Vulgate Interview

We recently popped by for a chat with Ben Taylor, guitarist with East Sussex thrashers Vulgate, who are poised to unleash a canon of new material at you!

Hi Ben, for anyone who is not familiar with Vulgate, can you tell us a bit about the history of the band, and the origin of the name?

“Hi. Yeah, sure. We formed in school in 2005 under a different name. We announced that we were changing our name to Vulgate in 2008, which then was shortly followed by our first EP ‘Unleashed’.. We were on hiatus between 2010 and 2011, and then reformed with the line up with have now, which is by far our strongest to date.

As for the name, Vulgate is a late 4thC Latin translation of the bible. We chose this name because we were, and still are, influenced by bands like Testament and Exodus, so the biblical name just seemed right.”

You mentioned a couple of names there, but who would be the biggest inspirations to you in your career? Are they much of an influence to the current ‘Vulgate’ sound?

“Every member has thrash roots, but we all have separate influences. It makes things a bit more interesting for us in the writing process, as we try and merge all our ideas together. That is what makes us what we are as a band. If we stuck to one formula every time we wouldn’t sound like we do.”

 

As you’ve matured as a band, and developed the formula, how would you say the sound has evolved over time?

“Every release we have put out has been totally different. We started as an Iron maiden/Judas Priest/Metallica kind of band, then the EP after that was 10 times more heavy and fast and the lyrical themes were borderline brutal death metal. Our latest self-titled EP, released in 2013, was a lot more progressive and experimental, with a fair amount of old school technical death metal seasoning.. As for the new album… you’ll have to wait and see!”

Such a tease! Giving nothing away then?

When it comes to writing new material where’s the starting point. How do you set about the creative process?

“We usually come up with a riff or chord progression, play with the timing, see what has the right feel/groove to it, and then go from there. Once the song has come together, we go into our rehearsal space and work out drum beats as a band. Lyrical themes usually come along a bit later once we are happy with the music side of things. A pretty standard process, I guess.”

 

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome, as a band?

“Our biggest challenge so far as a band is the recording of our debut album without a doubt. It’s an independent release, so there is a lot of work to do, in and out of the studio, and it requires putting in 110% every single day prior to the release. Luckily we have a great producer, Daniel Crook, who is very good to work with.. Plus support from our great family and friends.”

Talking of the new album, you’re about to release a single off it. How will the new track differ from previous material?

“Our single ‘The One Who Knocks’ is a step in the right direction, we think. It’s a bit more straightforward than the material on the Vulgate EP. It’s inspired by Breaking Bad, and has some really catchy riffs, plus we have our good friend Lou Ede from Infected Dead on guest backing vocal duties. We are really happy with it, and hope our listeners will say the same. It’ll be out on the 26th of March in both digital and physical form.”

Is the single typical of the ‘Waves’ material? What can we expect from the new album, and will it contain any surprises for your fans?

“You can expect yet another new flavour of Vulgate. ‘Waves’ is a lot angrier, lyric-wise, merged with elements from different genres of metal forged into our own sound. We sport a handful of delicate sections but we also have a more than generous portion of skull-crushingly brutal sections!

It features some new tracks that we’ve never played live before and they are sounding great.. But once again, that’s for the listener to decide.”

So, after the single and album releases, what’s in store for the rest of 2015?

“First thing first is to, like you said, release ‘Waves’, and then we plan to tour around the UK, spreading our new album as much as possible!”

 

Any final words for your fans and our readers?

“Be sure to check out our upcoming single ‘The One Who Knocks’ on March the 26th and share it with your friends as much as possible.. It will be up for free download on Bandcamp!

 

If you’re local to East Sussex, be sure to come along to our single release show also on the 26th with Xerath and Annunciation at Flairz Venue Bar in Hastings. We’re going to have hard copies of the single and a new range of Vulgate merch up for grabs.”

Interview by Cassandra Irving

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