This Billie Eilish song inspired one of the UK's most exciting metal bands to write one of their very best tracks

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

The Eilish song was a “reference point” for one of UK's most celebrated young heavy bands

Billie Eilish in 2025 and Debbie Gough of Heriot in 2024
(Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio | Harry Steel)

Heriot’s Debbie Gough has revealed the surprising impact of Billie Eilish on the metalcore brutes’ music.

Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, the singer/guitarist names Eilish as one of her favourite singers. She adds that Eilish’s song Goldwing, from 2021 album Happier Than Ever, was a “reference point” for the track Visage on Heriot’s full-length debut Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell.

“I really, really, really liked the intro with all the vocal layering,” Gough explains. “I thought, ‘Ooh, that would be cool to try and apply in a metal context.’ It might not translate in that way now that the track’s finished, but that was at least the initial idea. I love her music and it’s definitely an influence on Heriot, with the softer songs that we have.”

Talking further about her appreciation for Eilish, Gough says: “I think she’s amazing! I think she’s got such a dreamy voice. I really like how she plays around with vocal production as well.”

Heriot released Devoured… to rave reviews in September 2024. Metal Hammer journalist Dannii Leivers awarded it four stars and wrote: “The spectre of Nine Inch Nails stalks the beat of Lashed, while tracks such as Opaline and Visage – wrapped in clean, shoegazey melodies and dreamy vocals – mark a new frontier for what we should expect from extreme music. Heriot’s future is very bright indeed.”

Heriot have played shows with the likes of Architects, Lamb Of God and Fit For An Autopsy and have just wrapped up their first headlining tour of the UK. The band have a handful of festival dates set for the summer, including performances at 2000 Trees and Bloodstock Open Air in the UK. See their full gig calendar here.

Watch the full interview with Gough, where she name her five favourite vocalists of all time, below.

Heriot's Debbie Gough picks her 5 favourite singers ever | Metal Hammer - YouTube Heriot's Debbie Gough picks her 5 favourite singers ever | Metal Hammer - YouTube
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Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Online Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.