The hills are alive with the sounds of BREEEEs - An interview with Vulvodynia

March 04, 2020

The hills are alive with the sounds of BREEEEs - An interview with Vulvodynia

Gore has never sounded so good.

Vulvodynia. There’s a term you probably wouldn’t want to google without adding “band” to the end of the search result. Or if you do, that’s okay, we don’t judge here, but dare I say, Vulvodynia (the band, not the medical term) tends to more grotesque than any search result out there, rife with absolutely sickening breakdowns, organ-wrenching gutturals and absolutely-putrid artwork that is reminiscent of one of those old gore-fest films you weren’t allowed to watch as a kid.

Take a seat, its history time, kids:

These dudes, originally hailing from the lazy South African shores of Durban, have been slamming breakdowns for over 5 years now since their conception in 2014, as the brain-child of Duncan Bentley and Luke Haarhoff. Their debut EP Lord Of Plagues dropped in May of 2014 and founded their sound for what would come. Later at the end year, as their sound was pulling in a sizable reputation, Vulvodynia dropped their first full-length studio album Cognizant Castigation through Morbid Generation Records, which featured a few vocal heavyweights such as Luke Griffin from Arcania and Jason Evans from Ingested, just to name a few. The release of Cognizant Castigation propelled them from being ‘just another slam band’ to ‘that fucking dope slam band from South Africa’.

Vulvodynia soon saw recognition across the globe with their gorefest themes and intestinal-ripping sound and was ripping eardrums of listeners on the other side of the oceans. Their second full length album, Psychosadistic Design released through Lacerated Enemy Records in 2016 and found a warm welcome in Lacerated Enemy’s already colossal line-up. Psychosadistic Design may have been the first time many people heard of Vulvodynia and if their virgin experience was anything like mine, they were ripped apart under crushing weight, yet sickeningly enticed into wanting more. The years after Psychosadistic Design saw Vulvodynia tour far and wide, with shows being sold out in the UK and America. Alongside them we saw names such as Fit for An Autopsy, Wormhole and even Archspire on a few line-ups. These dudes showed the world that South Africans don’t fuck around, bringing with them all the brutality and inhumanity they could wrench out of SA and throw into their music. Last year, 2019, we saw the release of their third studio album, Mob Justice release through Lacerated Enemy Records, and this album was saturated with the decaying echoes of the motherland. Dealing with themes native to this entropic country, such as brutal mob justice killings, rampant drug abuse and anarchic epidemics of chaos, what better source material was there to write a gut-punching slam album?

Which brings us to now. Vulvodynia are once again at it, touring across the globe and occasionally stopping in their motherland for a show or two, just long enough to grant their country’s fan base a reminder that they’re one of the best in what they do, before going back overseas and ripping the slam world apart. We here at Dystopia couldn’t be happier to see a homebrewed band hit it big internationally and scored ourselves a chat with Vulvodynia to discuss their musical influences, meaning of life, how heavy shit can get and just how crazy is the touring life.

Interview questions answered by Chris van der Walt.

The interview part were I nervously throw questions at my favourite bands:

First off, thanks for giving us a moment to throw a few questions your way. We know it’s no easy feat finding the time of day amid all the chaos of touring, gigging and everything in between, so taking the time to answer a few questions is much appreciated.

Vulvodynia has been quite active recently, especially over the last Christmas period, touring with the likes of Archspire, Beneath The Massacre and Inferi, in Europe, the current African tour, and the upcoming HammerSonic tour in Indonesia. How has the touring life been treating you guys as a band?

Touring life is amazing! You get to see so many places, and meet so many fans across the world. We've gotten to meet some of our heroes, and play some of the sickest shows imaginable. It's hard work and there are some sacrifices, but it's all worth it in the end.

The fans over in Europe are known to take shit to the next level with regards to Slam and basically anything heavier than your average radio-friendly metal. Any crazy stories or stand-out experiences you’d like to share with us from tours that side?

