever is possible through this cyber existence, and I left it up to the listener to decide if that’s the future they’d want to be a part of.
Hologram in 2023 expanded that further. It painted this vivid, almost cinematic landscape of a fractured future, beautiful, exhilarating but broken. And even then, I left it open-ended. I presented the possibilities, the tension, the beauty and the danger, and let the listener decide how they felt about it. And the graphic novel took the story further!
Prophecy is different. For the first time, I’m taking a stance. This album is almost a warning and deep exploration of the subconscious. Exploration of what makes us human. Every song is a piece of that vision—a reflection of power, control, surrender, and the fight to stay grounded and keep expanding our minds, in a world that’s becoming increasingly artificial. But also ask those deep questions, like where do we come from, what is our purpose, how this changing world effects us as humans, and the human connection that is so important for us to thrive.
I think music has the power to make people feel something before they can even explain it. And with Prophecy, I wanted to create an experience that shakes something loose inside you. Not just to imagine the future, but to question whether it’s one we truly want.
For Margarita Monet, how did writing the lyrics for Prophecy challenge you as a lyricist?
I was very excited to make this album, because I wanted to continue the story of Hologram and the graphic novel ended a bit on a cliff hanger 🙂
Quickly, Prophecy came to be a but different though, and I was going through a lot in my personal life and also, the world around me, I feel like it’s changing so much, that naturally shifted me to have a different approach. I feel like I really took a stance with this album, as well as showed my most vulnerable sides. And I didn’t want to just sound poetic and abstract, I wanted every word to carry meaning and urgency. To cut through this “loud loud world” 😉
It also challenged me to balance vulnerability with strength. Many of the songs are written from the perspective of someone standing on the edge of transformation, of collapse, of truth. And I had to find that voice that could be both fragile and defiant at the same time.
Were there any particular books, movies, or philosophical discussions that influenced the new album?
I do love philosophical discussions 🙂
I think I’m drawn to like minded people that really like to engage in conversations that may really challenge perspectives, bend some concepts and arise more questions!
And I’ve talked to a lot of people from all sorts of walks of life, from artists and their views on AI lurking into the creative fields, scientists and the constant new discoveries that push the boundaries of what we know, like he quantum field of science is fascinating to me and just people that share similar interests. I like to think a lot, sometimes it’s a blessing and a curse though! I’ve also watched some cool shows like Dark Matter which plays upon the idea of every possible outcome has to happen and much more. But what interests me the most is the human mind, what drives us, what matters to us, what makes us feel joy or sorrow, and what ultimately helps us evolve. And no matter where my thoughts go, I always return to this core idea: we thrive when we find purpose in each other, through creating, sharing, and truly living those moments together.
What song was the most challenging to write?
I would say “Death Note”, just because it was the first song that I started to write when we got into the process to finish the album. I actually started working on it while we were still on tour with Firewind. The first song is always a bit of a challenge in a way that it sort of sets the tone and lays the path for the rest of the album. And there were a lot of new changes in the band and in my life, so it was a lot of things to balance. The song kind of picks up where the graphic novel left off, we are back into our physical bodies, after this mind bending trip though the Hologram 🙂 And now we’re stepping into the unknown version of ourselves, coming together, forming this “Defiance” And in a way, it mirrored my actual life! But It’s like mourning a part of you that never fully got to exist, and transforming into someone the future needs you to become. There’s a quiet, powerful intensity in that.and there’s a quiet intensity in that.
And vocally, it called for both softness and explosive power, moments of restraint and total release, channeling the voice of this looming, sentient AI. But when it all came together, hearing the final version, and seeing it come to life in the music video, it’s always an incredibly rewarding feeling!
Can you talk more about the songs “Death Note” and “The Other Side of Fear?”
Both of those songs are sort of the pillars of Prophecy, they really represent the emotional and conceptual extremes of the album. “Death Note” is one of the heaviest, both sonically, vocally and emotionally. The music reflects that contrast—epic and cinematic, but also raw and personal. It was also the first song that we started using the 8 string guitar, I remember when Doug first introduced it, the way he played the riff that really fit the keyboard parts I had, it sort of opened up a new dimension for our sound. It sounded really cool, because the guitar is able to withstand such low frequencies with clarity, but it was a bit of a challenge to figure out how Dave’s 7 string guitar would compliment it, because we didn’t want to just layer the same parts, we had to find new ways for the guitars to compliment each other. And this would also set the tone for the rest of the songs to come!
