Vektor get ready to blast Cherry Street into outer space

photo: Emily Ibarra

There have been many thrash bands coming out of the woodwork in the past few years. It seems as if we've been invaded by a bunch of groups that try to mimic the sound and look of an earlier, supposedly more golden, age. Unfortunately, a lot of these bands may get some of the sound right and maybe some even dress the part, but very few are adding anything new to this most classic of heavy sounds. It's a rare band that pushes the genre forward and should be celebrated.

Vektor is one such band.


This Philadelphia-by-way-of-Arizona, based band, which features, David DiSanto (vocals,guitar), Erik Nelson (guitar), Blake Anderson (drums) and Frank Chin (bass), takes the thrash template and adds a dash of progressive rock power, to create a sound that is dynamic, forward thinking and most importantly, heavy as hell. It's been called "prog-thrash from space" by their fans, and according to Chin, it's their ability merge thrash with progressive rock that makes the band so special.

"We're into a lot of 70's prog like Rush, King Crimson and Yes. We apply these type of sounds into our music. For me, I'm fascinated with Hawkwind and their use of space, and how it applies to the message we are trying to convey. We don't think any music is off limits. Any form of music can be made heavy and good," said Chin.

It's interesting to note his mention of 70's cosmic commandos Hawkwind, and how that sheds some light on the band's approach to lyrics. They write sci-fi epics that tackle many of the issues we are dealing with in the world today, like all good science fiction should. It's meant to expand minds.

The same idea applies to the music, as most songs stretch beyond the five minute mark, and blast into realms unknown. But the band has mastered the craft of making a 10 minute song exciting from start to finish. Though their songs tend to be longer than the average thrash band, Chin explains that is all done naturally.

"Our sound isn't forced. We don't make a conscious decision to make the songs longer. They just turn out that way. It's a natural progression," said Chin.

This natural mastery is on display on the band's last album "Outer Isolation", which was released by Heavy Artillery in 2011, and then re-released by Earache in 2012, when they got signed to the esteemed metal label. But if you really want to get Chin excited, ask him about their next record, which the band is currently in the process of writing and hopes to have out later this year.

The new record will be a concept record, and it will be the first Vektor full length, that doesn't contain a re-configured song or two from one of their demos. In the past, the band has re-recorded songs from their well received demos to go along with the new material. For this newest opus, it's going to be all new songs. Chin is very excited about this.

"It's completely new and completely fresh. It's another progression from the last album. I was more active in the writing and I'm really stoked about it. We are looking to record soon, but before we do, we want to make sure everything is on lockdown and everything is right," said Chin.

This would also include finding a place to record the new album in the band's new home of Philadelphia. Recently, they moved from their home base in Arizona, where they had been a band for about 10 years and headed east to the so-called city of "brotherly love". They had a hard choice to make, but for the sake of the band, they decided to take this chance.

For instance, touring is a lot easier. Chin explained that if they were still in Arizona they couldn't do this little short tour, which takes them to the Cherry Street Station in Wallingford on April 16, because of the distances involved. They can do little short quick hit tours and play places they never have played, in a shorter period of time. The geography is a little more amenable to what they want to do.

That's not to say, the West Coast doesn't have its charm. For example, the band cut their teeth and became very popular playing thrash shows in Los Angeles, but Chin explains if they were still in Arizona it would take about six hours just to get to their first show. So, being on the East Coast helps.

Also, being in a new city helps, too.

"There are a lot of great people and great bands here. There is a lot of different types of bands and it's a very interesting scene. It's almost like a small city in terms of support, even though it isn't small. We are more or less happy," said Chin.

Vektor
Vaporizer
Priapism
Our Own Destruction

Saturday February 16, 2013
Cherry Street Station
491 North Cherry Street Extension
Wallingford, CT

7:30pm - $7 - 21+