Interview with Metal Priest of Violent Omen by Dave Wolff
What led to Violent Omen reuniting after the ten year hiatus you took? Were there creative inspirations or personal reasons behind getting back together?
Hello, everyone! I'm reporting to you from the city of Zhytomyr, the city of the cosmic future! It was more of a coincidence; I personally did not plan any reunions because I had my own more promising bands, such as Bestial Invasion and Cosmic Jaguar, as well as my own grievances and unresolved issues with other band members after my scandalous departure in 2014. At first, it caused me pain, but then I let go of the situation and focused more on Bestial Invasion, which turned out to be a kind of catharsis. After that, I was sure that Violent Omen was closed for me forever, because I found myself and revealed myself better in Bestial Invasion. But as they say, you can't escape fate.
In April 2024, on a sunny day, I met drummer Yuri, whom I hadn't seen in many years and hadn't kept in touch with, near my house. We sat down on a bench near the house and discussed all our misunderstandings and resolved all our issues from the past. I think it's even good that it happened after so many years and not earlier, because before I wouldn't have been ready for it, since I am a very principled person and most likely would have ignored it, but now, at a wiser and more mature age, I made the right decision.
After that meeting, Yuri invited me to a rehearsal of his band at the time (Ruslan, now a member of Tria Prima, also played and sang there), I came, and then we decided to start our own new death metal band, Tria Prima. Then we decided to register the copyright for Violent Omen, and the original guitarist and vocalist Floods was supposed to participate, but he refused, explaining that he wasn't interested and that he regretted ever getting involved in the first place. Although we had the idea of at least trying to give a farewell concert with the original lineup and put all our misunderstandings behind us, but alas...
After a while, I had the idea of making an album without him, as I had 4-5 songs for my solo album in a similar style. I suggested this idea to Yuri, and he was skeptical at first, but then he realized the potential and agreed, especially when he found out who our new guitarist would be. The new guitarist was Evgeny Maestro, who has been playing in all my projects since 2014. He is a professional guitarist who is three times better than Floods. There was also the question of vocals, and I decided to take on this role myself, because I already had experience with Cosmic Jaguar. In the end, we stayed in the trio format. That's how the spontaneous reunion of Violent Omen happened!
When did Violent Omen form as a band, and what musical direction did you take? How long were you active before taking that hiatus?
The history of the thrash band Violent Omen began in 2009. It was founded by two people, me and Floods. Both had recently left the band Crucifix (where they actually met), where we were unable to realize their ideas. Naturally, neither of them wanted to give up music, and literally a month later, I decided to form Violent Omen. At first, the band played thrash/black metal, but after the release of our debut album, we switched to thrash/technical thrash.
How much material did Violent Omen release in the “old days”? Did you release anything particularly notable? Are those releases still available?
In 2009, the first demos were recorded with former Lucifugum vocalist Faunus, and in 2010, the band's debut album “Infernal Express” was released. Just as it was released, drummer Yuriy Sinitsky (ex-Drudkh, ex-Blood of Kingu, ex-Lucifugum, Lyutomysl, Tria Prima, ex-All Dies, ex-Definition Sane), with whom the band even presented the album at one of their concerts in Kyiv.
After the arrival of such a professional drummer, the band began to sharply change course towards technical thrash, complicating their music. In 2011, we released our second album, “Lunatic's Revenge”, on which the band revealed themselves to the fullest and proved themselves to be worthy competitors to the American band Vektor.
After the album's release, the band played numerous concerts and festivals in Ukraine, as well as several times in neighbouring countries, sharing the stage with Artillery, Dying Fetus, Morgoth, and others. Thanks to this, the band became known as a young and promising group.
In 2013, the band released their third and best and most successful album, entitled “L.U.N.A.C.Y.”, which was released on the American label Razed Soul. Many well-known musicians also participated in this album, such as John Gallagher (Raven), André Grieder (Poltergeist, ex-Destruction), V.O. Pulver (Poltergeist, Carrion, Messiah, Panzer), Don Doty (ex-Dark Angel), Jim Durkin (R.I.P. 2023 (ex-Dark Angel)), and Josh Christian (Toxik). The album receives rave reviews from the press and fans.
Was Violent Omen’s transition from thrash/black metal to technical thrash a natural progression or a conscious effort to play more technical music?
It happened naturally when Yuri joined the band, as he is one of the best metal drummers in Ukraine and enabled us to play more complex music. For the first album, we used old reworked material from the band Crucifix, where we had previously played with Floods, so it leaned more towards thrash/black metal.
