Magnolia Park Drop ‘VAMP’ and “Shadow Talk” Music Video

Orlando band Magnolia Park pushes the boundaries of genre and storytelling by releasing their highly anticipated concept album VAMP, out now via Epitaph Records.

The band also shares the chilling, cinematic music video for the focus track “Shadow Talk,” “a dystopian anthem about revenge and anger at the world,” they explain. Written from the perspective of their album narrative’s manipulative, power-hungry villain, Obsidian, they deliver industrial production, maniacal whispers and bone-crushing breakdowns to convey the chaos and twisted pleasure of watching the world burn.

Across VAMP’s 11 tracks – internally produced by the band’s own producers alongside Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember, Wage War), Hiram Hernandez (blessthefall, Real Friends) and Andy Karpovck (408, Taylor Acorn), and mixed by Zakk Cervini (Bad Omens, Bring Me The Horizon) – Magnolia Park soundtrack a dramatic tale of crimson blood and chrome-plated courage through their own mix of man and machine. Stacking whirring electronics and industrial undertones alongside sledgehammer breakdowns, walls of detuned guitars and seam-splitting vocals, they’ve modded out their uplifting pop-punk anthems for something heavier and more complex.

From Joshua Roberts (vocals), Tristan Torres (guitar), Freddie Criales (guitar), Joe Horsham (drums) and Vincent Ernst (bass), Magnolia Park have spun an electrifying mix of pop, punk, nu-metal, hip-hop and metalcore into a dizzying, multisensory experience. Heavily inspired by the band’s love of anime, horror and fantasy, the backstory to VAMP was spurred by the long-running Vampire Hunter D, iconic works like Star Wars, Dracula and Joseph Campbell’s legendary monomyth. The album soundtracks an ominous journey through the fictional world of Nocturne Nexus; where rulers and rebels battle with the future hanging in the balance. Check out the interactive website complete with visuals and character illustrations to guide you through the entirety of Magnolia Park’s chilling narrative.

Unveiling the extensive storyline through their high-octane lead single “Cult”, the band introduced their protagonist Aurora X1 as she rallies her followers for an epic showdown against a sinister force. “Worship” then arrived as the sonic embodiment of her nemesis, Obsidian, who uses insidious mind-control tactics to deceive his followers into battle against Aurora’s army.

The project’s roots took place in Australia: after performing triumphant sets to thousands at the 2023 Good Things Festival, the band was more encouraged than ever to chase a bold, new musical direction. They decided to tap into the heavier influences they’d begun dabbling in on Halloween Mixtape II (2023), adding a ferocious bite to their trademark sound. Born from this was “Shallow,” released in August 2024, one of the first songs penned for the follow-up. Praised for its “thunderous instrumentation”, it led the band in a direction to think bigger about what the next set of songs could become. Before long, they were entrenched in building out the album’s details, crafting characters, settings, and narratives that add new layers of complexity and creativity to their already captivating sound.

Magnolia ‘Park’ album artwork