Interview with Darrell and Vinny from Vicious Circle, by Jen

God, I remember seeing you guys back in the day with Strength, and Screaming Jesus, at the pizza joint, Sabatino's, when I was still in high school. You have got to be one of the older bands in this scene. You have also gone thru some member changes over the past few years. Tell me more about that.
Vinny: Yeah, we've been around for about 15 years now. We started in 1988 and released our first demo in 1989. Dave and I are the ones who started the band, right after high school. Throughout the years, we've replaced (2) vocalists and (1) bassist. We got Mel in 1990 and replaced our first vocalist in 1994 until 1998. At that point, we had to fill the slot again. That's when we recruited Darrell.
Darrell:Talk about a real Vicious Circle, I picked up their first demo at a local record store and then met the guys back in 1989 at a halloween party. I befriended Brian, the original singer, and started coming to shows. I was a 16 year old dork who would show up at shows holding hand made Vicious Circle signs. By the time I was 17, I started a band called Thanatopsis in which was I was singer/guitarist. At one point, we needed a guitarist. My drummer at the time was good friends with Mel, who happened to be auditioning for VC as their bass player. Obviously, Mel took the position with VC. I ended up becoming good friends with the guys. I would go to their practices and pick up the mic when Brian would leave practice. We would belt out some death tunes. We definitely had chemistry back then. Thanatopsis lasted about another year, then things fell apart. I was still going to VC shows and announcing the band. I roadied for them on occasion. They were like family. But then, as we started to get older and go in different directions, I lost touch with Vinny, Dave, and Mel. Brian left in '93, and I was the first come to mind as a replacement. Unfortunately, and Brian knew how to get in touch with me. I ended up giving up music until about '95 when lo and behold, Brian Chicano, original VC singer, who I still kept in touch with, pulled me out of retirement. We started Grunt which lasted for 3 years. I played guitar and did some backing vocals. I ran into Vinny in '98 at the Troc when Grunt was playing a show with Mercyful Fate. The 2nd Brian of VC had left and they were looking for a singer. I was getting the itch to write some lyrics and sing again, so I volunteered to do some studio work with them. A month later, Vinny called me and I did more than studio work. I decided to leave Grunt and become the VC singer that VC was looking for since Brian Chicano left.
Darrell has only been in the band the past few years. How does he differ than previous singers?
Vinny: Darrell has the same passion and drive that we have for this band, plus his vocals are perfect for our writing style. He was what we needed to complete our lineup.
Darrell: It's so funny that I always get tagged as "the new guy". Because I have been in the band since '98. That's 7 years. I have been in the band longer than any other singer. I have seniority now, hehe.
What other members have been replaced?
Vinny: We had a couple of friends from other bands play some shows with us, while we were still auditioning to find full time replacements. None of them held a permanent position. They were just helping us out and we really appreciated them for doing that.
For those who live in under a rock, tell everyone who you guys are and how long you have been around.
Vinny: I'm the guitarist, Dave is the drummer, Mel is the bassist and Darrell is the vocalist. We've been around longer than dirt!
Your new album The Art of Agony just came out a little bit ago. Tell me about that, this has been a long time in the making, for sure.
Vinny: Yeah, this was a long project to complete. Our friend/engineer, Dan Korneff was fitting us in between other projects he was involved in. He really did his best to finish the CD in a timely fashion. All in all, we are very happy with the way everything turned out. Some things are just worth waiting for.
Darrell: Rome wasn't built in a day... but was complete in one day faster than the album took to get done!! LOL
When were the songs for the album actually written?
Vinny: Some songs are from previous demos and the others are newer, never recorded material.
Darrell: I took some of the older VC songs that had been forgotten about, gave them a facelift with new lyrics, and new classics were created. 'I Remain in Filth' is an example of that. That happens to have turned out to be my favorite recorded song as well.
Who produced the album?
Vinny: Dan Korneff and all of us.
Darrell: I've been recording with Dan since the Grunt days and Dan was still in high school. He has come a long way from doing recordings in his shed behind his house. He has some big name credits to his name (Lamb of God, Candiria, Ill Nino, M.O.D.) just to name a few. I've watch him become a big time player in the recording world. I'm very proud of the guy. It was awesome to work with him, as well. He and I were always on the same wave length. He would be taking my ideas before they even came out of my mouth. The dude is just awesome and a great guy as well.
Are you happy with the final outcome?
Vinny: Yes, without a doubt. It's very powerful.
Darrell: It's the best thing I have ever been a part of. I have listened to it so much, that I can't bring myself to listen to it anymore!! LOL
Anything you would have done different?
Vinny: Maybe a few things. When you listen to it as a whole, anything more would have been an overkill in my opinion. I'm glad that we made the decisions we did.
Darrell: I think would should have added a power ballad and thrown a couple of nu-metal songs on there... umm... no.
You have a ton of albums that have been released. Compare this new album to those in the past. How are they different, any similarity's in your sound?
Vinny: We still write the same way, but we matured as a band over the years. We are at a point where we throw away more riffs than we keep. We never rush material and due to that fact, we are all satisfied when each new song is finished.
Darrell: I'm a little more.. vocal about music structure then the previous guys. Since I was a guitar player more than a singer, I have ideas about riffing and structuring. I always through my opinions in. And as we know, opinions as like assholes and sometimes I'm an asshole. But, we are all stubborn guys, so we only influence each other to a minor degree. Not many bands have 4 musicians in it that all know what is good, and what they want to express. We are lucky that way. I causes tempers to flare at times, but makes for great brutal stuff.
Tell me about how you hooked up with your label, Neoblast?
Vinny: My friend, Johnny P from Mortal Decay told me about them, at first. When the CD was ready, I sent them an email to submit material and they responded within a few days. I sent the material and we agreed on a worldwide release for "The Art Of Agony".
