It was recently announced that longtime standard-bearers of "holy terror hardcore," Vegas, will be joining forces with Head2Wall Records for the release of their long-awaited new full-length, Pure. The 15-track outing will break the seventh seal on May 6 (vinyl is slated to ship sometime in August), and at this stage in the band's evolution, it's encouraging to find them working with a label that bears a bit more prominence and variety when compared to the (often intentionally) enigmatic underground imprints for which the group is most known. Of course, the secretive aura of V.E.G.A.S. remains at hand, evidenced by one ultra limited pre-order bundle that includes a bonus lathe-cut (shipping separately next month) with two exclusive songs. Pre-order all such vinyl options direct from Head2Wall, or visit Bandcamp for intangible yields.
Hints of Pure have been creeping onto Bandcamp for nearly two years now, but merely offer piquing glimpses as to the album's breadth of growth and influence. The material sees Vegas' exclusive brand of obfuscated metallic hardcore/punk bleed further into every direction, through some of the project's most refined and memorable songwriting to date, and without abandoning any of the characteristics that have always set them apart. Tortured dissonance, spiraling melodies, and a few surprisingly emotive instrumentals—at least one of which arguably boasts a prog rock vibe—augment all manners of churning midpaced fury.
"Resolve," for example, counters the type of charging, Cleveland-esque rhythms that will immediately bring smiles to the faces of longtime fans with atypical chord phrasings and a droning lead melody:
Speaking of this composition in particular, T, the driving force of Vegas, imparted this powerful statement:
"Unswerving force and resolute determination can give one the resolve to keep going in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles being placed ahead of you.
2020 and 2021 have been exceptionally challenging in every facet of my life, and the resolve was to learn that each adversity, each failure, each loss, each heartache carries inherently the seed to realize that one is not a prisoner of fate, but one's own mind.
Fear of death is merely derived from the fear of life, and the greatest loss remains what dies inside us while we live."
Of their cooperation with Vegas, Head2Wall provided the following:
"We're both longtime Vegas fans, and though we didn't know them personally, we have a lot of mutual friends. They were always on our list of bands to reach out to someday, when the timing was right. But, to our surprise, they reached out to us first. We were so, so excited to have an opportunity to work with a band that already meant so much to both of us. And while this process was delayed and postponed countless times over the last year by the pandemic, it has been an incredible experience. This record is absolutely amazing, and we're both just beyond excited to have the opportunity to work with such an impressive and important band."
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Pre-order Pure on vinyl or digitally. Hear more from Vegas via Bandcamp, and follow them through Facebook or Instagram. Keep up with Head2Wall's activities through Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
