There are few bands that have experienced the surge that Paleface Swiss have in the last 12 months. There are also not many that deserve it quite like them.
Delivering their blistering, belligerent, and blackened blend of metalcore and deathcore across the world in the most fierce and frenzied manner has seen them triple the size of the rooms they are booked into. Though much of this comes down to the fact that they have allowed what the band is to shift and change in real time.
You only have to take one listen to their new EP ‘The wilted’ and compare it to where they were around the release of their 2025 full-length ‘CURSED’, released almost exactly a year apart, to see how much their intent has changed. In particular, the anthemic atmosphere of ‘Everything Is Fine’, which sees vocalist Marc “Zelli” Zellweger trading in his guttural growls for spine-tingling croons.
It all equates to a band ready to take the throne at the peak of modern heavy music. Unafraid to shift their own self-made status quo and open to welcoming in whoever may be in need of their stunning brand of desolation with open arms, 2026 is set to be a calendar year for them.
To dive deeper into how it has felt to see things shift in real time, Rock Sound sat down with Zelli for a warts-and-all conversation and discovered what it feels like to be at the centre of one of metalcore’s latest and greatest success stories.
Rock Sound: How does it feel to be at the place you are at right now, creating the music that you are now?
Zelli: When we started this, we felt like we knew exactly what we wanted. We knew exactly what our music was going to sound like in a couple of years. But, oh boy, we never expected this. Honestly, we never wanted to stick to what we thought we should sound like. Just because it wouldn’t feel natural to stay the same. I understand that many bands want to keep the same sound they have come from, because they think they can do that specific thing better than anyone else. And for most bands, that is probably true. But everything moves so fast, in the life of Paleface at least. We have released so much music in such a short time, so it’s always been about having fun with it. If, over the course of one year, everything sounded like ‘Please End Me’, I would be done. If I’m not allowed to do whatever entertains me, then what am I doing it for? So let’s always try something new, let’s try something different. We can always go back to what we have done before, and we will always go back. We will always return to the stupid heavy stuff, because that’s what is fun.
RS: Even though the mission objective will always remain steadfast, the way that you are feeling will change as much as the sound, too. The feelings that you’re putting into the band will change as well. It’s clear that there has always been something that you wanted to exorcise, but even that changes with time as well, depending on where in your life you are.
Zelli: The one thing that has never really changed is that I have always had this feeling that I want to do this specific thing. When I was younger, I wanted to be part of the most aggressive band there is. When we’re on stage, I want us to be the scariest band ever. I did that, and now I still want to do it, but I also want to be way more emotional. Way more vulnerable. I have always kept on doing things exactly how I feel. Whatever we write, it’s not a business thing. We’ve been able to become quite successful off the back of me just doing exactly what I want, so why would we ever change that?
I never really read comments, but when I see people saying things like, ‘Oh, this is so unexpected,’ it surprises me. Because in my head, what we have been releasing, whatever is coming next, it all makes perfect sense. To me, what we have always done has always felt so natural. But the thing is, not everyone can feel what I feel. But whilst I’m doing it, I forget about that, and I think it’s a blessing that I forget about it. If I start to think about what other people may like, the flow could be interrupted. But as long as I’m surprised that they are surprised, then I’m doing the right thing.
Is there a particular moment when you noticed that the way people were responding to you had changed?
Zelli: It’s difficult to say, really. I don’t really see too much of what people say, so, for me, it’s kind of hard to pinpoint. But with every tour we have done, things have just got bigger and bigger and bigger. With every release we have had, the numbers have gone up. That’s what I see, even if I’m not looking for it. I know how many people are in front of me. But when did I realise that it had switched? I don’t really know. When we started, we were writing super aggressive music, but I always knew that every song couldn’t be that heavy all the time. On a record of ten heavy songs, they would all out-heavy each other. The people who really listen to our music, I don’t think they feel like things have changed too much. They would always find what they are looking for. So I don’t know whether it’s us that have changed, or whether the sort of people who are finding us have changed and become more diverse. I really love that, though. Old-school dad rock people are finding us through playlists. Plus, when you listen through our discography on Spotify, ‘Hatred’ comes straight after ‘Everything Is Fine’, and I really like the, What the fuck’ that comes with that.