Yuri joined us just as the first album was released, and after three rehearsals he learned the entire program, and we presented it with him. After that, we prepared new material in the technical thrash style with him. We also didn't want to be like other bands, who were all trying to copy popular bands like Toxic Holocaust, MW, Suicidal Angels, and Violator. So we chose our own path to enlightenment.
It’s long been an issue that bands are often copied once they gain popularity. It seems some bands believe they can attract fans as easily by mimicking others. How important is it for a band to stand out and do something unique?
It is very important for us to be unique, even to ourselves, because without a bunch of boring and similar bands, why should we take their bread and place under the sun? We have always chosen a difficult but honest path for our creativity, so that it would be to our liking, and not for the sake of someone else's encouragement. Moreover, we are not one of those bands for whom this is a job and the main way to earn income; for us, it is an expensive hobby, so we owe it to ourselves to get the most enjoyment out of our music. I used to condemn some of my favorite bands for selling out, but when I grew up and became a musician myself, I realized what a swamp it was and how dirty the music business was, so I stopped condemning them because I understood the main reason. This doesn't threaten us, so we do what we want and no one can stop us! As we sang in our very first song, follow us: Banging hard every day, Fuck off trends 'cause we will stay!
From your perspective, how well did the band go over with those who went to see Artillery, Dying Fetus, and Morgoth? In what ways did sharing the stage with such bands help elevate your status?
I think so, because it was a good opportunity to make a name for ourselves, plus it was a slightly different time back then. There wasn't such an oversaturation of music yet, and the audience wasn't so lazy, so it was considered a big event that everyone was watching. It was a huge honor for us to share the stage with them, and it always added weight and credibility to us.
I remember how the members of Artillery personally told me in the dressing room after our concert: “Fuck, you guys are crazy!” And these weren't just words of flattery, we were really at the peak of our abilities and in our prime at the time. By the way, my last concert with the band was with them in 2014. It's just that in the former Soviet countries, it was always a big event when someone from a famous Western band came to perform, and it was always a good chance to make a name for yourself, especially without paying for support/opening. We never paid for support from famous bands, as others did.
We had one negative experience when we decided to pay for support for Coroner in Kiev in 2012 and the organizer almost cheated us. In the end, we were unable to perform with Coroner and barely got our money back, so after that negative experience, we promised ourselves we would never participate in such events again.
Describe the making of “L.U.N.A.C.Y.” and how the contributions from John Gallagher, André Grieder, V.O. Pulver, Don Doty, Jim Durkin, and Josh Christian helped push the band to improve from your previous material.
If I'm not mistaken, we started writing “L.U.N.A.C.Y.” back in late 2011. I remember we planned to release it in 2012, but for some reason it got postponed until 2013. I honestly don't remember why, maybe because we were looking for a way to make the recording sound better.
At the end of December 2012, we recorded the drums for the entire album in four hours at the best studio in our city for $100. Incidentally, that was the only expense for the entire album; we did everything else ourselves. And even that $100 was provided by the American label that released the album. In total, they allocated about $200 or $300, of which we spent $100 on drums, and the rest we spent on a New Year's table in our rehearsal room for friends. And maybe we spent some of it on some piece of recording equipment, I honestly don't remember all the details, but I think that's how it was.
The cover was drawn for us free of charge by Jon, the artist who did the cover for our previous album “Lunatic's Revenge”. Then I had the idea of bringing in my favorite musicians, and I contacted them all. Everyone agreed to do it for free out of respect for me. The only one who said he would participate but didn't record anything was Nasty Ronnie from Nasty Savage. It was a great honor for us to work with all these musicians. I am still in touch with all of them, and some of them have even participated more than once in my other band, Bestial Invasion. It's awesome to have the opportunity to work with your idols!
Besides your other bands, were the other members of Violent Omen involved in any other bands during the hiatus?
Yuri continued to record albums for Lutomysl, Blood of Kingu, and possibly something else for local bands. Floods worked/played with Detonator and possibly other local bands. You can see all of this for yourself on Metal-Archives.
As for the new guitarist, Evgeny Maestro, he has been with me practically the entire time since 2014, recording Bestial Invasion, Cosmic Jaguar, and Tria Prima, and in 2019, he even toured Europe with the power metal band Sunrise from Kiev.
