The importance of Boston on the legacy of hardcore can’t be understated. Fuck the salad days, I say, and onward to the entree. Vein, an unhinged brood of metallic hardcore pummelers, are poised to take their unpredictability to the main stage. With sets lined up for both Sound and Fury and the ever-crucial TIHC, the fearless crew are set to challenge the HxC status quo. With a sound both defiantly new and peppered with nods to metalcore (before the term made us all collectively shudder), they’re wholly original and punishing.
After catching a violent and explosively abrupt set supporting Code Orange in Baltimore, I got the chance to pick the collective brain of the aforementioned Vein. They were kind enough to crack open the band’s skull… Ferocious, gorgeous and singular.
You’re obviously students of the history of extreme music. I hear traces of classic metalcore and even emoviolence: Unbroken, Rorshach, Deadguy into the heyday of Botch, Converge, The Orchid and even noise but far more varied. Tell me a bit about how Vein came together and if the late 90’s/early oughts appear in your record collections.
Four of us were in another band a couple years back that didn’t have the capacity to add those influences, so we decided to start a new band for that sole reason. Bands like Converge, Botch, Jeromes Dream, Neil Perry, and Daughters really planted the seeds for what we wanted to do sonically. We’ve always taken elements from these bands and put our own spin on them. I don’t really collect records or buy them often, at least not as much as I used to, but the few that I won’t let go of are the ones from the bands mentioned above.
Another touchstone for some might be Code Orange, another band fucking with the boundaries and viability of extreme music. I know you played some East Coast dates together. How was it and do you feel as though there’s more room for experimentation in hardcore?
It was incredible. We’re really thankful for that opportunity and they were definitely an inspiration to watch live every night. I think right now they’re the leading example that there is absolutely more room for experimentation in hardcore. You just gotta have a strong vision and grind your sound until you achieve it.
I’m basing this question solely on your Instagram, which is gorgeously rendered, tasteful and artistic. How important is artful presentation to the band’s overall aesthetic?
Thank you. Our drummer Matt does the Instagram. I do mostly all the t shirt designs and layouts for various things. Our aesthetic and our art is extremely important to us. The album art, the t shirts, everything visually has to represent the music as much as possible. It’s like an extension of the way the music feels. It makes everything come full circle.
I recently heard a review of the Split with .gif from God on “That’s Not Metal,” a huge media outlet. They echoed my sentiments. Though it’s only 5 minutes in length, there’s an absolute sea of music to get lost in. When/if do we get a full length?
We have a full length record written. It’s hard to say right now when it will come out. Hopefully around fall.
Brad Boatright at Audiosiege invariably ends up involved in a ton of my favorite releases these days. How is it working with someone so deeply entrenched in the scene?
He’s the best there is right now as far as I know. He’s always killed it for us and had a quick turnaround time. He’ll make any mix explode into it’s full potential.
What does Vein have lined up for Spring/Summer 2017 and beyond (tours, music, merch, etc.)
We’re doing a tour out to Sound & Fury, playing This Is Hardcore, and doing another tour at the end of the summer that is still in the works. Beyond that we’re focusing on getting this LP out and touring as much as possible.
How can people get in touch, buy the album, keep tabs?
Everything is up on veinband.bandcamp.com, we just put the split on Spotify as well. You can follow us on twitter @veinband and instagram @vein.tv.