RS: So, where within the last year did the songs that made it onto ‘The wilted’ fit in and find their footing? Are they songs you had on the backburner or were they written as and when?
Zelli: This whole last year has been a really crazy journey. We had all of the ups and downs. So, we released ‘Cursed’, and it was much more experimental than before, even though it didn’t feel that way to us. But people seemed to love it. They didn’t just accept the changes and my singing; they actually loved it. They wanted more of it. So, let’s go, you know? We felt so pumped by the feedback that we just had the urge to write again. ‘Cursed’ as an album was written in a very short period of time, and we felt there was more gas left in the tank because of that. So why not write whilst we were on tour? If nothing cool comes out of it, fuck it.
Then all the tours we were doing went really well, and we started thinking about whether we could actually triple the size of the rooms we’re playing without releasing anything new. But we had these five super sick songs that we really loved, ready to go. We hate sitting on songs. So why not put out an EP? It still feels like it belongs to ‘Cursed’. So, let’s extend the fun we had in 2025 into 2026.
RS: It’s clear as well just how your relationship with the band and what it represents to you has shifted. Because of the emotions that exist on this EP, you probably wouldn’t have expressed them in the way that you have here five years ago. Your openness to what could be a Paleface Swiss song has expanded significantly, which is sizable progress and personal growth.
Zelli: Even though the EP is about wilting, it’s also about growth. But the feeling that we can now do whatever we want, however we want, really did start with the release of ‘Cursed’. That was the biggest step forward. It felt like a door opening, showing us we can do whatever the fuck we want. I always wanted to sing. Not in Paleface in particular, but I always knew it was something I wanted to do. I like what I do with my screaming, but when I hear the songs where I have allowed myself to sing, everything about it feels brand new. Every single moment where I sing, I feel like, ‘I did this, what the fuck?’ I feel like I don’t have to be worried about it. That feels amazing. I think whatever we do in the studio, people will appreciate because we like it.
RS: Whichever way you look at it, catharsis is the result. And knowing that people are responding to the words you are singing or screaming and resonating with them in their own way means you aren’t just falling into and living within them by yourself. You’re not reliving these moments on your own.
Zelli: I think that’s something that I keep on finding out on the journey. I can say there are songs I really wasn’t ready to perform or relive. We have a song called ‘My Grave /Lay With Me’, and I hated playing it live. I still hate playing it live. I still don’t feel ready to play it even now. I feel so uncomfortable with it. The topic, the way I scream, has such a weird feeling. I almost had the same thing with ‘River Of Sorrows’. At the start of 2025, I was nowhere near ready to play that song live at all. But seeing so many people cry to that song – as a release that almost helps – gave me the strength to get ready and do it. I feel like everything I have learned has been on the road. Everything I can do on stage has been from being on stage. I feel like with every show I play, I get a little better. And I feel like I will continue learning in that way and become a very of myself that is ready for the hard things. The thing is, by the time I’m ready to take on something we have done, we are already onto the next thing we have prepared, so it never stops.
RS: Being open to those lessons is such a key aspect of character. Because with how crazy things are, you could very easily just laser focus on what is going on right now with the set of skills that you already have. But how can you ever hope to move forwards without letting those new things in?
Zelli: We’re now playing double or triple the size of the venues that we were playing at the beginning of 2025. So I have to be three times better, you know?
RS: How does it feel to be approaching 2026 with Paleface Swiss being an even more pivotal and central part of your life than it already was?
Zelli: It feels great. I am happier than ever. I’m living the dream right now. And I love being busy and working for my dreams. Every day and week feels better and better than the last, and it’s been that way for a long time. And in 2025, and now into 2026, we have put out more than enough music. Now we can have fun and actually enjoy it. There is so much material out there, and there is so much for us to explore within it, so let’s make sure we are having that fun.
