Despite having a decade of destruction behind them, Boston hardcore band Vanna are a relative unknown quantity outside of the US. But with the release of their latest album All Hell – is a dizzying mix of melody, brute force punk and progressive nous – that all looks set to change. Don’t believe us? Check out the world premiere of their new video for Mutter!
And just before Vanna head out across the UK supporting Beartooth, we caught up with vocalist Davey Muise to find out five reasons why his band rule.
They’re Eclectic As Hell
“All of us have an older sibling or a cousin that got us into [music]. We often talk about gigs and shows that we unknowingly all went to. And Vanna, you can’t quite place us. Are we a hardcore band? A metal band? A straight up rock band? It’s testament to our upbringing. The hardcore scene around New England really embraced all kinds of music, there weren’t as many bands around then as there is now. So we’ve all played in bands that were hardcore bands, metal bands, indie bands, pop-punk bands, and we all played together. Our music is testament to all those different bills that we used to play. I think the thing was, if you were ‘weird’ then you belonged here. And that was the biggest thing to me. I classified it all under punk rock, that’s a way of life, a way of thinking and a way of living rather than a style of music.”
They Are Part Of The Great Tradition Of Boston Hardcore
“For me going to these shows, like, I saw Cave In and Converge play local shows all the time when I was a kid, I always, as someone there on the floor, wanted to be up there and be one of those bands for a future generation of people. And now, when I actually take a step back and look at my career, you realise that ‘Oh shit!’ I’m doing the thing that I wanted to do. And once in a while you do get to rub shoulders with Bane, Have Heart, Converge or Cave In, and that’s a lot of pressure. I feel Boston is a real mecca for hardcore, and we get grouped in with a lot of those bands. And, for me, that is such an honour that we would even be mentioned in the same breath as those bands.”
They Preach The Message Of Punk Rock
“To me, some of these kids that grew up with punk rock are some of the most well-adjusted people you’ll ever meet. We didn’t hide our problem or our issues, we got them out in the open together. And, ultimately, why shouldn’t that message be pushed to the mainstream? Why shouldn’t these bands that have a positive message be able to say it to a large audience of people? I understand that some people want to keep it sacred and pure, but it can do a lot of good to people. Why doesn’t everyone belong? Why doesn’t everyone have a right to those values? It’s up to everyone to keep that torch and pass it around.”
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They’re Metal Fans, Just Like You
“The heart of it is that every stereotypical metal fan is… kind of a weirdo. They don’t fit to the society mould. And that’s what we are, man! We have metal influences, and I grew up on a lot of metal and early hard rock. Some of the best frontmen around are in metal, they really know how to command that crowd. But most importantly, I think metal is a mentality. It’s more of a lifestyle than just a genre of music. The same reason you should love Judas Priest and Celtic Frost is because it speaks to you and connects you to another world. Those people up onstage are just like you. It’s the same thing with us, we want people to come to our shows and see that we’re a bunch of dudes up on the stage that were outcasts, and are now doing the thing that they love.”
They Were Educated In The Punk Rock University
“We grew up with punk rock, and punk rock was kind of barbaric. It was kind of bashing your head against rocks. Now that those guys have paved the way and have done that we can go ‘Okay, they’ve done that, how can I take this and make it something more?’ You can still be a little shit, but it doesn’t mean you’re not intelligent! I can still read books, I can still write lyrics and be thoughtful. We’re coming into a newer age where people think that just because someone doesn’t have a suit and has hand tattoos instead, that they have nothing to say. I actually have a career going to schools and speaking to kids about that, about the values of punk rock and what it has taught me. People need to stop thinking that musicians are lazy stoners. I consider myself a well-considered, intelligent human being who just happens to travel in a van and pee in a bottle sometimes. The world isn’t black and white anymore and we all live in the grey areas.”
Vanna’s new album All Hell is out now, via Pure Noise Records.
Vanna are supporting Beartooth at the following dates:
Dec 08: London Shepherds Bush Empire
Dec 09: Leeds Beckett
Dec 10: Glasgow Garage
Dec 11: Birmingham O2 Institute
Dec 12: Manchester O2 Ritz
Dec 13: Southampton Engine Rooms
Dec 14: Cardiff Tramshed
Dec 16: Dublin The Academy
Dec 17: Belfast Limelight
How Vanna's Davey Muise was left for dead by his drug dealer parents