Also, after I left, Yuri, Floods, and another bass guitarist continued under the name Violent Omen without my approval and released demos and covers, which Yuri himself eventually admitted was a mistake and an unsuccessful experiment, after which the band self-destructed without even recording a single full-length album in 10 years. Why did this happen? Because the band changed its style and ceased to be what it was on its early albums, and Floods, as the leader, was unable to replace me, and it all fell apart.
How did the Violent Omen formed by Yuri and Floods differ stylistically from the “real” Violent Omen? How did you learn about this alternative version of the band? I assume they didn’t manage to keep the name despite their efforts.
Under my leadership, Violent Omen was always more old school, because I always hated and couldn't stand that newfangled crap. Neo-Violent Omen sounded more like modern prog death with weird vocals and was a far cry from what we used to do. I don't want to say that it was bad music, no, it just wasn't the real Violent Omen, which also had weak production. That's why many true fans of the band turned away from them and followed me when I created Bestial Invasion. Now that part of the fans has come back with me and is very happy about the reunion and eagerly awaiting the new album. Yuri himself admitted that it was an unsuccessful experiment and that it would have been better if it hadn't happened, because it killed the band for good. When I left the band, I said, “Let's part ways amicably, namely, let's put Violent Omen on hold until better times, until we can overcome the crisis between us, and each of us will go our separate ways and create our own new bands.” But he ignored me then. Fortunately, time has put everything in its place and shown who was right.
Given their history of collaboration, how did the new Violent Omen lineup approach arranging the music for your single “Path of Illumination”? Was there a specific lyrical concept you aimed to convey?
I already had the main part of the song and the arrangements ready, and then Maestro and I worked together to bring it to perfection, and Yuri created some fantastic drum parts. The song turned out to be a hit and easy to listen to. It is a kind of conceptual continuation of a song from the previous album, “Book of Lie,” which also dealt with a special attitude towards religion. I really like such philosophical themes related to history. Perhaps in the future, in new songs, I will touch on “The Da Vinci Code” and “Inferno”, it will be a kind of trilogy.
What about “Book of Lie” and its concept inspired you to write a loose continuation for “Path of Illumination”? Did you take any liberties to expand on the previous song?
Let's start from the beginning. I was inspired to write the lyrics for “Book of Lie” by the song by Destruction, “Nailed to the Cross”. I really love Schmier's lyrics, especially where he touches on issues of religion. And since James Brown's book vaguely resembles this theme, I simply decided to connect it all and make it a logical continuation. The same applies to the musical part of the song. It cannot be said that this is a direct sequel to “Book of Lie”; it is more like a continuation of the theme. I think we will continue this theme in future releases.
“Path of Illumination” is extremely complex, merging its roots in thrash metal with progressive metal and what sounded like ambient music. How much of the song had you already developed the music for, and what did the rest of the band do to produce a complete track that you all were satisfied with?
I wouldn't say that it's already that complex, because there will be more complex songs on the new album. There's no ambient music there, if you mean the beginning/end of the song, then it sounds atmospheric with bass guitar and effects. In Violent Omen, we never used keyboards as we did in our other bands, because they don't fit the concept of the band. I had originally composed almost the entire track, which I showed to Maestro, and we worked on the arrangements and some other details together. He also made the guitar parts better to suit his style, but the whole track was composed on bass guitar, and I think you can hear that in the song itself.
Yuri also made a big contribution to the track with his crazy drums, which made the song more dynamic. This song was supposed to feature special guests Greg Christian (ex-Testament) and Emmi (ex-Atheist), who promised to record short solos for us but ultimately didn't do it. As my many years of experience with American musicians show, this is nothing new, because some Americans like to make promises, but when it comes down to it, they disappear. At first, I found this strange, because in our mentality it is considered disrespectful and reprehensible, but over time I got used to it and now it makes me smile more than it disappoints me.
What aspects of “The Da Vinci Code” and “Inferno” will you touch on in your next song? I saw “The Da Vinci Code” and saw a lot of potential for basing lyrics on it.
There are many interesting things in these works that provide opportunities for creating cool lyrics and concepts. This style is also close to the concept of Bestial Invasion, which is already my personal emphasis. All these puzzles, mysteries, and mysticism just drive me crazy. If you like films in this vein, I recommend watching Roman Polanski's mystical thriller based on Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novel “The Club Dumas, or The Shadow of Richelieu” and “The Ninth Gate”. Nine engravings made, according to legend, with the participation of Lucifer, are found in three surviving copies of a book published by Aristide Torquiat in 1666 called “The Ninth Gate to the Kingdom of Ghosts”, located in the libraries of three private collectors. The engravings contain a puzzle, which, once solved, allows one to pass through the nine gates of hell and summon the devil to Earth (it is believed that whoever summons the devil will receive certain superpowers from him). I also plan to use this for the lyrics of one of my songs. I have many ideas like this for songs, but I won't talk about all of them here because I have to keep the intrigue alive.
