FOR FANS OF: Northlane, Underoath, Architects, Linkin Park.
Fronted by vocalist Benjamin Hocum and also featuring guitarists Julian Canales, David Granillo, and drummer Mikey Yankovich, Sacramento metalcore-quartet Vice Versa begin a new chapter with the release of their brand new single “Lust”, premiering today exclusively on CaliberTV.
Working with producer Matt Thomas of Ashtone Audio (Kingdom Of Giants, Darko), Vice Versa aim to go against the grain while also delivering a listening experience that is heavy, gritty, and thought-provoking.
The sound encompasses grinding guitar tones mixed and balanced with melody. The focus is on writing quality songs that will stand the test of time. There is no desire to be a band that lives with the trends.
– Vice Versa
Since the bands’ formation in 2018, Vice Versa have toured the West Coast which culminated in a sold out hometown show in Sacramento, CA. The band also opened up for Metalcore heavyweights Wage War, which resulted in a words of praise and encouragement from the band’s frontman, Briton Bond.
We sat down with Vice Versa to discuss the band’s biggest influences, dream tours, and why YOU need to be paying attention to Vice Versa right now.
WHY DO OUR READERS NEED TO CHECK YOU OUT?
“If they are into something fresh, heavy but still super listenable and catchy, then we are definitely worth a listen. We are forward thinking, constantly seeking to build on ourselves and unafraid to delve into new territory. As a band, we know we exist in the metalcore realm but the songwriting talent we have and the massive range of influences we each individually pull from will allow us to seriously break some boundaries in the future. We’re in this to make music that is nothing short of moody, versatile and innovative.”
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A BAND?
“Prior to the pandemic, we had been pretty active in our local scene, and had completed a couple of short tours, one where that led us to a massive sold out show in our hometown of Sacramento. We got the chance to play with Wage War, which for us was huge. The fact that I was sold out was icing on the cake. After the show, we had an amazing talk with Brighton from Wage War where he gave us some invaluable words of wisdom that really resonated with us. It gave us some serious inspiration to keep grinding, to keep moving forward, and to just go out there and own our place. Forever grateful for that dude.”
WHAT IS THE ONE SONG OUR READERS NEED TO LISTEN TO AND WHY?
“Definitely this new single, “Lust”. For us, it marks the start of such an exciting new chapter of our band. It’s a start of a vision that for a while, we were unsure would ever come to fruition, or if we would even continue as a band. A lot went down to get to this point. All the struggle led to this and we couldn’t be more proud of work we’ve been accomplishing as of late. Also, as a band and for some of us altogether, it’s our very first music video. We had to shoot the video flying by the seat of our pants due to the pandemic, but we worked with what we had and came out the other side extremely proud of what we were able to make. Shout out to Jenella Presley for shooting the video and for Sam Beck for putting it together in such an incredible way. Also, big thanks to Matt Thomas from Ashtone Audio for taking our song and making it sound huge.”
WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES IN/OUT OF THE SCENE?
“We are heavily influenced by Northlane, Bring Me The Horizon, Linkin Park, Silent Planet, as well as composers like Hans Zimmer and Mick Gordon. We also are super into aesthetics and soundtracks from movies and shows like The Matrix, Blade Runner, Westworld, Equilibrium and a bunch more. The list could really go on.”
DREAM ARTIST(S) TO TOUR WITH IN THE FUTURE?
“Honestly, touring with Rammstein would be pretty insane. Slipknot would also be nuts. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon would be a serious dream come true for some of us. Honestly though, touring with some huge EDM artists like Skrillex, Deadmau5, Rezz or WHIPPED CREAM would be insane.”
CONNECT WITH VICE VERSA ON ALL SOCIAL MEDIA:
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Apple Music / Spotify
