Meet the 2021 Juno Nominees: Vile Creature
From now until the 2021 Juno Awards are presented on May 16, we will offer this weekly column to help you get to know some of the nominees in all categories a little better. Here's a look at a Hamilton metal duo.
By Jason Schneider
From now until the 2021 Juno Awards are presented on May 16, we will offer this weekly column to help you get to know some of the nominees in all categories a little better.
Meet the 2021 Juno Nominees:
Vile Creature
Nominated in the category Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year
For the past six years, Hamilton, Ontario metal duo Vile Creature has been turning out experimental, doomy sounds that have pushed the boundaries of their creativity and tested the limits of their place in the world. These efforts have now been recognized with a Juno nomination for its fourth album, Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!, released last June on Prosthetic Records.
The threads of Glory, Glory! can be traced back to early 2019 when members Vic (vocals, drums) and KW (vocals, guitar, drums, percussion) started to accumulate riffs and stream of consciousness lyrics. They later put them all together during a retreat to a northern Ontario cabin in early 2020 before recording commenced at Hamilton’s Boxcar Sound Recording with producer Adam Tucker.
With Vic’s primal vocals front and centre, Glory, Glory! captures Vile Creature in peak form, complemented by the album’s stunning visuals created by photographer Danika Zandboer, which expand upon the duo’s psychedelic and theatrical influences.
“Our music is slow, heavy and cathartic,” KW tells us. “It’s definitely not for everyone and that's fine. It’s very flattering to receive the Juno nomination, that’s for sure. As far as what it means for our band, maybe more people will become aware of us. Perhaps our parents and family members might take what we do more seriously than they did before, but honestly we don't pay much attention to engagement. When we released [Glory, Glory!] we did everything the same as we would have had there not been a global pandemic, aside from not being able to play shows, which was a bummer.”
Having always entwined their personal and creative lives, expect Vile Creature to continue exploring the darkest, grimiest corners of their psyches with the intention of transforming it into positive growth for themselves and their audience. Although it may be hard to grasp on first listen, Vile Creature’s bold take on heavy metal is all about challenging listeners to embrace positivity through the darkness.
Website: vilecreature.net
Label: prostheticrecords.com
Yuri Hasegawa
