In
a world of intense music being charted forth by bands across the
globe there lies a certain element to such a sole character of
music array, combating out all the rest striking broad territory
leaving the rest in the midst of fester and remains. Such is true
to fundamentals within a business as diverse, vivid and corruptly
awaking, can such imagery sphere the idea of a being of energy
so unlike most bands out there? Hard as it may seem to grasp,
but this can be a true statement, but one can beg to differ that
the reality in some cases can span the mind to readily accept
it. Until there comes along a force to be reckon with casting
the remnants as shards of the lesser groups to prevail to the
void of nothing. Pure extinction! From a witnessing account to
the facts that lay before me such passion and attention rendering
substance taking a form of its own unmask what this reality foretells.
A band within the ranking along with some of the major death metal
league conjures up a storm as brutal as the meaning of its name
itself.
Definition:
Vehemence
\Ve"he*mence\, n. [L. vehementia: cf. F. v['e]h['e]mence.]
1) The quality pr state of being vehement; impetuous force; impetuosity;
violence; fury; as, the vehemence. n 2) intensity or forcefulness
of expression: "the vehemence of his denial" or 3) The
property of being wild or turbulent; "the storm's violence".
Gearing up for a killer one on one interview with none other
than VEHEMENCE’s own John Chavez, guitar
extraordinaire and mastermind whiz. I had the chance to ask him
some in depth questions of what made him some VEHEMENCE.
Jessie:
First I would like wanted to say a job well done with the new
album. Hearing some of the reviews on VEHEMENCE’s new material
there seems to be some killer raves about the bands music. How
do you feel about that?
John: I felt it was well deserved. This album is another
advancement of skill and musicianship in the VEHEMENCE
chapter. We thought we had fans before but now our fan base has
grown enough to say we have VEHEMENCE fanatics.
Jessie:
When did you join VEHEMENCE?
John: I joined VEHEMENCE in early January
2000, a week after I found out about Scott Wiegand leaving the
band. I left my other band called Brides Of Christ simply because
they didn’t have any intentions of signing to a major label
to eventually tour excessively they way I had hoped for. The band
was my first band, and I learned a great deal from that experience.
Growing with VEHEMENCE and networking our way
up through our signing to Metal Blade has been excellent. We never
really encountered troubles within the band, and we stuck through
many rough times as well as great tours.
Jessie:
What can one expect upon listening to the bands new material?
John: You can expect to hear a clearer production than
our last album. This album is more of a straightforward death
metal album and the songs are energetic and flowing. The lyrics
deal with some of the problematic issues the world faces today.
A lot of people can relate to what we are talking about in this
album because some of these issues were all over the news or papers
throughout the past decade.
Jessie:
Since being a self taught guitarist for over 10 years, do you
think it adds to your creative nature on teaching yourself as
oppose to learning from someone?
John: I think if you have the motivation and discipline
to teach yourself the many essential techniques that one can play
in metal, you’ll do just fine. When you can stop the partying
and stay home and practice your guitar for 10 hours, that’s
when you can get results. Learning from someone helps, so it doesn’t
hurt to ask or learn other people’s techniques or songs
from video or tablature.
Jessie:
Who designed the album cover art?
John: An artist named Wes Benscoter designed the artwork.
All we did was give him the title of our album and he came up
with the first within 2 weeks. We think it is his best piece of
artwork out to date.
Jessie:
The front cover album picture shows a being with a large eye on
its forehead (as to what seems that the former eyes were disfiguredly
scarred shut). Almost as to indicate an open visual as it is holding
what seems to be a globe of the world being ready to be devoured.
Was that the concept in naming it Helping The World To See?
John: There is no concept, VEHEMENCE
is just helping the world to see some of the realistic problematic
issues the world today basically on this album. The issues include
songs about the terminally ill and their death process, terrorism,
a one sided Christian extremist television network, drugs, a true
crime story, an ode to all soldiers, depression, family dysfunction,
political issues, and the catholic pedophile church issues.
Jessie:
VEHEMENCE has shared a bill with Prong the last tour, what was
it like sharing a stage with a band such as them?
John: Prong is an excellent band, and we played for an
interesting crowd. Most of the audience didn’t know what
death metal was and loved seeing our style of music being preformed
live. We had great response and we would play with Prong at anytime
again. They are all great guys, and I used to listen to them when
I was in the young age of 12 watching MTV’s Beavis and Butthead.
It was ironic to tour with them after all these years of knowing
their band.
