UK based three piece, The Virginmarys are back at it again with their staggering new single, “Into Dust.” With aggressive vocals and electric guitar and bass riffs, this song is impossible to ignore, bringing 2015 to a close with a sense of urgency and leaving fans excited for what’s to come next. Planning on bringing 2016 in with an upcoming new album, The Virginmarys already have a huge year ahead of them.
Listen to “Into Dust” below and keep up with The Virginmarys on Facebook.
Interview by Dom Vigil
Can you tell us a little bit about The Virginmarys for anyone who may not be familiar?
Matt Rose [bass/vocals]: We’re a British rock band from Macclesfield. We got together in 2009 and have been playing and touring ever since, releasing 1 album and several EP’s along the way.
Danny Dolan [drums]: The Virginmarys are a three-piece rock band from Macclesfield, England… Home to 2 familiar worldwide exports… Silk… and of course Ian Curtis. None of us wear much silk but we do like Joy Division. We got together in 2009 and released 3 EP’s followed by our first album (‘King of Conflict’ 2013) our second album is due out in 2016.
You guys just released your new single, “Into Dust.” What inspired this track?
Matt: I guess this is one for Ally really.
Ally Dickaty [guitar/vocals]: It’s inspired by the boredom and disillusion thats widely felt today. A feeling of despair and hopelessness. Giving your heart and soul to something or someone and getting nothing back. Looking for something or someone to trust when all around is seeming untrustworthy.
Danny: From a drum point of view I wanted it to have a kind of Joy Division/Kraftwerk processed beat sound but also constantly keep a heavy grunge style mood to it. Like many of the other tracks on the new album I didn’t want to just play the obvious 4×4 ‘Rock’ beatsand wanted it to be constantly changing so there is an air of unpredictability within it….
“Into Dust” is the first song you’ve released from your upcoming album. What about this song makes it special to you?
Matt: For me it’s the passion and power that the song has that makes it special to me and I feel it’s the ideal track to introduce our fans to our new album.
Ally: I love the bass and drums on this record. The bass lines are ace and the tightness and intensity of Danny’s playing is amazing. It’s a great introduction to the new album.
Danny: I love how haunting and uncomfortable the intro makes me feel. It’s pretty unhinged sounding to me. I love the aggression throughout it too and the whole disillusionment with everything around us right now – anyone in rock music who doesn’t get that I don’t think are ‘in’ rock music… Or certainly not this decade anyways. I think it’s a great introduction to what’s to come with this record and it’s also one of the best tracks to ‘bridge’ the gap between our first album and this one.
What can you tell us about the new album that you’re working on? When can fans expect to hear some more new music?
Matt: Well, the album’s all done now so we’re hoping to get it out early to mid next year. All of our energy now is going into getting the art work absolutely spot on so we can provide an amazing package for our fans.
Danny: I think we made a conscience decision very early on that we didn’t want to make a ‘King of Conflict’ part 2. We wanted this to have a different direction to the first album and have a genuine progression to it. One of the things I absolutely loved from what we did in 2013 was the acoustic take on the album ‘Stripped’ which was entirely re-worked and recorded by Ally… I remember hearing the demo’s he sent me and just loving the vocal harmonies he wrote… That was the first thing I wanted on this album… And they are. I also think Ally’s vocal performances are different to the first. There is a lot more light and shade – (this is apparent musician jargon for meaning it’s not all full on heavy in your face screamo-ism….or so i’m told). Hopefully we will be releasing another track from the album for the fans very early next year..
What changes or noticeable areas of growth can listeners expect to hear on these new songs?
Matt: I think that when you hear the new album you can tell it’s still us but there’s certainly signs of growth amongst the band playing together and I think you can definitely notice it in Ally’s song writing and lyrical content too.
Danny: The immediate answer would be there are a lot more lyrics on this record than the first. Again there are a lot more lighter moments than on the first record. I also think Ally’s vocals show a very inventive approach in comparison to ‘KOC’…
When you’re working on new music, is there anything that you are really striving to accomplish or anything that you want to experiment with?
Matt: I think we’re all always striving to improve and evolve on what we’ve done before. I don’t see the point of just standing still especially when our influences are changing. Obviously, the core of influences remain the same, but we’re always listening to and finding different stuff to listen to. In the future, who knows, it could be cool to utilize different instruments and get different sounds and hopefully our fans would come on the journey with us!
Danny: I don’t think there’s anyone in the band that ever want to just be the same as before. We all listen to so many different styles of music. I think ultimately it comes down to whether we think it’s honest, from the heart and just plain great.
What would you like listeners to be able to take away from these new songs, or simply your music in general?
Matt: I hope that people get the honesty of the tunes and just get as much out of listening to it as we did making it. It’s really up to them what they get out of it and take out if it really.
Ally: I hope that it can make an impact on people’s lives. It’s a piece of art that we’ve put our ‘all’ into and tried to make as powerful and intense as our live performance. Music is that much of a force that it can change and transform people’s lives. I know that there are certain songs and albums that continue to be a big part in my life and made a massive impact on me. I hope that we can open things up and give people something really special that they have forever.
Danny: 100% NO BULLSHIT FROM THE HEART HONEST ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC FOREVER.
Aside from working on the new album, do you have any other big plans coming up for the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016?
Danny: We’ve been messing around with the idea of getting an acoustic, unplugged style take on the new album and songs from King of Conflict and possibly doing a secret un-announced one-off gig for that before we enter 2016… But it just depends whether we can get it together in time and also whether we’d think it was great or not. If not then no… But if yes, then YES:)
Ally: We’ve been working on an acoustic version of the set were hoping to perform and film in a kind of ‘MTV unplugged’ style. We’ve got a load of promo and filming to do along with keeping in touch with the fans. 2016 will be a load of touring!!
Thanks for chatting with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Matt: Thanks to everyone for their patience waiting for the new album. It’ll definitely be worth the wait! Ha ha.
Ally: Have an amazing Christmas guys and we can’t wait to see you in the New Year. Thanks so much for your patience and we assure you that the album is worth the wait! Peace, love, truth and Music x
Danny: Much love to our fans… they actually are the best actual fans in the world. We can’t wait for you to hear the new album 🙂 dD VMS [*_*] x
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