Vicious. – “190 Proof” Artist of the Month (December, 2017)

Every now and then, a band comes along and stops us cold in our tracks. It’s always a singular moment, defined either by a recent live performance, where we were enchanted from their vantage point on stage or after their record starts spinning. Either way, there are moments when we fall in love with artists, and it’s exactly this type of admiration that’s inspired us to start 190 Proof Artist of the Month. This showcases musical acts that have truly done something special and are picked by several members of the PureGrainAudio staff. You can’t go wrong with anything by a band that has made it onto this esteemed list. For those musicians and artists out there that are looking to get some hard-earned recognition, we are always on the lookout for anything that melts our face off or tears out our hearts.

Band: Vicious.
Month: December, 2017
Genres: Hard Rock, Metal, Nu Metal
Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

Much like the band’s music, this video is all about “No Forgiveness”.

The Skinny: Vicious. is our second 190 Proof Artist of the Month, and are making waves with their latest single “S.O.O.”. From their reception they are getting on their YouTube channel alone, it is clear the guys are making inroads with heavy music fans that are dead set against the reactionary and “postmodern” demographic. It’s a stance that is sure to make them no friends from the traditional left-leaning punk and hardcore crowd, but the band is more interested in gleaning support from supporters of the likes of Gavin McInnes and Ayn Rand. Their reference to the latter personality is a signpost of the band’s adoration for Objectivist philosophy, for which lead singer Sam Sky makes no apologies.

As a reaction to political dissidents and extremism, the track bristles and Sky’s vocal work delivers a consistent unbridled hatred that works perfectly for the lyrical content and subject matter. Its focus on melody and catchy hooks, along with a breather for a brief spewing of anti-antifa polemic, make the track incendiary all the way through. Love them or hate them, the band is prepared for any sort of blowback, as evidenced by their interview below, and remain determined to bring their brand of bitter to stages around the world!

Five Quick Questions with Vicious.:

How did the band come together?
Sam Sky: Dan and I have been playing together for years, we were in I Am King together. So I always knew even when I was just conceptualizing the project that I was going to ask him to hop on board. After I got to the studio and wrote some demo tracks, I showed Dan the tracks right away. Thankfully he was hype on it, and wanted to be apart of it, and has been a HUGE part of it all since. The other members have all been in bands from the area, and after a million years of trying out members, we found Chris and AJ. Think we found the solid line up that we need.

What would you say is the most important part of your creative process?
Sky: For me, it’s that you have to find this sweet spot where you can somehow be on the outside looking in, and be on the inside looking out. Or taking yourself seriously, and at the same time, not giving a fuck or caring at all. LOL. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a real thing that goes on in my crazy head.

There are a lot of youth that are surrounded by ideology and political rhetoric, most of which they are expected to engage with and in some cases parrot. What would you say to young adults or teens who are coming up in the world and may feel trapped by collective ideology?
Sky: Stop looking at your horoscope, Read some goddamn books, real books, not pseudo science bullshit, and ask questions. Ask hard questions, more importantly, learn to question yourself and your own thought process the most. Most people lack the courage or strength to look in the mirror and see who or what they really are. Believe it or not, finding the truth about my own depraved humanity on a micro level, lead me to opening my eyes on the macro. Lastly, and ultimately one of the most defining things to discover about yourself, and your world view, is do you believe in objective truth? That there is good and evil? Or do you subscribe to the changing winds of postmodernism and it’s altruistic cancer. Once you’ve come to terms with that major concept, then the rest falls into place, and the wolves in sheep’s clothing become much more apparent, and you, much less a parrot. When you find that you don’t necessarily fit in with either extreme side, chances are, you found reason and common sense.

The song “S.O.O.” takes shots at both sides of divergent extremism. As punk and hardcore generally espouse far more left-leaning ideology, have you experienced any sort of backlash for the views expressed on the song?
Sky: Honestly, I was ready for some crazy shit in our inboxes from the people who subscribe to the collective ostrich parasitic syndrome, as Gad Saad would so perfectly put it, but there really has been no backlash at all. I’m almost disappointed haha. I was ready to fuck shit up with reason and common sense for daaayyyyssss. Now that I think of it, my mom says she’s really disappointed in my choice of language though. Probably the worst backlash we’ve gotten tbh.

What are your most important influences, and who among these would you like to share the stage?
Sky: It’s all over the place. Especially when it comes to the band as a whole, we are really random with that shit. I think we all would agree that Underoath, Rage, Slipknot, and Linkin Park would be the no-brainers. And yeah, if we could share the stage with any if those bands we would be freaking the fuck out for sure.

Peep the band’s politically-poignant “S.O.O.” music video.