Vocally also, I pushed myself more, to really convey what I was saying, to embody the A.I. voice that you hear in the bridge section of the song. It’s almost like an intense rap haha, it was a mix of intense power, maybe a bit of anger and command, channeling this almost mechanical force, but also keeping the overall song very human and expressive at the same time.
“The Other Side of Fear” is like the pulse of the manifestation of the future you want, smashing obstacles created by fear, with a bit of rebellious spirit that carried over from Death Note. It’s explosive and it’s fun! The song taps into that moment where fear is no longer something you run from, but something you run through. Lyrically, it’s about reaching that point where you stop holding back by doubts, insecurities, fear of the unknown and tap into self-liberation and realization…
Sonically, it’s very fun, groovy and still heavy! I also love the guitar solo in it, it has a bit of the jazz quality to it! We actually had both Doug and Dave do solos to the bridge section that I made, and I ended up taking Doug’s solo and scattering it through the choruses that really uplifted the vocals and the lyrics! Vocally it’s really showing the rawer side of my voice, with a bit of pop elements that make it a bit more fun! Together, these two tracks showcase different sides of the Prophecy adventure 🙂
Prophecy is also tied to your graphic novel series. How does the album expand on the world introduced in Hologram and Slaves to Forever?
Yes! Prophecy is very much the continuation—and in many ways, the escalation of the world I introduced in Hologram and Slaves to Forever. With those earlier stories, and the laid foundation, a divided society where some people are for the digital reality, enslaved by this exhilaration illusion created by Holographic technology and those that recognize the danger of it, seeing others succumb their physical bodies to the Hologram. Slaves to Forever introduced the idea of humanity bound to a system, where identity becomes distorted, and the lines between what’s real and synthetic completely blur.
Prophecy takes place after all of that, after the illusion collapses and we are back in our physical bodies, after seeing what happened on the most volatile planet of the universe, after the seeing the Rogue warrior sacrifice his whole civilization to insure that the shadow of A.I. wouldn’t reach human conscience, through the hologram. But it did. And as we re entered our physical bodies, we have a new awareness from everything we experienced in the Hologram. There’s a shift, the AI that once observed us from afar is now active. It has evolved and wants to keep overtaking. Overtaking human consciousness, breaking down the fabric of the universe that our consciousness weaves together. So the world of Prophecy is one where a new kind of war begins: not just external, but internal. It’s a battle for the human soul, for free will, and weather we are able to withstand the merger and stay in control of our own minds.
The characters in Prophecy are also no longer just reacting, they’re choosing, and realizing that survival means transformation. And it’s all connected. The music, the story, the art, it’s one big immersive world, and with Prophecy, we’re opening up the next portal 🙂
Prophecy marks your debut with Napalm Records. How has working with them influenced the band’s creative vision?
It really fueled our inspiration for this album, it’s great when you have a label partner that supports your vision and people that work as hard to bring this vision to the masses! It’s been such a pleasure working with people at Napalm, and It definitely pushes you to keep raising the bar for ourselves and bring our best work forward!
What’s next for Edge of Paradise beyond Prophecy?
I see prophecy as almost a launchpad into everything that’s coming next. The next installment of the graphic novel series, which will dive even deeper into the world we’ve built… There’s also a lot of touring ahead, both in the U.S. and internationally. We’re going to Mexico for the first time, and as a headlining act, so that’s going to be very exciting to bring our music there! And we’re also expanding our live show, like stepping into a live chapter of the story.
We’ve got more music videos on the way, and we’re already developing the next creative concepts to further push the boundaries of how we present this universe. Visual storytelling is a huge part of who we are, and we want each piece to bring fans deeper into the experience. I’m also working on new handmade items of the merchandise that people can own a piece of prophecy, that is very personal, like this ancient lyric journals I’m making, also more art pieces that play upon the props in the videos and a lot more!
And I’d love to see this story evolve into something even larger… maybe even a film one day 🙂 But I’m just grateful for every single person that is taking part of this world we’re building, and I want to keep growing it through this different dimensions and hope to inspire and empower!
Is there anything else you want to say or add about the album?
I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s listened to Prophecy, come to our shows, or picked up a physical piece of this world, whether it’s the CD, the vinyl, or any of the merch. It truly means the world to us. We put so much heart, energy and soul into this album, and to see people connect with it the way they have, it’s incredibly rewarding and inspiring.
And I hope that we in return, bring some inspiration to the listeners, makes you feel something, provoke thought, or just escape into the world we’ve created for a moment. Music is such a powerful force, and it’s something uniquely human. It brings us together, across all boundaries, and we’re so grateful to be part of that connection. Thank you for being on this journey with us!