What label is the band currently signed to, and how much effort are they investing in promoting “Path of Enlightenment”?
Choosing the Nocturnus Records label for us means stability and comfort first and foremost, because the owner of this label is my friend Igor Simonenko. We have already released three albums with our other bands, and we have never had any problems with him, unlike with Western labels from Europe and the United States. Although his label is small and underground, Igor is a professional in his field and always keeps his promises, unlike Western labels, with whom communication is very difficult, and there is a high chance that they will take a long time to do something or not do it at all. I already had a negative experience with a scam label from Holland, where a contract had already been signed to reissue 4 Bestial Invasion albums on vinyl and a 5th new one, but Mario, the swindler, cheated us and didn't release anything, even though the contract had been signed. Working with Igor, we have no problems with any of this. As for the larger labels that our music deserves, we simply cannot even get a response/feedback when we try to contact them. So we just gave up on all that and chose the path of comfort and honesty with our label Nocturnus Records.
In what ways can labels better support grassroots bands via email and streaming platforms?
In my opinion, every year the role of labels in the development of a band becomes smaller and smaller, unless they are industry giants. Even if we take bands of our level, even with high-quality material, we cannot get any financial support or any major advertising or tours. Labels cannot provide this now because they themselves cannot make money from it. As a result, it turns out that for bands, it's an expensive hobby, and labels can't produce anything except physical media, and even now it's difficult to find a label that will release you on vinyl. Sometimes labels work with useless PR agencies that send your release to various portals with almost no audience. Therefore, it is better for new bands to do everything themselves in terms of PR and music distribution, and if they are lucky, find a label that will make physical copies for their money and give them a percentage of the circulation. Streaming is a must because it is an important tool for the modern audience, meaning you have to be everywhere to get noticed.
Underground metal is a massive industry now, replete with bands doing something new and inventive. Do you think it’s easier for a band to be swallowed up in what seems like an endless ocean? What can bands do to stand out more and be noticed while promoting themselves?
It's very difficult to get lost among the huge number of bands and releases they put out. We also mustn't forget that music audiences have become very spoiled and picky, so it's hard to get their attention. Although in my day it was difficult to get hold of music, and any new music was valued and examined under a microscope and analyzed down to its molecules. Even as a schoolboy (in 2006), I traveled to Kiev (135 km from my city) just to buy a pirated MP3 disc of Mercyful Fate, because it was impossible to get this music anywhere else. Now everything is different, and on top of that, we live in an era of fast and clickable information. Nowadays, it's not enough to play good, high-quality music, because that alone is not enough to become popular. Now you need to surprise people more with your image and show. A good example is Batushka. Budget also plays a very important role, because without it, it will be very difficult for you to make a name for yourself. You need constant tours, music videos, etc. to get the attention of big labels. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are very rare. My advice to bands is to find your theme/concept, image, and play unusual music with good sound, and this combination will definitely increase your chances of making a name for yourself.
Considering the above question, are zines, webzines, and independent metal festivals still helpful to bands seeking to make a name for themselves? And what do you think of webzines like Blabbermouth and Metal Sucks?
Any media coverage is beneficial for the band. Each portal has its own audience, and you have a chance to get them interested. It's best if people from all over the world are talking about you. As for Blabbermouth, it's probably the largest metal portal in the world and very authoritative. But there's one thing: bands like ours will never get there unless you work for money with some PR agency and label that cooperates with them. I wrote to them a couple of times about our bands' news and didn't get any feedback. They also publish some weird stuff, like Tanya from Jinjer has been sober for 8 months lol. Are you serious?) It would be better to give this space in the news to some young and promising band, and it would be more useful for the development of music! Or is this the level of journalism now, posting nonsense? As for Metal Sucks, everything is debatable there too, but at least they don't hide the fact that their activity is hype, dirt, and cancel culture. Their portal has ruined the careers of many musicians, so I don't even know if it's worth it for normal bands to be featured there. I may be mistaken in my opinion, but that's the opinion I've formed. But then again, without them, our metal world would be boring.