Jessie:
Having shared a concert list in support of other named acts with
the likes of Incantation, Impaled, Decapitated, Testament, Exhumed,
Vio-lence, All That Remains, Nuclear Assault, Deicide, Behemoth,
Amon Amarth and Dark Funeral, do you think that VEHEMENCE emerged
as a diverse group that is within the ranks of some of these named
acts?
John: Since some of these bands have toured places we
haven’t yet, and they are far older than us we don’t
compare business wise, but musically we are all the same. We don’t
keep bands on pedestals when we tour with these bands; they are
normal hardworking bands just like us. Some may have tour buses
and some might be traveling by van like we do at this time. We
are on the up rise and we can only hope to have the same success
as them.
Jessie:
Any plans to touring the US again after VEHEMENCE plays Juarez,
Mexico at the end of July?
John: Yes we have been submitted for many tours, and
those will be listed on our website. We will tour a lot more fort
this album than our previous album. We have also gained interest
from Europe, and to play all those European metal festivals.
Jessie:
In your eyes what would be the ultimate line up for a gig that
VEHEMENCE would share a tour with?
John: It would be nice to get this line up Metallica,
Iron Maiden, Slayer, and VEHEMENCE. You got to
aim high you know, in this business.
Jessie:
What was it like to play some of the fests that VEHEMENCE shared
a spot with, Bestial Legion Fest in Hollywood, Ca. and LA Gates
of Metal Fest?
John: Playing with some of the bands we knew and liked
was great at the Bestial Legion fest. Although, the stage we played
on was horribly ridden with sound problems. No drums were micro
phoned, when they should have been, sound guy did not know what
he was doing. The LA Gates of Metal went well for us but didn’t
have as many people as Bestial Legion fest due to the location.
We played festivals and had autograph signings before at NJ Metal
Fest and Milwaukee Metal fest and it was a pleasure sharing the
stage with many bands that have succeeded as much as they have.
Jessie:
Any plans for a video from VEHEMENCE in the near future?
John: We already have a music video for the song By
Your Bedside on our website. We recorded it in 11 hours,
and it is about the terminally ill. We also plan on releasing
another video for the song We Are All Dying. We plan
on submitting both videos to be aired on MTV2, and Fuse on American
television for now.
Jessie:
How would you describe VEHEMENCE as a band?
John: I would describe us as a hardworking melodic death
metal band with guttural to mid range vocals, brutal and melodic
layering of the guitars, and mid paced to fast technical drumming.
Jessie:
What is your current musical gear line-up?
John: My equipment consists of Line 6 Flextone II Head
w/Pedal, Black B.C. Rich "The Beast"-6 String w/original
Floyd Rose, Chrome hardware, Ebony Fretboard-2 EMG's 81 &
85 & neckthru, 2 Marshall Vintage 30 4x12 cabinets, Boss NS-2
Pedal, & an Ebow.
Jessie:
If you could be endorsed by any company who would it be and why?
John: Well for one by the musical equipment we play,
and by the companies that we by our clothes and shoes from. We
are always open to offers and we will be seeing some endorsements
soon, we were just waiting for the right moment to ask as our
band began bigger throughout the years.
Jessie:
In the creative process of recording were there certain key elements
that went into play when recording of the bands latest material?
John: We just made sure to make sure the album topped
the last album, we write music for ourselves and never compromise
to the other popular trendy styles of metal that are out there.
Jessie:
Any side projects asides from VEHEMENCE?
John: As of now no there are no other side projects for
any member of the band.
Jessie:
What was it like working with Will Solares?
John: We were able to record our album within 4 months,
instead of our previous album which was done within 2 weeks. Will
Solares knows our music in and out, he has been to most of our
shows, and studied our music. We look forward to working with
him again. But for our next album we may want to record with a
bigger name producer. We will see where and who we end up with
for Vehemence’s fourth album. Will allows us to have the
freedom to direct and co-produce our albums, he really follows
through when we want him to do something.
Jessie:
Was it an advantage for the band contributing to the producing
process of Helping the World To See? If so, did it give it a more
VEHEMENCE flow to the overall production to it?
John: It is always great to help contribute to the album
on how it should sound like or turn out to be for the end result.
Sometimes, producers already have an ear for the sound they want
to achieve, but going with them all depends on their previous
work. Will has only worked on our first album God
Was Created and for us it was probably best to go
through the maturing process with Will.
Jessie:
Any final words?
John: Thanks Jessie for this interview and anyone can
visit the bands website at http://www.vehemence.com
or email the band at vehemence@vehemence.com
and visit our label at http://www.metalblade.com
Jessie:
I wanted to say thank you for your time John in answering these
questions and wishing you much success with VEHEMENCE and all
your endeavors. Way to go J \m/. |
