thePULSEV
By Jennifer Russo
Every so often a band comes around that truly defines the word performance…a band that isn’t afraid to glamorize themselves for the stage, wear costumes and makeup and allow their inner darkness to take control. You see this kind of bravura with KISS and Slipknot, but it just isn’t as common in the land of music as I wish it were. So finding a band that knows their music shines through their lurid personas and embraces who they are to the nth degree and truly gives their audience the show they came to see is cause for recognition and worth a second look…and a third.
The band believes that a show should be an experience. “We’re always making the old stuff tighter and the new stuff better. We’re bringing a pro quality show to the clubs and bars to give people their money’s worth ~ our own light show, fog machine etc. ~ the people paying to see us deserve to be entertained.”
V is a four piece band featuring Nikki Lust (vocals), Nikki Sin (Guitars), Nikki Dark (Drums) and Nikki Rage (Bass). Why are they all named Nikki? Sin tells me it is because “Everybody’s opinion in this band matters…it needs to work as a whole unit with everybody in the band being able to contribute…it just means that we’re united.” As with most perfectionists, finding this unity took some time, but they have finally found that perfect chemistry.
“A female vocalist definitely wasn’t something we anticipated at the start,” says Dark. “We wanted a powerful vocal presence and I think we succeeded. Nikki Lust compliments the music better than we could’ve imagined. Nikki Rage is a master. If you watch him play for too long you will be lost in how fast his fingers move…his fills are almost like having another lead guitar.”
The music is described as theatrical melodic metal, which Dark says are three distinct aspects. “The theatrical aspect is obviously our look, which doesn’t translate to the music itself per se. We are metal, plain and simple. The melodic part refers to our vocal style. We’ve taken a lot of people by surprise that have initially though we were a death band.”
Dark tells me that right now they are a promotion machine. “We will be shooting and releasing videos for all the tracks off our new CD, playing shows, writing, bloodletting…you know…the usual.”
V has just finished recording their 7 song EP From Within the Darkness, which they will be promoting at Rock and Shock this month. They play an all ages show at Danny’s Place in Acton on October 19th…wearing garlic around your neck is recommended.
Get acquainted on their website: www.WeAreV.net
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Devil’s Champion
By Benjamin McNeil
Aggression and raw emotion; a passion for showmanship and intensity; precision; a twenty-minute interview with Devil’s Champion uprooted this writer’s preconceptions of the metal genre. “[Metal] is the hardest music to play live,” asserts Matt Hart, guitarist for the “well-oiled machine of blood, sweat and metal” that is the group Devil’s Champion.
Devil’s Champion was born in 2009, and consists of five members: Mike Tobin kicks ass with vocals, Matt Hart and Matt Burpee are the guitarists, Derek Rooney is the bassist, and Justin Everett is on drums. The group is influenced by Metallica and Slayer, among others, but as Hart explains, “We don’t try to be like others. We all just get together and write. We pride ourselves on being the tightest band around.”
Mainstream media (go-80s) tags metal as a suicide-inducing, barbaric genre intended for no one; fuck that. Metal is different; it takes a tireless work ethic and true soul, traits embodied by Devil’s Champion. There are no half-measures with D.C. “Mike’s an animal,” Hart adds in reference to Mike Tobin’s daily vocal exercises, which blow his throat out; I doubt you’d say that about Bieber or Perry.
The group’s tracks (which can be streamed on Facebook and ReverbNation), including “The Feeding” and “Blinded by God,” take root in emotions of pain, love, loss, hate, and religion, and are founded largely upon conventions of classical music. “There is definitely a combination of speed and groove,” the band explains, but their five-track demo does not fall neatly under one subgenre.
Devil’s Champion has a rabid fan-base. “We had one girl from Greenfield drive up to our practice in Merrimack to buy a ticket for our [September 23rd] show…and she brought us cookies,” Hart says. “Our live show is crazy. Playing metal is what we’re all about.” And they own the stage.
