Metal 2 The Masses Interview: Vulgaris

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There is no tournament quite like the Metal 2 The Masses competition Bloodstock holds every year! London is always a highly contested location, and it brings out some of the most unique and wonderful bands the competition has ever seen. I caught up with Vulgaris before their Semi-final performance to talk about all thing Metal 2 The Masses! Here’s what was said.

You’ve made it to the Semi Final of the Metal 2 The Masses competition for London! How does that feel?

Incredible! We’re really grateful for all the support we’ve had so far and it’s just so much fun playing these bills with other great bands in the scene. It’s exciting to do something new with the band and contextualise ourselves with these other great groups making noise in London. However, it’s getting a bit more nerve wracking each show!

What was the road to this point like for you guys?

It’s been quite a ride, none of us really knew what to expect going into the first heat and competition has been fierce since the very start. The four of us live to get on that stage and blast our songs so getting to show off Vulgaris to the dedicated M2M fans and other bands is everything. We’ve already made some great friendships with other groups and Metalheads at the core of our scene which is the true joy of being part of this whole competition.

This competition has been known for giving smaller and independent bands an amazing opportunity to play Bloodstock’s New Blood stage. How important do you feel it is for these larger festivals to give smaller bands a shot?

To put it simply, promoting and sharing the smaller bands is vital to keeping the scene going. We all love going to festivals to catch the big names and headliners but as good as the legacy bands are you do end up seeing the same names on the same bills, for us it’s more exciting finding a new up and coming group or a hidden gem that you can watch grow and evolve. Plus, there are some amazing new sounds and ideas coming from smaller groups that every metalhead deserves to experience. Getting noticed and making contacts is a tricky thing for all of us bands starting out and Bloodstock continuing the amazing tradition of shining the spotlight on the new blood from around the country is so valuable to us as musicians but for us as fans too.

Does your perpetration change at all playing in a competition-styled environment as opposed to your standard live show?

We’re definitely spending more time crafting the perfect setlist! We’ve also had to put in the hours with a greater focus on the stagecraft side, you have to think about the sounds of the other bands on your bill a lot more and try to gauge audience tastes when putting it all together. In Vulgaris we all listen to a wide variety of metal and genres, so curating the set in that context is a fun challenge, especially given we are fusing Black Metal and Thrash and Stoner/Doom sometimes in the same track.

How would you guys describe your experience playing in the heart of Camden Town?

We love Camden, it’s always been the best spot to catch our favourite bands and getting to take part in that tradition is incredible. The energy is electric in all the venues in the area and you find the best people coming along to see you, all the metalheads in London come out to party with you, it’s a feeling like no other.

How has it been playing with bands you are also competing against? Did this stipulation bring any extra pressure or tension?

The short answer is yes, but only because we are pushing ourselves in Vulgaris to see how far we can take it. The other bands have been so great to get to know and we have had the pleasure of hanging out again with a few friendly faces again, the whole competition has such a great energy, we genuinely are all out there supporting each other. We’ve already played another show with the support of ‘Hand of Doom’ for example who we went up against in the heats. Groups we have played with are performing these incredible sets so there is that extra pressure to match that energy and really bring our A-Game, but that is equally one of the most fun aspects of the whole competition. That extra pressure and competition just means the fans are going to get (and have had) some great shows, and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.

Blackened metal has seen a real resurgence lately, what drew you guys towards this realm of Extreme Metal?

I mean we are all fans of the genre but our sound evolved quite organically. Vulgaris as it is today started out with J (guitar/vox) recording the solo project Ex Igni with our guitarist JJ producing, and it became clear that the evil blackened chords and those high-pitched growls were the real core of what the band could be. When the other 3 of us joined officially we always made sure that the song writing was free and incorporated the ideas that we all wanted to perform. Along with the screams J brings the Atmospheric and Black Metal chord progressions M brings the sludge and the grooves coupled with those low guttural growls, G brings relentless powerful drumming and the necessary blasts and J brings more thrashy rhythms and leading melodies, it all just sort of melted together into our sound.

If you are the lucky ones to go all the way to Catton Park, which band would be your “Must See” act for the weekend?

Now that’s a hard question! I guess we’ll cheat and name a band each.
JJ: For me it has to be ‘Zeal & Ardor’, they blew me away at ArcTanGent last year so I am dying to catch them again.
G: I’m most looking forward to Meshuggah and Bossk.
J: I’m looking forward to seeing Gatecreeper the most.
M: My top one to see this Bloodstock would probably be Gaerea.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to take this interview! Is there anything upcoming that you’d like to promote?

Thanks for reaching out to us, it’s a pleasure! Well, our most recent release is our single ‘Goat Bong’ which is out everywhere you can find music, and if you’re having dig into our stuff make sure to watch the music video for that on YouTube. Otherwise, we are well underway on the next Album and that one is a big step forward for us both in terms of song writing and production so follow us on your social media platform of choice to hear more about that later in the year.