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It’s a hard and loud one this week, an absolute screamer for all you metal-heads out there, we caught up with vocalist Vince Ward from newcomers Grimoire for the lowdown on the band’s beginnings, Brexit and not one, but two single releases.
Each track tells a different story from the deepest, darkest places of the mind to the opposing social reaction to the current political climate.
PR: Grimoire, that’s an interesting name, for you what does that mean/signify?
VW: I came up with the name Grimoire quite a bit of time before the project began to pick up steam. To me it described perfectly what I was going through at the time. Like the events in my life were telling me to act and to be as a person. It also connects to the mental health support system which is something I spent a bit of time in. I felt that a lot of what I was being told to really worsened my experience and how everything was going for me. As if it was a curse. Like the coping mechanisms they were talking to us about where making us worse. The best thing for me was to get away from the system and try it on my own.
PR: Are you studying?
VW: Currently, most of us work full time jobs except for Nathan who I know is sitting some exams for his 3rd year of University right now. But I think for the majority of us our time in education is done. We spend most of our time either working or doing things for the band.
PR: How did you get together?
VW: Firstly me and the drummer Aaron were in another local band for about 2 years together. As that came to an end the hunt for other musical endeavours began. That’s where Luke approached me about starting a new project together. So I decided to get Aaron involved. We knew Nathan through a friend of the band. The project was already well underway with Luke doing the majority of the writing. But that’s how our current line up came to be.
PR: Dead Poet has quite an interesting mix of sound there that works, how does that process work?
VW: Well Dead Poet was actually the 3rd song we wrote as a band. I feel like our joint influences came out with something really special that i’m quite proud of.The lyrics in the track are very emotional and mean a lot to everyone in the band. So we tried our hardest to make the song reflect what I was trying to convey through the lyrics. I want to give a shout out to Connor Sweeney of Loathe for helping us make Dead Poet sound exactly how we wanted. I am really proud of the song and what we were able to create together.
PR: Where did you shoot the video for that?
VW: We shot the music video for Dead Poet in Brunswick Mill with Gaz Davies. We had a great time working with Gaz and everyone at brunswick. Gaz really helped portray the high energy of the song in a way that complements visually.
PR: Pesticide, are they written around the same theme?
VW: No, Pesticide is quite a step away for me from my usual lyrical content. The song is about the political climate in the UK right, especially surrounding Brexit. When I heard the song for the first time I knew it had to have a strong straight to the point message. I feel like pesticide shows what a lot of people feel towards Brexit and how everything has gone down.
PR: What’s the drive, the inspiration?
VW: My personal drive is just the love of the music. Going to shows and playing shows. Its what I love to do and I know I speak for the rest of the band too. The atmosphere of playing in front of all your friends and everyone is having a good time. I don’t think anything could beat that for me.
PR: What has been the response so far?
VW: The response so far has been really supportive. Everyone seems to really enjoy the 2 tracks we have released. Honestly it makes me excited to show what else we have been working on behind the scenes. You can expect a lot of different sounds from us in the future and I honestly can’t wait for people to hear it.
PR: Are these tracks part of a bigger project?
VW: Dead Poet and Pesticide are both stand alone tracks. But we are working on a major release for later on in the year.
PR: Any live shows?
VW: We are in talks with some people about some live performances in the very near future. But nothing we can disclose or announced as of yet.
PR: How would you describe your look?
VW: We don’t really have a look. I just see us as people making music. I feel like what shirt I am wearing on that day does not validate or take away from the music we wrote together. Typically I wear merchandise from the bands I like to support, That I think deserve recognition.
PR: How would you describe your fan base?
VW: We are a very new band. Anyone who would consider themselves a fan of the band is always welcome. The people who have been supporting us through the years are still there cheering us on and that’s a great feeling. But people have been very patient with us and hugely supportive which i’m so grateful for. Other bands have been really great to us as well when ever we attend local shows or seem them out and about. Overall I’m really grateful to anyone who took the time to check out Dead Poet or Pesticide!
PR: What is your summer shaping up to be like?
VW: Our summer is gonna be spent finishing up our Debut EP. Hopefully heading back into the studio with a couple of live shows sprinkled here and there. But I think things will get moving for us towards the back end of the year where we have a lot of exciting things in the works!
Thanks to Vince Ward for his time and thanks to Grimoire for all their input and thanks to Gaz Davies Media for photography.
Grimoire are:
Vocals: Vince Ward
Guitar: Luke Lomas
Guitar: Nathan Carnell
Drums/Backing Vocals: Aaron Sheridan.
Dead Poet and Pesticide are available to download on all platforms.
Watch the music video for Dead Poet in our video box.
Listen at: https://open.spotify.com/track/3lxOkIYLTq998WAwFJZDPP?context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A56nllYYBhXuIJhhQ7fTAQZ&si=yV1yeHDzRZWZJWxrBNQ0Ug