Vorzug – Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
Vorzug: The best way to describe it is that we’re a blackened death metal band.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
Vorzug: Vorzug was formed in 2014, the core members, drummer Daniel Beck, bassist Rock Rollain and vocalist Anthony Hoyes were all working together in the band The Lustmord from 2008-2014. We had a dispute over the name with the dark ambient artist Lustmord, we changed the name literally a week after we released an album, so we had to pull that release and completely rebrand everything. It was a big ordeal at the time, but we accepted the challenge and changed everything up. We didn’t re-release that album that we pulled and wrote all new material. We did 2 very large festival shows literally the day that we changed our name. We went on to release a single called I Am In Hell in late 2014 that got to #1 on Amazon and then we were off to the races as they say. Our album Call of the Vultures went on to being a #1 best seller on itunes and amazon. Our follow up EP Three was released in 2017 and that also went on to being #1 on itunes and amazon as well. We’re going to be releasing another album as well as a couple videos in 2021. We’re signed with The Apollyon Group which is distributed through Universal Music Group. Our current line up consists of Daniel Beck- Drums. Rock Rollain- Bass. Anthony Hoyes- Vocals. Ivan Schone- Guitars. Sergio Ramirez- Guitars.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Vorzug: Danzig, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Six Feet Under, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Kiss, Motorhead and bands such as those. Non-musical influences range for each of us, for me (Anthony) Lemmy from Motorhead was a big influence both musically and non. He was a supporter of The Mord and Vorzug so it was very cool of him to spend any time speaking to any of us. Outside of Lemmy, I’m influenced by great minds like Alex Jones, David Icke, Santos Bonacci, Eric Dubay, David Weiss, Owen Benjamin, Donald Trump, Eddie Bravo, and Jesus Christ.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
Vorzug: We’re releasing a new album, we’re going to do at least one music video to support that release. Ideally that release along with the video will do well and it’s a personal goal for the album to be a best seller like our previous works, as well as the video to get traction and be enjoyable for our fans. Ultimately the goal of the band is different for everyone involved, for me I’d like to plant some seeds with our audience and that those seeds grow into something that helps someone in some way.
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
Vorzug: We all write the songs together. We get together each guy does their part, we put it all together then I write the lyrics and we arrange the structure together. We all contribute equally. Song topics range from typical death metal horror/murder themes to black metal esoteric and occult in previous releases. This new release will be a little different in terms of theme. I’ve ha a personal growth since our last release so the way I see the world is going to be reflected in the new material. I’ll say that one of the new songs will focus on the nature of reality as well as the cruelties of this world.
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
Vorzug: We all do our part in promoting online and in the streets. We also have a PR team. PR is 
essential to success. We choose to run the band as a business. That is what works best for us. We spend a certain amount of time each day doing our specific job, but ultimately we work out a marketing strategy ahead of time and we all do our part along with our PR people to implement that plan as we adjust along the way when needed. I’ll also point out that the video we’re planning is going to be a big promotional tool. It’s the same approach with shows when we do them, however the way we’ve set things up playing live isn’t a priority for our band as we properly use PR.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
Vorzug: We embrace the digital music revolution. As an “old school” guy I prefer a physical copy of something, but that being said we’re all for you buying and listening however you as the consumer want to. I will say we have had issues every release with antifa illegally posting our releases to illegal download sites and we’ve had to work with the FBI to have those links removed from the internet. So that part of things is really annoying in terms of our work being stolen however promotion wise that sometimes brings in new fans who will pay for an album after they steal it.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Vorzug: I’m really jealous I didn’t think of K POP before it was a thing. I missed the boat on that one!
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
Vorzug: The media. They lie and push false narratives in pretty much every instance. It’s a detriment to our society. Outright lies will be considered historical fact long after I’m dead, and that makes me very sad.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
Vorzug: Our proudest moment has been when other musicians cite our works as an influence. That is very amusing and unexpected to us, but we cherish hearing that and thank everyone that has found some form of inspiration from the stuff we have done. Also I had the chance to have one of my children record a song with us and that was a very cool moment for him so that made me happy.
PD: So what are you working on at the moment?
Vorzug: The band is writing material for a new album. We’re also going to be doing a music video.
I’m also working on starting a podcast. I mention that as it’s going to tie into our promoting of our music as well as promoting music from other groups that want to have music featured on the show. I’ll be doing interviews with bands, and other people. I’m also heavy into conspiracies so that’s going to be a major part of the podcast.
PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?
Vorzug: We have 2 albums and a few singles out. You can get them pretty much anywhere music is sold. You can purchase from our site www.vorzug.info that goes to our amazon sales page. You can also buy direct from Apollyon at https://theapollyongroup.bandcamp.com/ not just the Vorzug material but the other bands on our label. If you are a physical music fan/collector we offer vinyl and physical cds as well. Contact for details. Find us on twitter at @VorzugOfficial and @ApollyonMusic
Vorzug links:
Band/Artist location – Phoenix Arizona
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