Every country almost has their own unique way of dancing. In Germany they have the Hammers, in the UK they beat the shit out of each other, in Spain it looks like they are doing bicycle kicks, in Botswana they do ring-around-the-roses...

The local scene here in SA has been quite tight-knit in its history, especially with metal as a whole. Some people have found it quite intimidating at times even. In your experience, how does the metal scene overseas differ from the one here, if it does at all?

All metal clubs kinda look the same, and most of the fans have a similar perspective on life and we're all a little weird. I think the biggest noticeable difference is the support from cultural departments of the foreign countries. There are many gigs who get grants and that helps out the gigs a lot. Safer transport, and heavy populated cities also help.

On the note of SA, Mob Justice was released last year and it has clear influences on past and present struggles faced in SA and the themes fit the brutality of slam damn well. Could you maybe walk us through some of those influences and how they’ve played a part in the creation of the album?

We also look for brutal content and imagery when trying to find lyrical concepts and album themes. Slamming Brutal Death Metal thrives in the dark corners of the world. All the bad things we turn into good songs with a horror-like fictional twist. With Mob Justice we didn't have to look far for inspiration, as a lot of the concepts happen in real life. Sometimes the truth can be scarier than fiction...

Slam is certainly a global phenomenon and many fans around the world dig it for its rawness and brutality, and its controversial themes. What does slam mean to you? Is it defined as a genre as a whole or is it more so about playing the heaviest shit you could fathom?

Playing the heaviest shit imaginable is always a treat. We also just dig horror and crazy stuff. Slam is a great playground for people who like us. The fans, the bands, and everyone involved are all on the same dirty page.

How’s the experience been with Lacerated Enemy Records? You guys were picked up by them quite early on, and being added to their extensive repertoire along with some of the best names in the industry certainly is an accomplishment.

Lacerated Enemy really helped us a lot. They got us out on the road, produced a lot of albums and merchandise, and Zdenek is the greatest guy in the world. He takes care of us like family.

Kris Xenopoulos (Lead Guitarist) recently got signed to Ormsby Guitars. How’s that experience been for him? Has it brought some outside influences and technicality to the table of Vulvodynia? I mean Ormsby guitars are damn fine instruments.

Kris is one of the best guitarists in the world in my opinion. He was recently featured in Guitar World magazine as one of the 10 guitarists to check out in 2020. Kris definitely brings a lot of spice and excitement to the music, but he is also one of the greatest people to be around.

I tend to ask this often as many readers are musicians, but could you give us a rig rundown of the gear you use as a band? Such as pedals, cabs, heads and/or mics? Any brands you specifically stand by or prefer over the rest?

Vulvodynia uses Darkglass Electronics Microtubes X7, Dingwall NG3, Ormsby Goliath 8-String, Horizon Devices Precision Drive, Zildjian Cymbals, Westone Audio IEM, Enki Cases, Tsunami Cables, Kemper Profiler.

You guys have had some the dopest merch I’ve seen from any band, ranging from not only shirts, hoodies and pants, but even bedding covers and shower robes. Other bands should take notes. Where can your SA fans get their hands on some of that dope merch? Will general merch be available at your shows?

Merch is available at shows, but it is usually limited. The best places to get our merch is Risingmerch.com , Crowdkill Aparrel, and Lacerated Enemy stores.

This one’s more of a shout-out, but are there any underrated bands out there, local or international that you’d recommend our readers check out and show some love towards?

All the bands we tour with are great, we've seen some crazy cool ones. We love our brothers in Justice for the Damned, Cognitive, Scumfuck, Norbormide NMD, Zeolite, To The Grave, there are so many cool bands out there!

Well, I think that about concludes our chat, thanks once again for giving us this opportunity and we hope you guys kick ass on the upcoming tours!

Go show Vulvodynia some support when you get the chance to do so, and be sure to check out their sick line of merch. They’ve got god-damn bathrobes as merch!

Keep it heavy.