Vacant Body Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Vacant Body slowly came together throughout the course of 2018, and the 3-track demo was recorded shortly thereafter.

2.So far you have released one demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
These are the first tracks that were written for the project - so while they are not entirely refined, they are a good representation of the Vacant Body sound. It is likely that purists would deny this as being 'black metal', however that is what we are going for, maintaining a strong focus on memorable riffs, dissonance and melody.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?
The lyrics for each song are usually quite minimalist, however they tend to deal with occultism and varying degrees of what may exist/happen after the experience of a dimensional shift.

4.The band is located in Australia but recorded the demo in the United Kingdom, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision?
This is just a simple case of inspiration striking while living outside of Australia, and subsequently recording the guitars and vocals during this period. The right time and place.

5.The demo was also masted by Devo of Marduk, can you tell us a little bit more about your experience working with this veteran musician?
Devo presents himself very professionally and works very quickly to achieve a great result. Our communication with him has been brief, but the result speaks for itself and I wouldn't rule out working with him again at all.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Vacant Body'?
The name is derived from the lyrics of 'Spiralling Altar', it could be interpreted as an empty human shell acting as a vessel.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the demo cover?
The artwork was originally created by Joel Filipe and has been augmented into shapes for the cover of our demo. It is intended to conjure images and ideas from the lyrics and music of 'Spiralling Altar'.

8.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
To this date, Vacant Body has been purely a studio project. It is likely that live shows will take place after our debut LP is released, perhaps later in 2020.

9.The demo was released on 'Total Darkness Propaganda', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Total Darkness is a Hungarian label that has been incredibly supportive of Vacant Body from the beginning. They have put out some great releases, including a tape from a fellow Australian band Sanguinary Misanthropia. This label will be very recognizable in the coming years.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
As far as a reaction from black metal fans, that is very hard to say. The reaction in general has been far beyond what was imagined. We have sent tapes and cds to Australia, Hungary, Poland, Norway, Spain, UK and USA so far. There are only a couple of reviews available for our demo that we know of, but they are all positive.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are knee-deep in pre-production for our debut LP, and with any luck it will be released in the second half of 2020. The music is in more or less the same vein as the demo, but obviously the sound has progressed and the songs are more expansive.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
The riffs and structures on 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' always provide influence to the way we write songs, that album is very riff-driven black metal. There is also strong influence from bands like Dissection and Enslaved. As far as what I personally have been listening to lately, the new Gaahl's WYRD album is excellent, and so are recent releases from Ascension, Barshasketh, Craft, Mord'A'Stigmata, Sinmara and Svartidaudi.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for taking the time and interest to send through some questions!

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