What draws you to philosophical themes in metal? Would you consider using any of the movies you mentioned as lyrical inspiration, or others you've seen?
I am inspired by various topics, from the Aztecs to Japan's Unit 731. I am very fond of history and its colorful characters. For example, the new album will feature songs about Billy Milligan and Killdozer, and each of these characters has their own dramatic fate that captivates you with its details and outcome. Incidentally, my inspiration for lyrics is similar to Steve Harris (Iron Maiden). The most interesting thing is that I never tried to imitate him in this regard; it just happened that way. I remember watching the movie Inception and being so impressed that I couldn't wait for it to end so I could sit down and write the lyrics, and it happened many times with other songs. It's cool when inspiration for ideas comes spontaneously and out of nowhere.
I know the Aztecs are an inspiration to your band Cosmic Jaguar. What inspired you to refer to Japan's Unit 731? Was it a study of sorts about the darker side of human nature?
I have said many times that I love history; it was even my favorite subject in school because I found it fascinating to talk about the past and speculate about what happened back then. Since I have been interested in World War II for a long time, in 2012 I stumbled upon a documentary about Unit 731 on YouTube and was simply shocked by the horror of it. This is because we were never taught about the crimes of the Japanese in school, only about the Nazis in Germany, and I always thought that only there were the most brutal experiments on people. But I was wrong when I learned about this death squad and decided to talk about it in a song. Sadism in the Name of Science was the original title of the song, but we decided to change it to the simpler and more concise Unit 731. If you are not squeamish, I advise you to familiarize yourself with this topic in order to understand how human cruelty knows no bounds.
What fascinated you about Billy Milligan and Marvin “Killdozer” Heemeyer enough to write about them?
I think that as an American, you should understand why they are interesting and memorable. I learned about Billy Milligan again from documentaries in 2013, when I was watching documentaries non-stop. It seemed like an interesting and unusual topic for a song. Billy Milligan (1955–2014) was an American citizen who became famous for his unique diagnosis of “multiple personality disorder” (dissociative identity disorder). He had 24 distinct personalities in his head, including women, children, and criminals, which made him the first person in the US to be acquitted in court on these grounds. As for Killdozer, drummer Yuri gave me the idea. I looked into it and was very impressed by his story, so I decided to write a song about him too. I really like that he was able to fundamentally go against the system that wanted to destroy him. Marvin John Heemeyer is an American welder and auto repair shop owner who, on June 4, 2004, in Granby, Colorado, armored his Komatsu D355A-3 bulldozer and destroyed 13 administrative buildings due to a conflict with the authorities.
I have an interest in true crime stories, but I wasn’t familiar with Billy Milligan. What were his crimes, and what is your view on whether he should have been acquitted?
In the late 1970s, he was tried in a widely publicized trial in Ohio, USA. Milligan was accused of several robberies and three rapes, but his lawyers claimed that their client was insane, arguing that the crimes were committed by two of his alternate personalities without Milligan's knowledge. As a result, he was acquitted but sent for psychiatric treatment “until he recovers.” Billy Milligan became the first person to be acquitted in a trial on the grounds of a diagnosis of “multiple personality disorder.” In 1988, after ten years in a psychiatric clinic, Milligan was declared recovered and discharged. I believe he should have been isolated because he is very dangerous to society. But America is America!
What other true crime stories intrigue you, and are these stories you would also write about?
On our last album, we had a track called “Suffer Count 52” about serial killer Anatoly Onoprienko. Between 1989 and 1996, he killed 52 people: nine victims between June 14 and August 16, 1989, and 43 victims between October 5, 1995, and March 22, 1996. According to some sources, his cruelty makes him one of the most vicious maniacs of the 20th century, comparable to Andrei Chikatilo. At the same time, the question of Onoprienko's exact motives remains unanswered. Anatoly Onoprienko's crimes led to heated debates about the appropriateness of the death penalty in Ukraine. I also wrote a song about the serial killer Zodiac for Bestial Invasion. Zodiac was involved in a series of murders that took place in California in the late 1960s. The criminal was never found, and his identity was never established. Zodiac wrote letters to newspapers, signing them with this pseudonym. He claimed to have committed 37 kidnappings, but only seven are known for certain. Some of the kidnapper's victims managed to survive. The killer himself is believed to be dead. I don't have any ideas for new tracks in this direction yet.
How much research did you do on Marvin John Heemeyer's media exposure and trial after the 2004 incident? What sources did you look into for an understanding of his story?
