VENTED Discuss New Singles, Songwriting, and What’s Next for the Emerging Supergroup

When you combine extreme talent from some of the best that heavy metal has to offer, you can be pretty damn sure you will get something memorable. And that’s exactly what you’re getting on Vented’s brand new single “The End Game,” which will be included on the group’s forthcoming debut record, Cruelty And Corruption. Saying that this band brings power and intensity would be an understatement.

Formed just last year, the group features Sean Zatorsky (Daath, Sinsaenum, ex-Chimaira), Austin D’Amond (Bleed The Sky, DevilDriver, ex-Chimaira), Greg Hajer (Omega Diatribe), and Simon C. Bondar (White Tiger). Sadly, Vented was originally conceived by the late Joey Jordison prior to his passing in the summer of 2021. With Jordison taking the lead, Vented began recording their debut in the early part of last year. When Jordison passed, D’Amond became determined to keep Jordison’s legacy alive, so he took the initiative to take over the drumming duties and move forward with the songs the band had been working on.

Cruelty And Corruption will feature 13 new tracks, showcasing the rawness and sonic brutality of this uber-talented unit. The songs will take you back to the era when groove metal and nu metal were dominating the heavy metal space.

To learn more about the band, how they came together, and what to expect when Cruelty And Corruption is released, we recently caught up with Hajer, with a special guest appearance from the whole band and producer HK Krauss for a chat about all things Vented.

For those not familiar with your band, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Gergo Hajer: “Vented is an international supergroup featuring Sean Zatorsky (Daath/Sinsaenum/ex-Chimaira), Austin D’Amond (DevilDriver/Bleed The Sky) Simon C. Bondar (Sexual Education), and yours truly from Omega Diatribe. We started to work on our debut record in 2021, originally with the mighty Joey Jordison (ex-Slipknot/Vimic/Sinsaenum) on drums and French music producer HK Krauss (Sinsaenum, Betraying The Martyrs, Dagoba…etc.), but due to the unfortunate tragedy, Austin jumped behind the drums to keep Joey’s legacy.”

What is your writing process like?

Hajer: “We live in different parts of the world, so all of the writing processes are done online. We’re sending demos and ideas to each other and working on them in our home studios. Once the song structure is done, we’re ready to record the final parts and send them out to our producer HK in France.”

Artwork for the single “My Desire” by Vented

Your new single, “My Desire,” has just been released. Now that it is complete, how do you feel about it, and what has been the response so far?

HK Krauss: “When I heard Vented’s demos for the first time, I liked it immediately. It reminds me of the bands I was listening to when I was a kid, but with this modern touch that makes Vented unique, in my honest opinion. Producing that album was so cool and refreshing because I mixed it in the old fashion way. No overproduced sound. Just music, feelings, and punch! ‘My Desire’ is one of my favourite songs on the album. It has got everything I liked in metal music. I truly hope people will enjoy this album as much as I do!”

Sean Zatorsky: “‘My Desire’ is one of the first songs we wrote; it always felt like it should have been the first single. The song has so much groove and so much vibe, it appealed to my friends more than any other track. ‘My Desire’ is about being myself and pushing the boundaries of anything I had ever attempted before. Almost an ego death of sorts, push until you can’t push any further; until you achieve the impossible, hold nothing back. Essentially switching up my vocal style to finally be able to showcase something other than just screaming. This song was the beginning of the rest of the album; it set the tone and pace for my vocals.”

Simon C. Bondar: “‘My Desire’ has strains of classic Machine Head running through. With the subdued pre-chorus slamming into the ultra-catchy melodic chorus while still maintaining its heaviness, with Sean’s multi-layered vocal style! I remember having fun being able to add some synths and keyboards, to add to the melody of its chorus.”

Hajer: “The metrics are just crazy, man… we got so much love from the metalheads, which means a lot for us! It makes us happy that people still need this kind of metal music.”

When you write, do you do so with the live setting in mind, or do you write a song just for the song’s sake?

Hajer: “We write the songs in such a way that they will hold their place on stage too. These songs would mainly hit live, you have to feel that power straight in your face, loud on stage!”

Along those same lines, do you take advantage of technology and email riffs and parts back and forth, or do you get together in a room in a more traditional sense and write together?

Hajer: “Everything is happening via online, email and WhatsApp, except when we shoot our music videos. Last time Sean travelled to Budapest, Hungary to shoot the music videos for our singles.”

What’s the story behind the name of the band?

Hajer: “The name idea came from Sean and Joey. It’s about venting out the negative energies through our music. To play music is such a therapy for us, so this name is the perfect choice for us! People are often confused with the band called Vended, but the truth is we already have the name Vented before the debut of Vented, and it’s important for us to stick to Vented to keep Joey’s legacy alive.”

What are some of the newer bands that you are listening to or enjoying?

Hajer: “I still listen to music from the ’90s and ’00s era, but I’m really digging the energy of a few newcomers like Kublai Khan, Spiritbox, or Alpha Wolf.”

San & Gergo of Vented

Do you have any rituals before you hit the stage? If so, what are they?

Hajer: “As we never played under the name of Vented live, we don’t have any rituals yet, but I’m sure we’ll have. Hopefully, pretty soon…”

Do you have any touring plans in support of the new recording?

Hajer: “Right now, we’re focusing to find the right label for our upcoming record Cruelty And Corruption. After when it will be released, we and our label will know how big the demand is for us so we can set up plans for touring. By the way, the metrics for the two singles we released are pretty crazy… Fingers crossed because we would like to bring those heavy grooves on stage!”

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take three CDs with you for eternity, assuming there was a solar-powered CD player, what would they be?

Hajer: “Damn, it’s a tough one…”

Slipknot – Iowa
Machine Head – The More Things Change…
Meshuggah – obZen