“Music saves lives”: Amira Elfeky is here to tell her truth

How many songs do you know about borderline personality disorder? While some of the greatest music from our world wrestles with the heaviness of anxiety, depression or addiction, there’s been negligible representation – even in a genre that cares passionately about mental health – for a disorder that remains under-discussed and sometimes misunderstood. Amira Elfeky is going to change that.

Since exploding on TikTok with viral hit Tonight in 2023, the Connecticut singer-songwriter is at the nucleus of a community of people finding solace in her grungy, gritty riffs and emotionally turbulent lyricism.

“My identity as an artist is centred around mental health,” she explains. “Music saves lives, and it’s something that’s gotten me through my darkest times. It’s allowed me to be very emotionally intimate with my fans.”

Growing up, music was a cornerstone of Amira’s life. She was raised on her Egyptian dad’s Arabic songs and her mum’s classic rock records, while her two older brothers introduced her to nu-metal, and her best friend “fucking blew my mind” by showing her Deftones. Living in Hartford County also placed her in proximity to a thriving hardcore scene. Despite being an academically gifted teenager who many expected to become a doctor rather than a musician, she already knew her purpose.

“I went to college for one semester and I was fucking depressed [by it],” she admits.

Still, deep down, something told her music would work out eventually, even if she couldn’t have pictured racking up astronomical numbers on TikTok. More recently, she’s had salutes from both Architects and Bring Me The Horizon, appearing on the former’s latest album The Sky, The Earth & All Between, and opening for the latter in the U.S. this autumn.

With a sound inviting comparisons to the likes of Deftones, Linkin Park and Evanescence, some have pinpointed Amira as a nu-metal revivalist of sorts. She, however, doesn’t quite see herself that way.

“I never claim to be any specific genre, just because I love exploring,” she explains. “Nu-metal does have a very distinct sound, and some of my songs do incorporate it, but I don’t consider myself fully nu-metal.”

Then again, her music isn’t so much a time machine to a past era as it is a window to her inner self. Indeed, Amira’s latest EP Surrender finds her sounding more individual than ever – and she’s not done evolving yet.

“The next single that I’m working on, I’m fully screaming on it, and it’s very different to anything I’ve ever done before,” she teases. “Being able to push myself is the number one thing. Anyone can make a good rock song – but nowadays there’s so much music, you have to stand out.”

Surrender is out now. Amira Elfeky plays Download Festival on June 15 – get your tickets now.

This feature originally appeared in the summer 2025 issue of Kerrang!.

Read this next:

• Bilmuri: “I’ll be writing music the same way when I’m 50 years old. It’s the greatest adventure”
• The Darkness: “If rock wants to flourish and be the best again, it has to pull its head out of its arse”
• Bambie Thug: “I’m trying to help people accept themselves, and be less afraid to be authentic”