Country of origin: United Kingdom

Location: London, England

Formed in: 2020

Genre: Death Metal

Lyrical themes: Death, Horror, Emptiness

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We have a new born band, we can say that is formed 2020 BC (Before Covid-19).

With only one Demo, entitle Demo I, released April 13, 2020

release on cassette May 1st, 2020, via F H E D.

So, lets the band introduce themselves.

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How the name came?

M - The name "Vacuous" means emptiness and we thought that the name was particularly fitting to the atmosphere our music creates.

1- So, tell us how do you guys meet, and how the idea of creating a band came up?

M: Vacuous is result of two projects falling apart and being consolidated. Michael (guitar) was trying to start a black metal band with Joe (Drums/Vocals), who was also trying to play in a grind core band with Damian (Bass/Vocals). Neither project was getting very far so the 3 of us got together and somehow ended up playing very primitive death metal.

2- What are the main influences in the band?

M: We all have very different tastes and preferences musically from old school death metal, black metal, grind core to punk rock, classic heavy metal and even hard rock. We somehow manage to get together and make something coherent. In terms of bands that directly influence the songwriting and riff creation process we could cite Autopsy, Revenge (Can) as well as some newer death metal acts such as Spectral Voice, Dead Congregation, Disma and Ascended Dead.

3- What is the background of the members?

M: For most of us, the demo was the first music we'd ever released although Damian has played in several other projects. Despite being quite new, we've been involved in the scene in one form or another, mainly going to shows in an around London.

4- Has the band played live shows? Are there any plans for playing once the

show industry starts again?

M: Unfortunately, not yet. The pandemic was just starting to get serious as we were finishing our demo, so we have not been able to play live yet. Very bad timing for us. We have a couple potential offers so hopefully we will play some shows when this is all over.

5- How is the process of writing music inside the band?

M - Generally, the songs start off as just a collection of riffs that Michael puts together and then sends to the other guys. We then work on it until it is in a state that we are all happy with. For the demo, we spent a lot of time experimenting with ideas in rehearsal. At the moment, with lockdown, we are writing material in isolation from each other but luckily technology means that it is very easy for us to send files to each other and work on new songs.

6- Tell us about the Demo, how was the whole experience of recording, production,

create the cover, etc...?

M - The songs came together organically. We tried out a combination of different riff styles, drumming styles etc and managed to make write a demo that we are all happy with. We are a DIY band, so we recorded it completely ourselves. We recorded the drums directly in the rehearsal space. Shortly after that, the Covid outbreak meant that we were all confined to our houses, so we had to finish the guitars, bass and vocals individually and Damian then mixed the songs. For the artwork, Michael's girlfriend is an artist, so we were able to use one of her existing piece. The cover is a mono-print using black ink and aluminium and we thought the darkness of it suited our sound.

7- I don't know any of you guys personally, you seem all very young, how the idea of release a cassette came up? I do not suppose you grow up with this old technology.

M - We are all in our 20s, but some of us actually do remember using cassettes to make mixtapes! For the Demo cassette, the idea came from FHED, who approached us about making a limited run shortly after we had released it digitally. The format has become quite popular again in the underground as it allows bands and labels to produce small amounts at a relatively low cost as opposed to CDs or vinyl’s.

8- Do you think this new global pandemia is going to influence the sound and lyrics in the band?

M - Not sure if we will directly write a song about the pandemic itself. Everyone is affected by Covid in one way or another so making a song about it seems a bit pointless, but I imagine the sense of isolation and despair this crisis has caused has probably made its way into the music. Being in lockdown has definitely given us more time to work on the new material which means that the new songs are a lot longer and more complex.

9- How do you see the world and more specifically the Metal scene after Covid-19?

M - It's impossible to know. Live shows are a huge part of what attracted us to metal so hopefully they will start happening again soon but it's difficult to know when or how this may be. If this goes on much longer, a lot of venues, promoters whose livelihood depend on live music will not be around when the crisis ends which will of course have a huge impact on bands and fans of underground music. To stay positive though, I'm sure bands will keep making music one way or another and Metal will survive this.

10- What are the plans for the band in the future? Any full length?

M -We are currently working on a 5 song EP. The music is mostly written already, we are just making some small arrangements and need to work on vocals and lyrics. We are hoping this will be out at the end of the summer, or early fall - definitely this year!! The new songs are really nasty, heavy and dark death metal so we are really excited for people to hear it.

11- Do you know something about South America and more specifically Colombian Metal scene? Do you listen any bands from that part of the world?

M - Yes, there are definitely some great metal bands from South America. There are of course the classics like Sarcofago and Mystifier that are awesome. For Colombia specifically, it's worth mentioning Parabellum, who were releasing some really raw extreme metal as early as the mid-1980s and definitely deserve more credit for their contributions to black and death metal. Another good one is Masacre, who have also been around for many years now and play really good death metal. Unfortunately, these bands don't really get much coverage in Europe, but we would love to see more of them!

12- Last words.

M - Thanks so much for the interview and for checking us out! As mentioned, we will have a new EP coming out later this year so check that out if you can. When everything is back to normal, we'll hopefully start playing shows and who knows, maybe come visit you in Colombia! Hope everyone is staying safe over there! HAILS.

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