VIDEO PREMIERE: Larksville noise rockers Vulturepeak break free of daily banality with ‘Wraith’
In these chaotic times, Vulturepeak is more prolific than ever with their anarchic mix of post-hardcore, metal, and noise, releasing their second album this year alone, “Snake Body,” this Sunday, March 25 through No Less Records, with more music planned for 2018.
Before the Larksville duo rips up stages with Dead Empires, Terrorize This, and King Kong Hates the Wolfman tonight at the Irish Wolf Pub (503 Linden St., Scranton) and tomorrow with The Greater Victory and Condition Oakland for Black Diamond’s final show at The Other Side (119 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre), they are debuting a brand new song and its video exclusively on NEPA Scene.
“Wraith” is the second song to debut from “Snake Body,” an album of 10 tracks that marks the first time that guitarist/vocalist Robert Neil and drummer Jeff Hartley have not recorded themselves, choosing instead to work with Eric Novroski at Novro Studios in Shavertown. While the music is relentless and unforgiving, enhanced by the grainy live footage and dizzying visuals of the video, nothing is more brutal than everyday life.
“The song ‘Wraith’ is about falling into repetition in daily life and struggling to make out what’s real and illusion, having death always looming but never being able to release yourself from the mundane,” Hartley told NEPA Scene.
“The sound of this song represents a side of us and the record, but the album does not stick to this song’s framework. The sound moves a bit through different forms as the album plays out.”
Hartley and Neil began creating these dark sounds together in Southwestern Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh and eventually moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania and formed Vulturepeak (also stylized as VLTRPK) in 2012. That year, they released a self-titled demo, followed by the EP “Filament Palace” in 2013, which features a nine-minute piece called “Cast Out the Third Act” that became a three-part video series. Lonesome Waltz Records later put out a cassette in 2015 collecting live parts of all these releases together, along with some improvisational noise. These were also rendered visually in various videos to enhance their tumultuous sonic experience.
In January, Vulturepeak unleashed what may be their harshest album to date, “Wrapped in Tar,” combining noise, doom, drone, and power violence. They’ve also participated in compilation albums, lending the song “Dry Arc” to the 2014 Wilkes-Barre DIY Comp and “Bright Eyes” to the upcoming SCENE comp, set for release on Friday, April 6 during a special show at The Bog in Scranton.
“Bright Eyes” is another track on “Snake Body,” which will not be the last sharp scream we hear from Vulturepeak this year.
“We plan on doing what we have done for the last few years and play as many shows as we can while continuing to write new music,” Hartley said. “We have a few more releases coming up this year with some friends that we are excited about!”
Stream “Frozen River” from “Snake Body” below:
