Exclusive: The new video by Canadian hardcore upstarts Vultures is a like being mugged by Wallace and Gromit.
While some bands like to opine at great lengths about the state of the world, Vultures are just here to dick you in the sternum. The Victoria, Canada, quartet play the kind of quick, vicious kidney-punching hardcore that'll have listeners of acts like Demiricous and Himsa slavering for more. Now, the band is preparing to release Hunger, a toothsome new EP full of grinding, destructive mayhem.
The video for the band's latest single, Rat King, is similarly straight to the point and not very concerned with being polite. Created by Katya Fedak of Clay Day, t's a stop-motion animated video, with a story of...well, there's vomit. And eyeballs pop out and dangle from bloody veins. And faces melt off, revealing skulls. So there's not so much a story, as there is a visual seizure -- which doesn't mean it's any less awesome.
According to guitarist Cole Lamb, "Rat King is a much more straightforward song that puts all of its weight on the gas pedal both sonically and lyrically. In fitting with the general theme of Hunger, 'Rat King' tells another story about the effects of substance abuse, this time from the first person perspective of an addict who is experiencing withdrawal between fixes. There are no subtleties in this track -- it's visceral, dark and blunt.
"Visually, we went with a claymation because the idea of an animated video was very provocative to us. We won't beat around the bush -- this is a silly video, we know. We aren't caught up in an aesthetic or a persona as a band, and at the end of the day we want to have a good time with what we are doing, which is why we didn't think twice about it when we saw the finished product. Shout out to our homies Wallace and Gromit."
Watch our exclusive stream of Vultures' Rat King below:
Vultures' Hunger EP comes out October 4th, and is available for preorder.
The band are touring extensively in support of the record, so make sure you catch them live at one of the following dates:
September
21 - Lucky Bar - Victoria, BC w/ Cancer Bats
23 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC w/ Despised Icon
October
02 - Munnins Post - BC
03 - The Industry House - Edmonton, AB
04 - Black Cat Tavern - Saskatoon, SK
05 - TBA - Calgary, AB
06 - Salmo Hotel - Salmo, BC
07 - Real Art Tacoma - Tacoma, WA
08 - La Voyeur - Olympia, WA
09 - Old Nicks Bar - Eugene, OR
10 - Little Red Lion - Eureka, CA
11 - The Red Hat - Concord, CA
12 - Til Two Club - San Diego, CA
13 - Palo Verde Lounge - Tempe, AZ
14 - Blacklidge Community Collective - Tucson, AZ
15 - Old Towne Pub - Los Angeles, CA
16 - Xbar - San Jose, CA
17 - Virginia Street Brewhouse - Reno, NV
18 - Concrete Lodge - Redding, CA
20 - The Capitol - Bend, OR
21 - Funhouse - Seattle, WA
