I have a soft spot for a strong power trio. It strikes me as rock and roll’s most essential form. Guitar, bass, drums, and the air they’re fighting with. That trifecta is the root from which all rock and roll springs.
The Vil Veins are the kind of power trio who exemplify the need for those three kinds of musician. Toni Capó on drums is a diverse technician playing like he stole something and he knows he can get away with it. Max Campos on bass and backup vocals sounds like browsing a musical thrift store (was that a Latin groove after that thrash metal riff? Probably). And Dylan Cloud on guitar and lead vocals is fully leaning into the coarser side of his metal- and blues-roots.
Taken altogether, they built a fuzzy rock sound reminiscent of bands like Reignwolf and Des Rocs who ride that edge with punk/metal off one side (fight me, that scene), and blues/country off the other side (fight me, that scene), with Robert Johnson in their sails pushing them ever onward towards Valhalla.
And they do it with the maximum use of their parts. I wish I had more of their music to talk about, but it’s early days yet, and we have more of their stuff to anticipate. For now, we can talk about their first single, “Paradise.” If it is a forerunner of what they want to do with their sound, then they’re definitely onto something cool. Max’s bass is intricate and at times makes you ask, “is that the guitar?” Because Dylan will play a chord or riff that rides or mirrors or leads the bassline in a symbiotic balance, almost like each of them is playing the notes that the other can’t quite fit in. Then, at the lulls in the strings, Toni’s drums crash out with a fill that truly exemplifies the term.
If I hadn't just talked to these guys, I might have assumed there were more members of the band. They've constructed suc a full, musically exciting sound.
As skilled as they are as musicians, bringing together a wide set of inspirations—was that J rocky for a second? And did Dylan just do something bluesy?—the song never feels, you know…overcomplicated. That’s a sound some people have, certainly, but these guys have thrashed out the kind of track that just plain rocks in the kind of way that you can just vibe to it.
Which is part of their deal, both on stage and off of it. Dylan is guitars and lead vocals, and he said that he’s been thinking about a different stage configuration for them. He says that when they’re playing together, they play off of each other so much that they want to be able to see each other. The Vil Veins creates their sound by having a strong balance, and Dylan wants to figure out how to facilitate that in live shows. Sounds like a good idea.
Max, on bass and backing vocals, meanwhile said that he likes how much their sound is proving fun to such a wide scene.
They’re striving to create music that’ll give something for everyone to appreciate. Since the members of the band listen to music from across the spectrum of music there is, that’s what they would like to do. At the same time, they know what they are. They make fuzzy rock. They write loud songs in standard tuning about life experiences, and they have their instruments on a gorgeously dirty reverb. Including Dylan’s voice, somehow. The band sounds like the makings of a barfight that never quite turns violent because it gets another drink and sings it out instead.
They recently played the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, which is mad and amazing. And they’re planning on dropping a few new tracks over the course of the next few months leading up to an EP.
Their Act 3 of 3 Acts who played on the 3rd of August at Black Lab Barcelona was very well attended. https://blacklab.es/event/live-music-blacklab-front-page-news/
In the meantime, go find their single, “Paradise” and their newest release "Straight On (2024 Rock Version)" - an original by Dylan Cloud, released in all stores 5 September 2024.
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