Blackened Horde: How did the band get started?
Ben: It all started when Me and Will were 14 – 15 years old in 2005 but we went under a different name until we changed our name to Vulgate in 2008, we started as NWOBHM style band and then kinda got a taste for the more heavier stuff overtime!
Blackened Horde: What kind of music do you play?
Dan: We’re a mish mash of odds and sods its quite difficult to stick us to one genre. but if we had to call ourselves anything, we’d have to say Progressive thrash/death metal.
Blackened Horde: How has the fan response been?
Ben: Yer pretty good, we’re a bit of a Marmite band, a bit of an acquired taste in other words, to appeal to the general metal fan these days you have to wear make up, have a bowl cut and sing about how your Dad didn’t buy you a Bicycle for your 7th Birthday haha, but yer we really appreciate the people who really support us and we try our best to show them also.
Blackened Horde: Where did the band name come from?
Ben: Vulgate is the 4th Century Latin translation of the Bible, we’re big Testament and Exodus fans.. so the bible themed name was a must!
Blackened Horde: Introduce the band members and what they do in the band?
William James Brown: Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar
Benjamin Mackenzie Taylor: Guitar
Daniel Iain James Weir: Guitar
Owen Alexander Fowler: Drums, Doritos consumption
Blackened Horde: Who writes the music? Lyrics?
Dan: It’s a collective effort at the end of the day. If we all didn’t pull our weight someone would get a thick ear! Our good chum EWOK lovingly assists in a lot of the lyrical process, and he’s always out for a laugh.
Blackened Horde: And where do the lyric ideas come from?
Dan: We take inspiration from a lot of different things: politics, science fiction, outer space and all that fine stuff. in reality we’re all a bunch of nerds, so science fiction takes president in our writing process 😉
Blackened Horde: What is your view in Satanism and Occultism?
Ben: We see religion and music as two different things. We play music to play music, not to make people think we’re all dark and sinister by writing songs about how we believe the Devil but not God and dressing like something out of a Tim Burton flick. Music is meant to be freedom of expression and trying to act like an anti-Christ seems like it would be a bit of a laugh admittedly, although creatively aggravating therefore a one way street and that’s not how we roll.
Blackened Horde: How many albums/CD’s have you released?
Ben: 2 EP’s… but our first one ‘Unleashed’ was a very long time ago and we’ve progressed a lot since then and we have a completely different line up.. so we count out current EP as our first.
Blackened Horde: Tell me about some the songs on the latest CD?
Ben: Well I like to think of our newest self titled EP as a loosely based concept EP.. the intro track ‘Transparence’ is a piece I came up with one night off my head and I showed the rest of the guys and they really liked it and then we decided it should open the EP, The Sickening Fanatical Mind is about the Norway Killings, Light in the Sky was the first song I wrote for the EP and it’s about the sun going Supernova and fucking us all pretty much, Waves is an instrumental track written and performed by Dan and Waters of Judgment is about a repeat of the Deluge, the great flood, happening to our civilization as we know it now, all in all quite an apocalyptic themed release, Ironically all the songs we’re written in 2012 as well.
Blackened Horde: Do you have any side projects?
Ben: This band takes most of our time, money and energy but Dan does a few solo tracks and stuff!
Blackened Horde: Who are some of your musical influences?
Ben: We started as a full on Thrash Metal band, obsessed with the likes of Testament, Exodus, Heathen etc. And then we got into the more progressive side of metal, Death, Cynic etc. But we all like all sorts and we all have our separate tastes and I personally think a good band is like a good recipe and both have to have different ingredients to achieve a good full on flavor.
Blackened Horde: Which current bands?
Ben: Neon halo and Wretched Soul are doing pretty well for themselves at the moment, Cracking Lads as well!
Blackened Horde: What is the band like when you play live?
Dan: Good I hope, haven’t received any complaints haha.
Blackened Horde: Have you guys ever played in another country?
Ben: Not yet, but that definitely needs to change!
Blackened Horde: How big of crowd shows up at shows usually?
Ben: Depending on the location of the venue and how well we are known in the area it depends…. but places where people are familiar with us, we don’t have much of a problem getting people down!
Blackened Horde: How is the crowd response when you play?
Ben: As our music is fairly varied in styles and timings, people who haven’t heard us before sometimes appear to not know how to react but once people have got familiar with our EP they know what bits to mosh and headbang to!
Blackened Horde: What do you think of the US Black Metal/Death Metal scene?
Ben: Personally, I’m not that into the black metal scene.. but I think the current Death Metal scene in America is as strong as it has ever been with bands like Dying Fetus broadening to wider audiences etc.
Blackened Horde: What do you think of the Overseas scenes?
Ben: I don’t really think the scenes are that different anywhere you go, I see Metal as a kind of universal bond sort of thing, it’s all loud guitars, filthy pizza and over enthusiastic alcohol consumption, just how we like it haha.
Blackened Horde: What are some of new favorite black metal/death metal bands?
Ben: I don’t know what people define as ‘New’ but I’m currently listening to a lot of Obscura, Dying Fetus, Vale of Pnath and Symbolic!
Blackened Horde: When do you guys plan on writing any new material?
Ben: We are always writing, we have enough material for another Album after the one we are preparing to record now.. getting enough time to record them all is our problem! haha
Blackened Horde: What does the future hold for the band??
Ben: First things first is to get this full debut album out, go out and gig like mad bastards, spread it about like butter and try not to kill each other in the process! If we can achieve that for 2014, we shouldn’t have much problem keeping a gaping grin arisen!
Contact them at:
https://www.facebook.com/Vulgatethrash
http://www.youtube.com/VULGATEMUSICUK
