Interview with Vacivus

In the world of Death Metal music there is a variant that I find particularly exciting. It's that kind of Death Metal that dispenses worldly horrors (serial murderers, virulent diseases, torture, etc.) or fantasy in the vein of Horror Films class B (zombies and other imaginary monsters) and which embraces another kind of horror: the horror that Lovecraft engendered through his great works, which comes from the other world, a world that we don't know objectively, but also finds inspiration in the hidden, the unknown. That Death Metal, which has in bands like Necrovore, Morbid Angel and Incantation its root, I find it very attractive because it is musically absorbing, it is like being eaten by a black hole. It's like traveling (violently) into a black hole. In the UK have appeared many good bands that lie within this particular underworld and Vacivus is not only one of the bands which belong to this branch of Death Metal: It is one of the most interesting out there today in that universe. That's why we did this interview. Welcome to the void.



Puro Ruido: Hails from Cordoba, Argentina. I am Manel , responsible of Puro Ruido blog (Pure Noise). How is everything there?
Vacivus: Hails to you Manel, and to all South American death metal maniacs!

PR: I must admit that I met Vacivus thanks to Pawel from Hellthrasher Productions. The truth is that I love the band, have a brutal, dark and deep sound. What motivated you to create the band? How and who formed the band?
V: In regards to the band's formation, most of us had played together in other bands previously and knew that we wanted to continue making music together. Our vocalist, Nick, was a good friend who shared our passion for old school death metal, and was the obvious choice to complete our lineup. Vacivus was formed out of our mutual desire to create dark, intense, sinister music and pay tribute to the glory of the all-consuming void.

PR: "Rite of Ascension" is a work that deserves to be heard from beginning to end, but that requires a particular state of mind of the listener. That is, it is not music to listen to at any time of day, anywhere; you need to find the right time to plunge into the darkness full of horrors that live inside the music Vacivus time. You seek to affect the listener in some way? Or just want to express yourselves, do what you feel, without worrying about the people think?
V: While we have never concerned ourselves with what others may think about our music, we definitely try to achieve an atmosphere of decrepit death and terror. We want to convey the majesty of the abyss and the fragility of the human race as we spiral, inevitably, towards absolute extinction.

PR: England has become fertile ground for bands like you. Besides Vacivus are Abyssal, Vorage, Cruciamentum, among others. This move of Dark Death Metal bands, born spontaneously? That is something that had been brewing slowly and exploded in a precise moment?
V: There are definitely a lot of great bands coming from the UK at the moment, although this is not to say that this is necessarily a new phenomena. Bands like Grave Miasma, Scythian, Ghast, Indesinence etc have been keeping the flame of old school death metal burning for years.

PR: What things inspire you when creating so hellish music? Vacivus music is influenced by other things that are beyond the merely musical?
V: Our main influence comes from the omnipresent force of entropy which slowly unravels all creation. We try to pay tribute to the great nothingness from which all things came, and to which all things will eventually return. We serve a power greater than death, older than the universe and more powerful than it is possible to comprehend. To this end, we draw inspiration from other artists who have channelled the Todestrieb in their work such as the writings of H.P Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, the artwork of Gustave Dore as well as the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. Obviously, our influences also include the masters of sinister old school death metal such as Incantation, Morbid Angel and Sepultura etc.

PR: Many of you were part of a band called Dawn of Chaos, with which active from the year 2000 to 2013. Can you say that Vacivus is a continuation of Dawn Of Chaos? Or is it a completely different entity?
V: Vacivus was formed after Dawn of Chaos had already split up, and the only connection between the two bands is that we shared a number of members. Vacivus are a completely separate entity to Dawn of Chaos.

PR: As I listened to the EP, I felt the feeling that it was recorded live. I mean, the atmosphere, violence, intensity, is as if you playing live and recording in real time. But you better tell me. How it was recorded "Rite of Ascension"?
V: You are correct! As it was initially intended as a demo recording, we decided to record live in order to capture the intensity of our live performance. We overdubbed vocals and solos only, and we're very happy with how the recording turned out. We have since recorded some new material, which we are hoping to release in 2016, and have recorded these tracks more traditionally which has allowed us to add more depth to our sound, while still retaining the savage energy.

PR: In Encyclopaedia Metallum "Dawn of Chaos" figure as the first album of the band. However, if I did not read wrong, "Rite of Ascension" is the first official Vacivus recording, because the previous work is a demo recorded during a rehearsal, or am I wrong?
V: You are correct. There are a number of factually inaccurate things on that website regarding Vacivus, and it should certainly not be considered a reliable source of information.

PR: Ok, last question. What is the goal, the purpose of Vacivus music? When I hear you, I imagine that it comes from cosmic chaos, a huge vacuum that becomes more and more dark. But to where will all that chaos, the great vacuum?
V: Our purpose is simply to continue making music that glorifies the black depths of oblivion. All else is futile in the face of guaranteed destruction.

PR: Well, that’s all. Of course, thank you very much for the interview. If you want to add anything else, feel free to do so.
V: Thanks to you for the interview! Worship at the temple of the abyss!