Post-hardcore band VERSUS have their debut album out titled "The Catalyst", with all new singles expected out this spring! The band discusses their show plans, beginnings, and the future!
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Versus started way back in 2016-ish as a three-piece grunge band – back then we were just playing shows to our friends just to have some fun, but over the years we started gaining some traction, and Versus evolved into what it is now. Over the years we have had changes in our line up and the dynamics of the band, with our first drummer moving to Australia through to our bassist and founding member, Bear, who has just stepped down – we have an amazing bunch on talented individuals in the band now – Calvin on drums (he is a machine to say the least), Rob on guitars (who has successfully redefined a lot of our sounds and direction) and Shortie on vocals/bass (temporarily standing in for Bear). All of us have been in various bands over the years, in fact there are too many to mention here, but we connect and write so well together as Versus that our past bands feel like a different lifetime these days.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
The name of the band initially was You Me Vs The World as at the time I think we were all in very difficult places in our lives and the band was our way of fighting back and releasing some of that energy and resilience – since then the name was shortened over the years until we ended up with Versus, even though all of our lives have changed (as you’d expect over the years) for the better, however we know that many folks are struggling with either daily life or even the geo-political climate that we are all facing at present, so it’s more a representation of how the majority of folks in the world must feel at points in their lives.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based in a city called Leeds (Yorkshire, UK) and the scene over here is steadily getting better after the pandemic, when before it was such an eclectic and thriving music scene! There are a lot of bands that are up and coming, but there is another band from Leeds that you should check out – they are called Pulverise and are a female fronted rap metal band with killer riffs and great stage presence.
4. How would you describe your style?
Hard-hitting, mind-blowing and super energetic post-hardcore.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We released our first full length album (The Catalyst) in December last year – we wrote the album as a bit of a renewal/rebirth/the next evolutionary step for the band, so while every song tells its own story, the album is cohesive and has a running theme all the way through. We just want people who listen to it to enjoy the music and let themselves feel something, be it happiness, sadness, anger etc – we just want to hit that emotional resonance.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
We are currently working on 2 singles that are due out in the back end of April and June, as well as our second album (not titled yet) that we are planning to release at the back end of this year.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We have a couple of busy months ahead of us in the UK and then we are wanting to hit some of the festivals over the summer before going out on tour nearer the end of this year.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
That’s a hard question – to be honest we just want to write and perform music to our fans – we wouldn’t be in the position we are now if it wasn’t for the support of the fans that follow us, buy our merch and records and show up to shows.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Versusbandinc.com is always the main place to go to for our music, merch and everything in between, but also, we are on the usual social media sites, YouTube and Spotify!
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
We want people to walk away after listening to us for the first time remembering what they felt emotionally, whatever that may be, and as long as they feel something we have done things right.
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