I probably spent a total of 5-7 hours studying the materials. I did this when I felt like it and had free time. I watched YouTube videos and read articles on various websites, listened to his audio recordings with manifestos. I even watched films about him, “Tread” (2020) and “Leviathan” (2014). I recommend you watch them. I was very impressed by the story. Fortunately, there is a lot of information available everywhere to help you create a concept and lyrics for a song. The track itself still sounds so powerful, as if a bulldozer is really coming at you! By the way, our first vocalist, Faunus, will be a guest on this track, playing the role of Marvin on the voice recording!
How does the upcoming album compare in complexity and progression to the new single and Violent Omen’s previous releases? Are there themes or ideas you’d like to share with fans before its release?
The single is musically on par with the previous album, but with better guitar playing and sound quality. The song for the single is not the most complex on the album; you will hear all the most interesting stuff on the album, which will feature many impressive and unusual elements. There will be both fast and dark songs. We tried to make the album diverse, so that each song stands out from the others, but at the same time, it's still the same band. It's hard for me to name the best or worst song on the album for me, because they all kick ass in their own way! Before the album comes out, there will be another single, “24 Faces of Lunacy” where you'll hear us in a different light than on the single!
Is “24 Faces of Lunacy” about Billy Milligan, and based on research of the documentaries you watched about him?
I wouldn't say that it was dedicated to him specifically. It's just a song about him, nothing more! Since he was a rapist, he deserves no pity or honor that would warrant dedicating something to him personally. Take Killdozer, for example. That's a different situation, because he carried out his campaign against the authorities without any collateral damage. We didn't really dedicate any songs to anyone, except for an instrumental on the first album to one of our deceased friends and guitarist Lucifugum. We just sing about someone or something that happened. The song titles, by the way, give you a little reminder of LUNACY's previous album.
Speaking of impressive and unusual elements, is there anything on the next album that weren’t part of your older releases?
First and foremost, there are professional guitar solos, which we have always lacked. There are also some crazy elements similar to Primus and Cynic. There may also be some power metal and neo-classical influences, because Maestro is a guitarist who comes from that style, like Coroner guitarist Tommy, for example. I think the audience will hear and find something new for themselves that we didn't have before when the album comes out.
Classical and neoclassical influences seem to play a big role in your sound. How have you been developing guitar solos to enhance your song structure?
They are more present in solos, since neo-classical is not really our style of riffing; it was more present in Bestial Invasion's music. Maestro prepared the solos himself, very carefully and for a long time. He told us right away that he didn't want to record solos just for the sake of solos, so he needed time to compose killer solos, which he did very well! I think listeners will definitely appreciate his skill on the album!
In the last thirty years, metal bands have experimented and pushed boundaries. How much more is there to explore? How would you like Violent Omen to expand and grow in that regard?
It all happens spontaneously and over time. We've had our own style for a long time and we stick to it, but not radically and without boundaries, so it's hard to predict where it might take us, but at the same time we won't betray our sound and signature style. With each album, we are constantly changing and evolving, but not as radically as neo Violent Omen did when I left the band, when the technical thrash band started to sound like modern prog death.
What other philosophical themes are you planning to explore in your lyrics?
I have a couple more ideas, but I can't reveal them yet. Let it be a mystery, because the album hasn't been released yet, and we're already looking far into the future, which may not happen for us if there is a war. During this time, maybe some interesting characters or events will appear that I can coolly integrate into our music and concept. As a person, I always try to explore something new for myself, so I won't have any problems finding something interesting for our lyrics.
In what ways do you hope your music and lyrics will impact your listeners and underground metal in general?
We are not the kind of band that promotes anything, which is why we don't touch on all these sensitive topics, but rather sing about the past, about what happened, so that we can tell the whole story. Take Killdozer, for example. We talk about him as just a character from the past, but we don't encourage anyone to repeat anything like that, because it's madness! Perhaps after our songs, someone will become more interested in history and anthropology. Incidentally, thanks to some bands, I became interested in literature and art. It was Iron Maiden who helped me learn about Edgar Allan Poe through the song Murders in the Rue Morgue, after which I became a fan of his stories, and then it inspired me to come up with the concept for Bestial Invasion, and there are many such examples. I always try to take the best and most useful things from my favorite bands.
-Dave Wolff
Band Contacts:
https://violentomenofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/violentomen.official
violentomen.official@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/@Violent_Omen_official
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Violent_Omen/3540311061
