Vulgore were formed in September of 2017 and hail from Stoke-on-Trent. It is clear that this is a band who are in their infancy but have already released a self-financed EP called Bliss and played their first ever gig in the Metal To The Masses competition which they went on to win. The prize for this quintet is to play the New Blood Stage on the opening day of Bloodstock festival which speaks volumes about the progress that Vulgore have made in that short space of time. Taking their influences from Black Sabbath, Arch Enemy, Nile and everything else in-between, it felt natural then for Moshville Times to get in touch with the band and find out what all the hype is about. Bassist Sam Williams very kindly put pen to paper and filled us all in.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We are from Stoke-On-Trent.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been together for 11 months now.
Where does the name of the band come from?
We wanted something a little unusual and thought mixing vulgar and gore would stick out a little and we came up with Vulgore.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We bring a lot of different influences into the band. We all love metal in all its different sub-genres and we try to incorporate different styles. We have tracks like “Bathe in The Fading Light” which borrows a lot from doom and melodic death metal but we also have tracks like “Bliss” which is just downright filthy riffs.
How often is the band able to get together and rehearse in the studio? Where do you get together and record?
We get together once a week on Saturday night at The Riff Factory in Stoke. We also record there with Tom Carter who is an amazing producer.
How are the songs constructed in the studio? Are there the main songwriters of songs that take care of everything or is Vulgore a band where all contribute to the songs?
In the studio, Dave and Andy are absolute riff machines. Andy loves his doom styles and Dave loves fast-paced heavy and big sounding riffs. They come up with the foundations and then Sam and Hayden team up to create a really thunderous underlay and finally Ian will incorporate guttural lows with catchy cleans. We all contribute as we just love working together. We all just click.
How hard has it been to juggle the touring side of things with the everyday jobs? Do you have plans to go on bigger tours and further afield in 2018?
At the moment we aren’t too bad as we haven’t toured as of yet, we do intend on and will balance work the best we can. At the end of the day we would rather be playing music and will keep going until we drop.
There seems to be a resurgence of old school aesthetics and releasing cassette versions of EP/albums. Is this something that you see yourselves doing with “Bliss”?
It’s not something we have given much thought. I suppose we would see how our future goes, we would love to release a vinyl!
So what are the plans with the rest of 2018? Is there a chance of more material?
For the rest of 2018 we are focusing on playing as many shows as we can. We want to get our name out as much as possible but we have started writing our next set of tracks. Also there is the big one, Bloodstock 2018!
How hard is it for an extreme metal band like Vulgore to survive in the current climate where bands have to tour non stop and sell merchandise in order to bring money back into the band?
It’s not easy to be honest. Some gigs you turn up to and it’s packed and some there’s no one there. It can be hard for bands that are trying to make a name for themselves. We have started to think with more of a business mind as to what would be viable and what isn’t. To make it work we have to make money but we have to spend that money too. As the saying goes, you have to speculate to accumulate. At the moment we are still very much in our infancy so there’s a lot of investment going on.
Are there any other bands from your local scene that you would recommend?
Oh wow, there’s so many so here goes. First off our brothers in Living Monstrosity UK, go check them out and they also put on a killer live show! There’s also YOUYESYOU, Chris the vocalist knows how to work a crowd and has so much energy I get tired just watching him. There’s also King Abyss, Heavy as Balls, This Sun No More, I Am Pariah, Till The Fall to name a few, there’s honestly so many good metal bands in these parts.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Heavy and laden with crushing riffs and proper bang your head moments. If you want to let off some energy and steam then come see us. We love doing what we do and nothing makes us happier than seeing people bang their heads and go nuts.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
A few of us have and we love it. Like one big family and such an amazing atmosphere.
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it?
We didn’t at all, the first heat was our first gig and we just wanted to play and then going into win it feels unreal, we keep having to pinch ourselves to make sure it’s real.
What sort of set list can we expect?
Expect heavy and high energy. Expect fast-paced solos and wall rumbling rhythms and melodic riffs and also a lot of head banging.
Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We hope we don’t clash with Bloodbath as we really want to see them!
What are you working on at the moment?
We are working on getting our set tighter and also working on new material.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?
Going back to an old band, I think the craziest thing we saw was Glasgow. Amazing place and amazing people but hell they can drink.
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Kraken, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon?
And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Kraken!
A fun question to end this interview. If you were a DJ and were allowed to bring 5 CDs to the party, what would they be?
- Soilwork – Stabbing the Drama
- Trivium- Shogun
- Fear Factory – Demanufacture
- Lamb of God – Sacrament
- Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Any last message for our readers here at Moshville Times?
Come check us out at Bloodstock and also check out our debut EP entitled Bliss which is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, iTunes, Google play music, Amazon, YouTube and more and don’t forget to like our page!
Vulgore: facebook | soundcloud