Are you happy with them so far?
Vinny: Yes, they are doing a great job for us. It's a pleasure doing business with those guys. They support each of their bands to the best of their ability.
Your label has a licensing deal with all of the yuppie stores, Target, Best Buy and Amazon. Am I leaving any out?
Vinny: You can also get it through Virginmega, Sam Goody, Circuit City, Itunes and "major chain" sites like that.
What other ways can someone get your disc?
Vinny: We have distro through Century Media, The Orchard, Twilight Vertrieb and a bunch of others worldwide. Neoblast Record's web site has a more extensive list to view. You can even buy it directly through Neoblast Records. It can be found easily, if someone wants it.
So far, what has the reaction been to the disc? All positive I'm sure.
Vinny: Yeah, people seem to really like it. That means more to us than you know. It's getting the respect as a musician that drives us. Although, the money would make it a whole lot better!
How would you describe your music to someone who never heard you?
Vinny: I'd say that we are a bit of "Old School" Death Metal with many brutal breakdowns and tempo changes.
Darrell: It is a very heavy speed thrash, high tuned death metal. Actually, I think it is my vocal style that bends it more towards death metal. It definitely a different sound when you listen to say "Live Long and Suffer" with Brian Cook who had more of a Pantera type style, to my renditions of those songs on "The Art of Agony". I think I change the dynamic of the music. I think before me, it was an angry, stomp on someone's head take out your aggression style, and with me it is an evil, hatched someone's head take out your murderous intent style.
How are the bands in Jersey? Lots to play with?
Vinny: There are some that we do shows with and all of them are very talented. We need more original bands! It's getting better, though. The cover bands are starting to accept the gradual takeover.
Darrell: Of course there is Mortal decay, good buddies of ours, great fucking grind/tech lords. Malicious Intent have been stage mates with us quite a few times. The Hixon who have definitely done good by us. You have Von Kull from Delaware, they help us spread the word and have been doing shows with us since I was in Grunt.
What about places, lots of choices?
Vinny: Not as many as there should be. It's taking awhile, but the scene is starting to resurface in Jersey. The clubs are beginning to realize that original is where it's at!
How often do you guys play out a month?
Vinny: It varies. Some times we'll play once a month and other times, we'll play more with the "out of state" shows. We need to start hitting the circuit strong to promote the CD. You'll be seeing more of us now.
Who are some of the bigger bands you have opened for?
Vinny: We've played with a lot of great bands over the years. Some of the bigger ones would be Overkill, Death, DRI, Machine Head, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Fear Factory, Napalm Death, Murphy's Law, Vader, Fear Of God, Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Mushroom Head, Deicide, Morbid Angel and tons more. We've been very lucky to share the stage with the amount of talented bands that we did.
Darrell: Since I've been in the band we've played with Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Nile, Immolation, Decide, Goatwhore, Misery Index, Dying Fetus, and Cattle Decapitaion.
Do you get a lot of fans, who just stumble across the site from web surfing?
Vinny: Yes, it's starting to pick up with the "Web Surfers". People are just starting to find out that we're back in the scene.
Tell us a little about Rock Star of the Month. I'm sure you guys have been exploding in this area since.
Vinny: Yes, it was an honor to be nominated January 2005's "Rockstar Of The Month". Loud And Local with Tommy Conwell on 94.1 WYSP played us every Sunday @ 10:00pm (always 3rd song into program) all through the month of January. We went in on January 30th to perform a few songs live and talk with Tommy a bit. It was a great time and Tommy is a great guy, no doubt. They added our web site and (2) downloadable songs on their main site. It has definitely helped spread the word about us. This was a positive move forward and we really appreciated it.
Your web site also says you are already writing new material? When is that going to be available?
Vinny: We have (3) songs done and finishing up a 4th. We've been focusing on new material since "The Art Of Agony" release. If all goes well, we should release a new CD in a decent amount of time.
There is also a tour in the works, tell me about that. Where do you plan to hit?
Vinny: We are on the "Blasting Your Heads" tour, starting in May of 2005 through various parts of Canada. From Montreal to Quebec City. It's going to be great!
I remember from your old web site, some wrestlers had your shirt on at a show?? Tell me about that and how the hell that happened!
Vinny: Chaz (Mosh of the WWF Headbanger's) and I used to weight train at the same gym. We did a couple of lifting routines together and started talking about Vicious Circle. He was into what we were doing and wanted a CD and some shirts. One thing led to another and then he started wearing our shirts on a lot of his wrestling appearances. It was awesome that he did that. I haven't seen him lately, but we were always cool with each other. Those pictures will eventually be reposted on our web site.
How often do you guys get together for practice?
Vinny: We try to practice twice a week.
What CD's are not leaving your CD player anytime soon?
Vinny: Right now, I'd have to say CD's like Al Dime's"Passion, Grace And Fire", Jimmy Bruno's "Like That", Pestilence's "Consuming Impulse" and Vivo's"Dimension Hat ross". I grew up listening to that stuff and I keep coming back to it. So, I'm going with the flow.
Darrell: Being the bad for the music business pirate that I am, I pretty much have a burned MP3 disc in with whatever bands I download. It's funny how little catches my attention these days. Not much is even worth buying anymore. Everyone has the same sound. The angry mid ranged vocals with the choppy riffs and slow break downs. Boooring.
Anything else?
Vinny: Thank you for the interview. I had a blast! We're always looking for bands to trade shows with. Check us out @ http://www.viciouscircle.tv. STAY BRUTAL!
Darrell: Jen knew me when I was a nobody!! So if she tells you that, it's true!!! LOL
http://www.viciouscircle.tv
http://www.myspace.com/viciouscirclenj