A little while back I was excited that Mike reached out to me about the possibility of doing a video premiere with Black Mass Metal. Being new into the metal music news/media scene I was surprised that such a thing could happen with our site let alone with a band as amazing as V/H/S. In Black Mass Metal fashion we wanted to do this proper and not just have a video on a random page linked onto our site. We want to go above and beyond for the bands because well, THAT'S OUR FUCKING PURPOSE! So after chatting with Mike a little bit he was down for an interview as well as us doing a review of the new album "We're Gonna Need Some Bigger Riffs". So now the time is here and any premiere on Black Mass Metal gets the showcase treatment with the home page of our website themed to the band, video on our home page as well as this interview and review. With that said lets getting to asking Mike some questions about V/H/S, how the response of the new release has been, whats in store and more!
[ADAM GARROW - BLACK MASS METAL (AG)] Firstly I would like to start this off by thanking you for taking the time out to do this interview. Mike, How are things since the release of your latest album "We're Gonna Need Some Bigger Riffs"?
[Mike Hochins - VHS (MH)] Thank you Adam for the interview, we truly appreciate it! Things are good since the album came out. We just shot a music video last weekend for "Death and Carnage Coming in Waves." This will be our first professional music video and we can't wait to see the final product. As for the album itself, people seem to be really digging it. We've always been a slow selling band but this album is selling much faster than previous albums and people are still buying it which is awesome.
[AG] So the album released towards the end of July. It has been a solid month now and has gained some serious hype in the underground scene and beyond. Has the release of this album been different than previous releases?
[MH] One very different thing we did this time was we worked with Anubi PR and had a promo campaign happening for about a month before the album was released. We also had a few videos and lyric videos ready to go before release so we had material to push the album more then we have in the past. I've always pushed the band online but this time was much more focused and Anubi helped set up some awesome premieres for us. So essentially we had our shit together much more with this album and wanted to approach the release in a much more professional manner. Are we a professional band? Hardly, but we wanted to see what the results would be if we approached the release this way and we are definitely pleased.
[AG] This release has some legendary guest from the metal scene including Trevor from the Black Dahlia Murder and Matt from Exhumed/Gruesome. What was it like having these guys contribute and how badly did you geek the fuck out when you got to hear the final product with them on it?
[MH] Oh geeking the fuck out doesn't even begin to describe it! With Matt's guest vocals, I didn't even hear them until I heard the final product and the shit eating grin on my face damn near tore my face in half. I've been a huge fan of Exhumed for a very long time and Matt was always one of those people I thought would never be on one of our songs. But the stars aligned and it happened! Having Trevor was an awesome experience. We had to find a studio for him and that took a bit of work but finally we found a studio and made sure that we had someone to take studio footage for us since we couldn't be there. We played with The Black Dahlia Murder last year and Trevor was super cool and has been very supportive of VHS over the years. I've been a huge fan of BDM since the first album so having Trevor on a song just made sense to me. Once again my face was definitely sore from smiling when I heard it for the first time!
[AG] Now the OSDM scene has a shit ton of a bands releasing music everyday yet some how V.H.S. manages to shine out from the pile of bands that are out there. What do you think is the appeal of V.H.S. that stands out a little more than the rest?
[MH] I'm not sure exactly what the appeal is, maybe the humour in the music? I would say that we really don't sound like most of the OSDM bands around right now nor are we trying to sound like any specific style. Are we even an OSDM band? I don't even know, to my ears I hear a lot of punk in our music so I don't even know what to call it! So maybe the fun side of the band and catchy simplicity makes us stand out? If people think we stand out from the pack I would take that as a huge compliment.
[AG] V.H.S. takes the cake when using clever titles and imagery to pay tribute to the classic horror/slasher and VHS vibe from the 80s. As a classic horror fan myself, it is a big reason that draws me to your band because you are able to pull it off successfully. How do you come up with the ideas and what inspires you the most to write for V.H.S.?
[MH] Initially when I started writing for the band I would basically just think of what are my favorite movies or what movies have never really been utilized for lyrical inspiration by other bands. The latter is tough since Mortician has covered a lot of ground! With the last few releases I tried to have a concept or make all of the songs related in some way. For the new album it is mainly based on aquatic or beach horror movies with only a few songs that stray from that theme. Same as the split with Oxygen Destroyer which was CAT III themed. As far as the actual lyric writing process, I'll usually just watch the movie and have a note pad with me or sometimes a line will randomly pop into my head while I'm thinking about a movie and then that one line will lead to the rest of the lyrics being written around that one line.
[AG] Okay, so now the tough questions. If you are stranded on an island and could only have 1 horror movie to watch, what horror movie would you choose and why?
[MH] Oh wow that's a tough question. Three come to mind immediately, The Monster Squad, The Beyond and Friday the 13th 6: Jason Lives. I think I'll have to go with Jason Lives though. It was one of the first slasher movies I ever watched and is still one of my favorites now. I just wish someone would release an unrated version with all of the gore put back in!
[AG] You have a gig to play but you are only allowed to choose 3 pieces of equipment for your guitar set up. What 3 items do you choose and why?
[MH] I'm a very meat and potatoes type of guitar player anyway and when we play live there isn't much going on guitar setup wise. It's just my guitar, a patch chord, the amp and a tuner for the most part. I'd like to get a delay into my live setup but honestly with playing guitar and doing the vocals as well it's hard to tap dance on any pedals!
[AG] Diving into the V.H.S. Catalog a bit I would like to personally know what is your favorite V.H.S. song that you listen too and what is your favorite V.H.S. song to play live?
[MH] Right now I would say my favorite VHS music to listen to is the entire new album. I'm definitely still in the honeymoon phase and can still listen without picking out too many things I would have done differently. Favorite song to play live would be a tie between Room 36 and Hairspray and Bloodspray. Lots of good headbanging moments in both.
[AG] How many riffs could a woodchuck riff if a woodchuck could riff a riff?
[MH] 2....exactly 2.
[AG] With the album being out and taking the internet by storm, what do we have to look forward to in the near future from V.H.S?
[MH] Like I mentioned earlier we should have the video out sometime later this year. Our split with Abhorrent Funeral is coming out on CD soon on Everydayhate Records. We've had a lot of bands getting in touch about doing splits so we will try our best to do as many as humanly possible. We've also been throwing around the idea of doing a second Xmas EP this year but I don't want to get ahead of myself and commit to too many things! Also need to start writing the next album as I've got some ideas brewing in my cobweb filled brain!
[AG] I would like to thank you again for your time in doing this interview. The new album "We're Gonna Need Some Bigger Riffs" is a masterpiece and I can't to see how things unfold from here for you and the band. Any last words you would like to add?
[MH] Thank you for the kind words and for the interview as well! Not much else to add, just want to say thanks to everyone that has checked us out and enjoys what we do. If you've never checked us out, what the hell are you waiting for? Cheers!
We would like to thank Mike for taking the time out for the interview and we can't wait to hear and see what is in store for future V/H/S releases!
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