Exclusive Interview: Vanitas talk writing and recording their self titled debut EP!

There is no two ways about it, Vanitas are a band who are in the going places category, their self titled debut EP the perfect remedy for all ills. The Birmingham based quintet were gracious enough to do not one but two interviews with us for which we thank not only the band themselves but also Amie Chatterley (whom you may know as the bassist and backing vocalist in Progressive Power Metal Band Dakesis) for setting it up. This one is special, so grab a beverage of choice and enjoy!

How did your previous experiences writing and recording music help to smooth the path for “Vanitas“?

Mitch: “My previous experiences with writing and recording taught me a lot – writing wise, I think my previous experiences have helped me define more of what I consider is my currently developing style, as previously it was a lot more chaotic in nature; recording wise, I’ve generally refined my process and managed to make it much more streamlined and efficient, and I’ve generally embraced subtle imperfections that enhance the realism of the tracks I feel, as obsessed to painfully re-recording a section for reasons like another string being “slightly” heard, which was only really that audible on the guitar DI track and would be hard to pick out when distorted”

How does the writing process of a new track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? How does it evolve from there before you consider it the finished article?

Mitch: “Alot of the sections of EP started in different ways; an example being that ghostly coasts piano was originally a finger style acoustic part. The most consistent writing process that has been used in every song is; I get an essential progression of just purely root notes, then slowly embellish it work chords, stabs and runs. The first riff in Vanitas is a great example of this process; It was initially just an E, G, B root note progression with a basic rhythm, that I embellished with the stabs of full chords and runs to transition from the G chords into the Bm stabs and such”

Jade: “For vocals, I’m always a melody-first gal. Mitch sends me a demo and I sit and hum ideas to it until one gets stuck in my head and I go from there. From there I tend to pick key words or phrases I like the sound of for a lyric theme and build from there!”

Now you’ve coined the term “Cinematic DJent”, which we have to say fits your sound perfectly, do you feel tied to writing in that style or does writing offer a creative freedom to which you can let the winds of change take you naturally in any given direction?

Jade: “Oh not at all! At the heart of things we all love progressive music and I think we’ll always have that ‘cinematic djent’ flavor but we love the creativity that comes with being a proggy band and being able to do what we please”

Mitch: “Personally, I feel tied more to the cinematic part than the djent part. I always go through phases of more traditional, then more modern guitar playing – but the orchestral/cinematic side of this band is something I want to keep dialling up to 11 with every release. We could write a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon type song, and I’ll still be there trying to make it as cinematic as possible with orchestra. My dream is to make everything sound like it could be perfectly at home on any JRPG soundtrack”

Marc: “Not at all and I’d be pretty tired if we did this again, it would be sorta boring. In future I definitely want to hear more towards the prog, experimental side of things”

Elijah: “Yeah, I think we are all open to branch out into different genres and styles from when writing, it helps to keep things fresh and new!”

Before the EP dropped you released a cover of “The Rumbling” by SiM that features a guest vocal appearance from Jacob Collins of Recall The Remains. What was behind the song choice and what was it like working with a guest? 

Mitch: “Me and Jacob are massive fans of the anime/Manga Attack On Titan, and the original track is originally an opener for that anime. Personally I felt any fans of the original track would be a fan of Vanitas. Always wanting the excuse to cover any songs anime related, it felt like a good move promotionally to cover the song to attract more anime/JRPG sound track fans(which I personally view as a major demographic for this band) and personally a good move, as I just absolutely adored the original and wanted more excuses to shove Attack On Titan in people’s face”

Jade: “With Mitch and Jacob being such big fans it was a no brainer to get Jacob to join us for the song- He’s an absolute beast so we all had a lot of fun with it!”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound?

Mitch: “This EP was recorded with a strandberg Boden standard 6 in Bengal burst, with the Humbucker-Single-Single(HSS) configuration including tremelo(for all those sweet divebombs.) The original pickups have been replaced with a Bareknuckle Ragnarok in the bridge, and a bareknuckle trilogy in middle and neck position, inspired by Misha Mansoors Jackson custom shop strat and Rick Grahams own pickup configuration being allegedly based on this combination.

String wise, I use a custom Elixir set I order from Stringsdirect.com. The set is 11 , 14 , 17 , 32 , 42 , 64, as it just gets me what I feel is my most ideal tension and feel. 

For both guitar and bass, I use 0.76mm picks, the Misha Mansoor “studio” series. Previously I used the 0.73mm flow picks, but I just prefer the Misha Mansoors picks feel in the hand. 

Tonally, it’s an Axefx 2 running the FAS Modern amp Sim for rhythms, an amp I believe is roughly based off of a Mesa Boogie Dual rectifier with a Peavey 5150 style twist(basically trying to be a perfect merge of the two biggest modern metal amps, imo it’s incredible) , with the chain started with a compressor, then being boosted by an Ibanez tube screamer modeler into the amp. The cab Sim for the rhythm tone is based off of a 4×12 Engl and sold by ML Soundlabs. My leads use this same general setup, with the amp replaced by an emulation of the Vox AC30, with the same setting Brian May uses (basically everything cranked) since I completely adore his lead tone and wanted to go for a more modern twist on it. To help with that Brian May style tone, all harmonies were recorded with the neck/middle being out of phase(I’ve wired a push pull phase inversion on the middle pickup) to create that harsh, screaming Bohemian Rhapsody style tone, using my guitars tone knob to dial it in more depending on the parts range.

Not necessarily my sound but lastly, all the backing for the band is EastWests orchestral programs, their stuff is absolutely God tier and I love Matt Jones from Dakesis for getting me into their stuff”

Elijah: “Gear wise I run an Aristides 060 on stage loaded with BKP Juggernauts and 11-46 Elixir Strings, a Kemper is used to power the majority of my tone to get that classic Cinematic Djent sound!”

Jon: “I’m using a headless Ibanez 5 string fanfret bass with elixir 45-105 and an Earnieball 160 for a low F#, through a line6 HX stomp and dark glass alpha omega ultra for live use. It is very chunky”

Marc: “Yeah. Got a short stack Mapex PRO M kit from the like, late nineties that has tiny Tom’s. It’s amazing. All my cymbals are cheap HCS stuff because I’m poor. I use speed cobras that were gifted to me by a good friend and fellow drummer. I play Vic firth sticks (not endorsed)”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? 

Mitch: “Personally, I would absolutely ADORE an endorsement for either strandberg or elixir. Strandberg are my absolute forever guitars and I adore them and sing their praises to the end of the earth, owning 4, 2 for Vanitas and 2 for standard tunings. I pride myself somewhat on trying to convert people thanks to their amazing ergonomic body shape and effortlessly comfortable endurneck.

Elixir strings are the only strings I’ve never, ever broken and stay bright for so long it’s actually insane. Their feel under the fingers is so smooth on the optiweb sets and it feels so effortless to vibrato and bend with how comfortable they feel under the fingers.I know Elijah also uses them for the exact same reasons as I, and Jon uses them when he is capable of obtaining them for his longer scale bass. They are just the perfect strings”

Jon: “Honestly if line 6 or Neural DSP think of sending anything I would gladly take up the offer”

“Self Titled” by Vanitas is out now and available over at bandcamp