Today we’d like to introduce you to Vital Part. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Vital Part started with myself (Mark Benton, vocalist) and my roommate Henry Dierig each writing the most energetic and aggressive hardcore-influenced metal music we could. The two of us became close friends in 2018, bonding mainly over music and our love for metal. Moving to Nashville, we were finally both in a spot where we could attend local shows, interact with other people in bands, and have the resources and network to put out music of our own. After writing an album’s worth of material, we finally released a 3-song EP titled “As My New Body Comes to Life” in the summer of 2021, which garnered a surprising amount of local support from our perspective. Henry became noticed enough to be granted to opportunity to join Chamber, the first Nashville hardcore band we ever saw at a show, so he’s no longer playing with Vital Part, but before his departure, we wrapped recording all those songs we had written so long ago during the height of the pandemic. We plan to release the full album this summer with shows around Tennessee to help promote it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wouldn’t say it was always a smooth ride. Having a core half of the band exit so early on certainly had its drawbacks and put us in a confusing spot for a while, but we’ve been able to bounce back and are confident once again in our performances as a quartet.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the vocalist and one of two founding members of the band, I took on the role of writing all the lyrics for our songs. Within the past few years, I’ve been influenced heavily by bands like Deftones, Valley heart, Gleemer, and Holy Fawn when it comes to lyric writing. There’s always an air of mystery or ambiguity with much of their lyrics that I enjoy, not fully knowing the story or being given all the details. Having grown up in a religious household, alongside the Valley heart influence, I’ve also enjoyed having this musical medium to express my own doubts, experiences, and realizations of a spiritual sense through crazy heavy metal songs. Many songs on our upcoming records have lyrics based on biblical stories such as the parable of the prodigal son, the story of Jesus healing the lame man, or Lazarus being raised from the dead. I loved being able to reference those stories in context with my own struggle with faith through my early-20s. Essentially the entirety of “Arise, Dead Man” showcases these themes pretty well.
Any big plans?
Our plans for the future are pretty cloudy at the moment. All of us LOVE playing shows, seeing our friends hardcore dance, and getting to meet new people. But with some of us finishing school, still being in school, starting new jobs, moving, and starting to be real adults, the thought of becoming a true touring act seems pretty unrealistic at this point. But the Nashville scene will always be where we call home and we want as many people to hear our new record as possible. We believe it’s really something special so we’re hoping we find a way to get it playing in everyone’s ears at some point.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@vitalpartband.com
- Website: vitalpartband.com
- Instagram: @vitalpart615
- Facebook: @vitalpart615
- Twitter: @vitalpart615
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHr0QPrQ0HHbli97b-oTQyQ
Image Credits
Riley Kennedy
Nick Cummings
Oliver Fitzgerald
