Tracklisting: Gnaw Your Tongue, Embedded in Stone, Gates of Horn and Ivory, Frightener, Gagrag, Fleemarkt, Your Religion Has Failed You
Band members: Dustin Patkai (Vocals), Chris Sokoloski (Guitar/Backing Vocals), Aaron Pozzer (Drums)
Band Bio:
VileDriver is a 3 piece band (guitar, vocal and drums) based out of Mississauga/Georgetown Ontario Canada. Fronted by Vocalist Dustin Patkai, VileDriver features two members (guitarist Chris Sokoloski and drummer Aaron Pozzer) from the Canadian tech metal outfit Starring Janet Leigh, which was signed to Ironclad/Metalblade in 2009, being the first Canadian band signed to Trevor Phipps’ subsidiary label (singer of Unearth). Unfortunately only one album was released before the band members went their separate ways, and VileDriver was born.
VileDriver has been categorized as technical death metal, or deathcore, or progressive grind….but what truly sets this band apart from your typical brand-name arty tech metal band is the focus on heavy riffage – minus all the bleedily-doo fingertapping wankage made trendy by most of metal’s top acts of late. There are odd-time-signature guitar riffs that actually remain catchy and memorable, with a balance struck between dissonance and melodic flow throughout. The drumming is not your typical death metal noise; each line is intricately constructed to propel the riff, and is a highlight unto itself for drummers the world over to marvel at. You’ll find everything vocally intact, with plenty of low-growls and metal-claw summoning high-shrieks, which sit ‘up front’ in a genre where less accomplished singers end up taking a back seat in the mix. Topping it off, the band utilizes digital audio samples and backing vocals in many songs, which add to the depth and sonic unpredictability of the music.
Guitarist Chris Sokoloski speaks of VileDriver’s backstory: “Our music in VileDriver has been developing over six years, with a couple songs (including “Your Religion Has Failed You” which appears on the new album) that are my leftover contributions to our old band, Starring Janet Leigh. The music is more focused and powerful than our previous bands – still utilizing a linear songwriting style, but focused on being chock full of kick-ass riffs and range-defying, rapid-fire vocals. VileDriver is our prime objective, and no member plays in any other band. We have enough music written for two full-length albums, yet only now have managed to get our 7 song set recorded in Hamilton at Poseidon Studios with Steve Haines (Sound Engineer at Club Absinthe and The Underground, THE two definitive metal clubs in Hamilton Ontario Canada). This recording is what we consider to be our best introduction to the metal world. It’s for people like us who are always searching for a recognizable and distinct sounding band….creating that feeling of excitement people used to get all the time when hearing a brand-new band, before the market became super-saturated with like-sounding bands whose style is a result of cannibalizing from the same scene. We tread with the wave of ever-evolving metal, and yet frequently break away to learn from different genres, to bring new influences to VileDriver’s music. Aaron and I frequently jam on funk tracks when warming up before band practice, and I spent a few years producing and orchestrating Drum n’ Bass electronic music exclusively. The music we write is a direct result of the unique people we are, and we have a wealth of experience to draw upon to make sure the music has a poignant emotion and vibe to each section, and to each song. We have worked very hard and we believe it shows, and it is our ultimate pleasure to have the opportunity to contribute our works to the vast pond of extreme metal available to metal heads today. Definitely more to come!”
VileDriver’s debut album “Primary” is slated for release in December 2017 by CDN Records.
Contact: Chris Sokoloski, 289 681 2337,
chris_sokoloski@yahoo.ca
Links: FB:
www.facebook.com/viledrivermetal, YOUTUBE:
www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-K-SOEtd7tY0Y1-BFtRJw
released December 14, 2017
