 Currently out on the road as support for Filter on their “Make America Hate Again” tour, Vampires Everywhere! just got off of their own headlining tour in support of their new album Ritual. We had a chance to talk to the band and sit in on their set when they stopped in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Mill City Nights. It’s been a hot minute since the fans have gotten to experience Vampires Everywhere! live, and many were ecstatic about the return, while the reboot has also brought upon a new following. Taking the stage third, they had a fairly attentive crowd to play to, with all of the diehards pressed against barrier. The stage was filled with fog, almost to the point of completely hindering visibility. As a photographer I hated it, as a concert goer I loved it! Mixed with the use of backlighting, it brought upon the dark ‘creature of the night’ atmosphere as the band members became dark silhouettes emerging from the haze. The live renditions of their songs are a grittier than the records, which works perfectly with their angsty stage appearance. Performing a short set, they’ve made wise song choices, honoring long time fans with old hits such as “Star 666” and “Drug of Choice” while playing a handful off of the new record, including “Perfect Lie”, “Black Betty” and their metalcore cover of Hoziers “Take Me to Church”. Whether you have been here since the beginning or just recently making the discovery, you are more than likely going to enjoy a Vampires Everywhere! set. Check out our interview with frontman Michael Orlando (Michael Vampire) and lead guitarist Matti Hoffman below!   SR: You have sometime between the disbanding and now, does that mean the writing stopped? Michael Orlando (Vampire): Yes. For Vampires Everywhere! it had stopped. I had done another project called the Killing Lights, but it just wasn’t my style of music. But yeah, as far as Vampires go it stopped. SR: I have listened to Ritual and it sounds like you have some serious emotion behind most of the tracks, tell us a bit about where you were mentally during the writing process. MO: At the time my fiancé had broken up with me in the worst way possible and my father died of cancer kind of in the same week, um so there was a lot of tension going on in my head. The good part is, is it was an easy sell then for me to write lyrics to something and I needed that outlet for sure.  SR: Right, so it has a bit of a change in tone from past releases, were you worried at all that the fans might react poorly to the new direction? MO: Actually that’s a good question for Matti because Matti has listened to the music- Matti Hoffmann: I was a fan of them before I got to play for them. And I don’t know, I dig it because you can hear an evolution btween each album. I think it’s good, I think it’s growth and a more mature sound that people are digging. Whoever I show it to loves it, and I love it too. It’s just a cool evolution honestly. SR: Great! And how was it working with Alex Koehler (Chelsea Grin) on your cover of Hozier’s “Take Me To Church”? MO: Alex has been a friend for a really long time so it was really chill. It was kinda like ‘hey man, you want to record some evil shit?’. And we’ve been wanting to do it for a really long time so, the fact that he came in and we were all there at the same time, in Salt Lake City, that came together really nice too. SR: This album has had mentions of Marilyn Manson in the reviews, including ours, how do you feel about this comparison? MO: Well, me and Marilyn Manson, I guess we’re cool. Um, so yeah sure it’s good. At first it was like okay, I mean at first in Hellbound and Heartless I knew what I was doing. I knew I was going the route. Now I’m like ehh, but I guess I can’t escape what my voice sounds like, and that’s what it sounds like. Getting compared to a multi platinum artist, that’s not the worst shit in the world.  SR: Agreed. Along with these two spring tours, are there other tours in the plans?
MO: Mhmm. We are talking about Europe right now. We’ve got two offers for Europe, so we will be heading there in probably September or October. Nothing I can really tell you about yet. We might be doing something small in August, maybe towards the end. SR: Any post show rituals? MO: Mine is definitely Jameson. Kinda warm up to shit like 30 Seconds of Mars and 3 Doors Down, songs that don’t really make sense. What about you? MH: I just make sure all of my equipment is packed and then maybe have a few drinks and hangout with fans. SR: You have been overcoming a lot of your demons, what can you tell that you have learned in your personal struggles that might help them with theirs? MO: Just don’t give up. It eventually gets better. When it feels like it’s the worst it’s ever been, than it really can’t get any more worst, its only up from there. And I have actually been the lowest I’ve been in probably the last two years, and I climbed out of it. SR: So I have some fun questions for you. If Vampires Everywhere was an old school horror flick, what would it be? MO: It’d definitely be The Lost Boys. SR: Perfect, that goes with the next question! Who would win in a fight, Spike from Buffy or David from Lost Boys? MH: David. SR: And if Vampires Everywhere had a movie made, who would you want to portray you? MO: Definitely Jared Leto. I’m secretly in love with him, yeah. MH: Johnny Depp. MO: Johnny Depp? He'd have to dye his hair for the role! SR: That’s awesome. Thanks for talking with us! Check out our FULL photo coverage of Vampires Everywhere! here.
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