myspace band of the week

Vampillia is a 10-piece “brutal orchestra” that dubbed themselves the hardcore version of Arcade Fire. Members of the orchestra have included Toyohito Yoshikawa (ex Boredoms), Kazuhisa Chikada (World’s End Girlfriend), and Merzbow. But the main members are their three vocalists: Geath (the screamer), Death (the Mongoloid woodcutter), and OPERA (the opera singer).

They toured New York with Tujiko Noriko in 2008 and made a stop at SXSW this year. In 2010 they toured Australia to all sold-out shows. Is Collage Collective released their first album Sppears late 2009 in Japan. US label Important Records released their next album Alchemic Heart January 2011. This album is a collaboration with Jarboe, Inswarm, and Merzbow and contains two 25-minute songs. Their next album Rule the World + Deathtiny Land will be released this April from Italian label code666. This album will contain 24 songs and last 24 minutes.

Vampillia’s sound is a mix of classical and hardcore music. The combination of screaming and opera in songs like “heyoah” calls to mind bands like mutyumu. “Sea” from Alchemic Heart only gets a 3-minute mix on myspace but that’s enough to get the gist of it. This song has much more in common the post-rock/doom genre than anything on Sppears. “Mersum” with vocals by Tujiko Noriko sounds a bit out of place but it’s a beautiful piece amongst chaos.

Buy Alchemic Heart and Sppears at Amazon.

http://www.myspace.com/vampilliaofficial